For 2012, we are Broadening the Scope of this Ukrainian Meetup Group, to encompass Everyone who has an interest in Ukrainian culture: it's people, history, literature, music, and language. This Meetup Group was started in 2006 by Aleksandra to promote gatherings where people could practice speaking their (native) Ukrainian, but since then, our Membership has grown to encompass American-born Ukrainians who don't speak the language, people from Odessa and eastern Ukraine who only speak (God forbi …

Inspired by a recent story in the Wall Street Journal, about a long-running reading group in which the members read books aloud -- 35 or so pages a meeting -- they've read Dickens, Milton, Tolstoy, Faulkner, the Brontes, Eliot, Austen. In addition to the book we're reading (our first is The Transit of Venus), we've begun meetings by reading other short pieces or poems.

As I approach 30, it's becoming apparent that I will probably never climb Mount Everest. Still, I feel pretty confident that with some like-minded folks and moral support, I (we!) can tackle the literary Everest, War and Peace. I'm hoping to find 5-10 people out there who are interested in conquering this tome with me, a little at a time. You don't need to have majored in Lit, but you might want to have some affinity for Russian classics, or this might not be the group for you. Once we've finish …