By Marie Giudicelli
When you meet Kathleen Sullivan, what you first notice is the big smile on her face. This enthusiastic young woman has led the MIT Spouses and Partners Book Club for 12 years, and also works as center manager for MIT’s Center for Brains, Minds & Machines. Because of her busy schedule, Kathleen hopes to find other members of the S&P community who would like to help organize future book club meetings.
If you’d like to talk to Kathleen about helping out, you can reach her at kdsulliv@mit.edu.
If you’d like to join the book club, you can sign up with this link:
MIT Spouses & Partners Book Club sign-up
The Book Club meets once a month in a coffee shop or a restaurant, and “is made up of a mix of ethnicities” says Kathleen. She notes that one of the best discussions the group has had was discussing “The Satanic Verses” by Salman Rushdie, which “led to a very rich and diverse conversation.” The worst discussion? “Napalm and Silly Putty by George Carlin; we had no conversation at all!” Kathleen adds that “the most interesting discussions we have had were about political or social topics…but we talk about family and pop culture as well.”
The book club has played an active role in the MIT S&P network, which represents for Kathleen “an incredible support and a great community of people you can connect easily with.” Sharmila Ganguly, one of the members of the group, explains that “in the constantly changing MIT population, Kathleen has anchored the book club as a familiar place to see old faces and meet new people.”
Kathleen is an insatiable reader, and Bronwen Heuer, another member of the book club, observes that “there is a library in her head!” Kathleen’s favorite author is Terry Pratchett, because of the very particular sense of humor found in his fantasy novels. She rereads his novels regularly as a “pick me up.” Her childhood favorite was L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables.
Kathleen is often aware of many cultural events in the Boston area, which she shares during the book club’s meetings and on the online community MIT FamilyNet. Her favorite activity in Boston? “Sampling new bakeries and coffee shops.” Certainly these are among the best places to relax while reading a good book!