Two copies of "What the Thunder Said" by Janet Peery were "dropped" on the Newman University Campus, 3100 McCormick, Wichita, KS 67213, for someone to find and read.

When you approach one of the copies, the name of a former (and beloved) Director of Alumni Relations will be in plain sight. (This person held other roles at Newman, too. )

The other copy is very lonely, with few around to keep it company.

Read previous posts if you don't yet know the building to search.

We hope these are found before more clues are needed.!

Two copies of "What the Thunder Said" were dropped on the Newman University Campus, 3100 McCormick Ave., Wichita, KS. They are waiting to be found, picked up, read and dropped again.

One book is in a place where you'd expect to find books that can be used for free.

One book is near, though not in, a place on campus where alumni often gather.

So drop by and look around. "Looking" will be subject to regular building hours. (Check the NU website, www.newmanu.edu for summer hours.) And if you find one, be sure to report back here!

Another clue is due at Noon Monday, June 23, 2008.

Jeanne Cardenas, Professor Emeritas of English for Newman University, was the featured speaker at a luncheon held June 20, 2008.

She reviewed the book, "What the Thunder Said," by Kansas author Janet Peery, then officially launched Operation Book Drop by directing persons in attendance to seek bookmarks hidden at each table. Ten of the 36 persons in attendance "found" a bookmark, and in turn were awarded a copy of the book to take home and read for themselves. "I'll be reading tonight," said a smiling Rita Issinghof, Class of 1949, as she left the NU Alumni Center clutching her hard bound copy.

"Now I want to re-read The Wasteland," said Louise Wolf, Class of 1964, referring to the T.S. Eliot poem that Cardenas related to the Peery book during her review.

Diane Simon, Class of 2000 and librarian for the Renwick School District, admitted that she'd negotiated her copy from one of the orginal winners because of her excitement about reading the fiction novel.

Karen Rogers, Newman Education Professor, gave up her copy to Simon, and chose to be a project sponsor by purchasing a copy of the book, which she intends to read and "drop" in her hometown, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Margaret Weilert, Class of 1965 also stepped foward as a sponsor and will be "dropping" books through relatives in three states.

Each of the 10 book recipients and 4 sponsors were sent forth to read the book, report on their reactions via this blog, http://blog.newmanu.edu/nubookdrop and finally, to "drop" their copy in a place for someone else to find. Doctor's waiting rooms, airplane seat pockets, church gathering spaces, neighborhood coffee shops and hotel lobbies were suggested locations for upcoming book drops.

The fun will begin when readers choose to report what they think about the book, or to report on the experience of finding a book that has been dropped.

The most important purpose of Operation Book Drop is to encourage leisure reading, Cardenas explained; with the books serving as a gift from Newman University during its 75th anniversary year.

As the books travel, it is hoped they'll help bring a bit of attention to Newman, a private liberal arts University founded in the "dirty thirties," the era remembered in the midwest for its rampant dust storms and the country's severe economic depression. The book's setting, and the University's founding, both occurred during this time period. Cardenas encouraged readers to look for ways the hardships of this time impacted relationships and behaviors of the characters.

Persons not in attendance for the launch of the book drop, may participate by

---watching this blog for clues about locations where books have been "dropped"
---checking the book out from a library to read, then participating in a "virtual book discussion" on this site
---participating in a book club that discusses the book (watch for schedules here or write to schedule a set of books for your book club by writing alumni@newmanu.edu)
---by sponsoring a book to be "dropped" for others (contact alumni@newmanu.edu to particpate).

While Operation Book Drop is being launched in the Wichita area, the intent is to drop at least one book in each of the 50 States via alumni who live across the country. To register as a book sponsor for your home state, contact alumni@newmanu.edu or phone 316942-4291, ext. 2166.

Books for the program include a laminated bookmark that describes the program, and a book label to identify the book sponsor and blog address.

On Friday, June 20, 2008 at Noon two copies of "What the Thunder Said" were dropped on the Newman University campus, 3100 McCormick Ave., Wichita, KS. Let us know if you find one.

Next clue will be posted at 3 p.m., June 20, 2008.

We'd like to learn where you found your book. Please describe the experience by writing in the comment section below.

Now that you've read "What the Thunder Said", please share your reaction to the book, write a short review, or ask a question for other readers by entering a comment here.

We picked "What the Thunder Said" because we believe its a really good read. (That's the short answer.)

The book mirrors the history of our University on several levels. We'll explain. (You guessed it. . . this is the long answer.)

In 1834, in a village high in the mountains of Southern Italy, a young woman named Maria De Mattias, impelled by her love of the suffering Christ and pained by the lack of education for girls and women, opened a school for girls.

She also founded the religious order the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, which laid the groundwork for a community of religious women who, like herself, would take their strength and inspiration from the suffering Christ.

A century later, on the dust-blown plains of South Central Kansas, Mother Beata Netemeyer, Adorer of the Blood of Christ, urged by that same love for Christ and the need for education for her Sisters and other women in the area, opened Sacred Heart Junior College, which laid the groundwork for what is today Newman University.

Now, 75 years later, we celebrate again the courage, the spirit and the trust in Divine Providence of those Sisters, who in the depths of the Great Depression and against all odds, founded a college.

"What the Thunder Said" is a story of those times, a story of pain, a story of great loss and, in the end, a story of redemption.