Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1925

You're Invited! Join the Associates of the Boston Public Library for the Hundred-Year Book Debate, a free hybrid event exploring the lasting literary impact of three bestsellers from 1925:

📖 The Great Gatsby – championed by journalist and author Betsy Groban

📖 The Trial – championed by Harvard English professor James Wood

📖 Mrs. Dalloway – championed by author Hank Phillippi Ryan

Boston radio host Kennedy Elsey @downtownkennedy will moderate this lively debate, culminating in an audience vote to crown the best book of 1925!

The venue is Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.

If you can't make it in person, sign up for a virtual ticket. We'll send you a Zoom webinar link a few days prior to the event.

For more details about the Associates of the Boston Public Library, the presenters, or the book selections, please visit our . Please get in touch with the Associates' office with any questions via [email protected] or 617-536-3886.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a tragic tale of ambition, love, and disillusionment of the American Dream, set in the 1920s. This iconic novel remains a cornerstone in English classrooms, with its critique of social and moral decay remains relevant today.

The Trial by Franz Kafka delves into bureaucratic absurdity and existential dread as the protagonist navigates an oppressive legal system following his unexplained arrest. This landmark novel remains a staple in literature courses, with its examination of the human condition.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf captures a single day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, weaving together themes of memory, identity, and the passage of time. A modernist classic, the novel remains a literary cornerstone for its innovative narrative style.

Kennedy Elsey is honored to be back to moderate this debate for the fourth year in a row. She is the co-host of the popular morning radio program, Karson and Kennedy, on Mix 104.1. She grew up in suburban Chicago and graduated from Drake University with a double major in Theater and Psychology. Kennedy is deeply involved in community events and runs a program called Karson & Kennedy’s Cool Kids. Cool Kids brings amazing kids who have overcome adversity on fun adventures, at no cost to the kid or their families. She is also an outspoken advocate for mental health awareness serving on the board for Samaritans and raising funds with her program Your Light Is Needed. Kennedy lives in Quincy with the most stable man in her life, her Lab, Elvis.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Boston Public Library -Rabb Hall & Zoom, 700 Boylston Street, Boston, United States