Literary LIons

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2008

Lee Elliff Pound
(417) 625-9355

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) - The Literary Lions Book Club at Missouri Southern State University is seeking participants for this semester's literary work, the book Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley.

 

Wendy McGrane, Director of the Spiva Library at Missouri Southern, will moderate the discussions on the book.

 

In the novel, Nick Naylor, chief spokesman for the Academy of Tobacco Studies, is reviled by most people. But not to worry, Nick does have a few friends, the M.O.D. Squad (Merchants of Death). They meet weekly for lunch to lament the difficulty of representing big tobacco, the alcohol industry, and the NRA.

 

After receiving a death threat while appearing on the Larry King Show, Nick is kidnapped by anti-tobacco terrorists who cover his body with nicotine patches and leave him for dead. The plot thickens when the FBI begins to suspect Nick of kidnapping himself.

 

• Introduction and background of novel will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 25.
• Group discussion meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 9.
• Viewing of the film version will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 16.

 

All meetings will be held in MSSU’s Spiva Library near the University Java coffee shop. The total cost to participate is $25 for the general public or $15 for Friends of the Spiva Library group members.

 

The opportunity to participate is limited to the first 15 participants. Those interested should respond no later than June 15.

 

Literary Lions participants’ individual copies of Thank You for Smoking will be donated back to the Spiva Library.

 

Those wanting to participate or obtain additional information should contact the Literary Lions Book Club, by calling the MSSU Alumni Office (417) 625-9355.

 

 

 

 

 

 

News Bureau Home