News: Dec 09, 2020
"One Book One Chalmers", OBOC, is a book club where all of Chalmers – students as well as employees – is given the opportunity to read the same book, meet and discuss. The idea of reading a book to create community and meeting platforms has been used in several different contexts and parts of the world. Among other things, there are "Stockholm reads", "Canada reads" and "MIT Reads". This year’s book is "The End of the Ocean" by Maja Lunde. We talked to Ignacio del Amo Blanco, student of the MSc on Complex Adaptive Systems, from Chalmers Students for Sustainability, CSS, and Emma Frisk at Chalmers’ library, two of the minds behind the second round of OBOC.
– To tackle big challenges such as climate change we need to think big and wide, and there is so much competence around campus! That is why we wanted to create a space for students and employees to meet and discuss around important topics in new constellations, across groupings, says Emma.
– With OBOC we want to highlight crucial topics that concerns everyone at Chalmers. Last year we chose “The Power” by Naomi Alderman reflecting gender equality. This year, we wanted to highlight climate change and decided to invite Chalmers Students for Sustainability to cooperate with us, says Emma.
– At first, we started thinking in technical terms, suggesting more academic literature, but there was a condition – the book should be fiction. The library suggested “The End of the Ocean” by Maja Lunde, a great book that relates really nicely to topics that are critical at the moment, says Ignacio.
– Fiction is a great tool for approaching tough questions concerning for example ethics, says Emma. When you discuss a novel, there is no right or wrong. This is why fiction is one of the criteria when choosing the book. The End of the Ocean reflects a quite broad range of issues connected to climate change, covering for example activism, climate refugees and the importance of clean water.
– I am Spanish, and where I come from we are used to fires and desertification as increasing problems, and I think the book reflects that pretty well. It also reflects the relationship between people and water, and the problems and inequalities that come with the lack of resources so basic as water, says Ignacio.
– The author, Maja Lunde, has written more books related to sustainable development, for example “The History of Bees” and is coming up with a new book, about biodiversity. So if you read this book and like it, there are more.
– We are really happy that the library contacted us at CSS, since this is a great way for us to increase our impact! Most of the fun activities that we planned are now in the air, because of Corona. Hopefully we are able to meet outside during spring for some outdoor activities related to water that I think could be very nice!
– I’m excited about meeting students and staff in our book circles and see how different persons have interpreted the book and hear their thoughts!
Access the book for free at Chalmers library. If you want to listen to the book or read it as an e-book it’s available as an audiobook through the City library.
For more info about OBOC and how to join visit Chalmers library's website.
In 2019, seventy-year-old Signe sets out on a hazardous voyage to cross an entire ocean in only a sailboat. She is haunted by the loss of the love of her life,and is driven by a singular and all-consuming mission to make it back to him.
In 2041, David flees with his young daughter, Lou, from a war-torn Southern Europe plagued by drought. They have been separated from their rest of their family and are on a desperate search to reunite with them once again, when they find Signe's abandoned sailboat in a parched French garden, miles away from the nearest shore.
As David and Lou discover personal effects from Signe's travels, their journey of survival and hope weaves together with Signe's, forming a heartbreaking, inspiring story about the power of nature and the human spirit in this second novel from the author of the "spectacular and deeply moving" (New York Times bestselling author Lisa See) The History of Bees.
