I don't know if I've shared with you that I'm in a book club. It's an interesting group that runs the gamut of ideoligies. We read mostly non-fiction; and I've been part of this group for about 8 years. This month's book club book is "Letter to a Christian Nation". I'm going to start it this p.m. It's all of 82 pages, so one way or another, I will have achieved the success of finishing the book prior going to Book Club(BC). Guilt-free. This is one of those books that also has a page that tells you the typeface. The typeface is "minion". It's not one of those types that I can select in my Word documents.
Our BC has a lovely format. One member hosts a dinner and all of the others bring dinner accoutrements--bread, wine, appetizer, salad and dessert. It's a wonderful format. It is relaxing and enjoyable. It's a very erudite group (excepting me) and we have lively discussions. Our BEST discussions are when there is polarity. When you have polarity you have all of this interesting middle ground that is heretofore unexplored. And plowing that ground through civil discourse is one of the most enjoyable human interactive experiences.
I also picked up Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, by Jared Diamond--you may remember him from Guns, Germs and Steel fame.
Last pick is Train Your Mind Change Your Brain--How a New Science Reveals our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves, but Sharon Begley (WSJ science columnist). Perhaps you will see a difference in this blog after I read and integrate these concepts into my whatever.
Russell has probably read all of these already!
I'm off now to read my 82 page mini-tome. Enjoy your weekend. And....feel free to share what you are reading. If you are every looking for some better than average icebreakers in meeting new people, just ask them..."What are you reading these days?" It's a great conversation starter unless they don't read a damn thing and you somehow manage to make them feel badly for it.
2 comments:
I have read the two Jared Diamond books that you noted. He is an interesting writer given at times to overstating his case.
I have considered picking up Sharon Begley's book. But I have a few other books to get to first. Let me know what you think.
Why would you be guilt free? Guilt outside of the context of the legal system implies sin. If you read Mr. Harris' book he would presumably convince you that the guilt is not there to be freed from?
I did sit down to read Harris' book and found its stridency off-putting. Actually, it was a surprise to me my feeling that way.
Regarding guilt outside the legal system characterized as sin--I'm not sure that I would agree with that. One can have guilt about not meeting one's expectations for one's self or expectations that others reasonably have of you. It's a reasonable human reaction to a transgression. Therefore, if I agree to be part of a book club with our shared expectation that I am to come prepared to discuss the book, then guilt for not doing so is perfectly normal even though I have committed no legal nor religious transgression.
I suppose that rather than use the symbolically-laden "guilt" that one could easily substitute "disappointment."
I'm not sure that there was anything in Harris' book that would absolve one from these feelings--however one wishes to label them. Though he does not have a religious framework, he holds an ethical one to which one feels a sense of accountability. And good people generally hold themselves accountable to his/her values and generally feel disappointed (guilty, shameful, remorseful...) when he/she fails to live up to those accountabilities.
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