Books to vote on

On 1/10/15 and 1/17/15 we will vote on the next round of books.  Please send your book suggestions to Kevin.Sanford.Fox@Gmail.com.  The books currently suggested and book leaders are:

Doug
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert 


The book demonstrates that the Earth is in the midst of a modern, man-made, sixth mass extinction. In the book, Kolbert chronicles previous mass extinction events, and compares them to the accelerated, widespread extinctions during our present time. She also describes specific species extinguished by humans, as well as the ecologies surrounding prehistoric and near-present extinction events. The author received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for the book in 2015.

Jim
The Light Between Us: Stories from Heaven. Lessons for the Living. by Laura Jackson

Laura Lynne Jackson is a wife, a mother, a high school English teacher—and a psychic medium. Where most believe an impenetrable wall divides the world between the living and the dead, Jackson sees bright, brilliant cords of light that pass through a barrier as thin as a sheet of paper. Her gifts tested and verified by some of the most prominent scientific organizations studying paranormal phenomena, Jackson has dedicated her life to exploring our connection to the Other Side, conversing with departed loved ones, and helping people come to terms with loss. In The Light Between Us, she shares her remarkable journey and the lessons in love she’s learned along the way.

Doug
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by SC Gwynne

The vast, semi-arid grasslands of the southern Great Plains could be dominated by hunters and warriors on horseback. In the first half of the nineteenth century, the Comanches, often referred to as “lords of the Plains,” were the single most powerful military force in the region, to the frustration of both the Mexican and U.S. governments. In this engrossing chronicle, award-winning journalist Gwynne traces the rise of the Comanche people from their roots as primitive bands of hunter-gatherers to their mastery of the horse and emergence as the feared power brokers of the area. At the center of the narrative is the charismatic Quanah Parker, who skillfully navigated the gaps between his traditional culture and the emerging, settled culture of the late-nineteenth century. Quanah was the son of a Comanche warrior and a woman named Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped at the age of nine and chose to stay with the Comanches. Quanah was a brilliant, feared war chief who guided his people in adapting to new realities after their final suppression by the U.S. Calvary. An outstanding addition to western-history collections. --Jay Freeman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

James
The road to character by Jim Brooks

Brooks tells us in his introduction that his book is about "how some people have cultivated strong character. It's about one mindset that people through the centuries have adopted to put iron in their core and to cultivate a wise heart. I wrote it to save my soul."

Room update

From now on we will meet in room 304.  Visitors are welcome.  We hope to see you there!

Chaucer's Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury

On 12/20/15 we start Chaucer's Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury

date         read until page
12/20/2015 49
12/27/2015 skip, no meeting
1/3/2016         98
1/10/2016 155
1/17/2016 chp 4 - 5
1/24/2016 chp 6 - conclusion

The Field: The Quest for the secret force of the universe

Date	The Field:  The Quest for the secret force
11/8/2015	Week 1 Preface, prologue, Chs 1&2
11/15/2015	2. Chs 3 & 4
11/22/2015	3. Chs 5 & 6
11/29/2015	4. Chs 7 & 8
12/6/2015	5. Chs 9 & 10
12/13/2015	6. Chs 11 & 15

This changes everything reading schedule

Below is the reading schedule for the 8.30 am book group.  Please join us!  You don't have to read the pages to attend

9/20/2015	chp 1 - 2
9/27/2015	chp 3 - 4
10/4/2015	chp 5 - 6
10/11/2015	chp 7 - 8
10/18/2015	chp 9 - 10
10/25/2015	chp 11 - 12
11/1/2015	chp 13 - conclusion

Below are the voting results. We will start this changes everything on Sept 13

First book
This changes everything by Naomi Klein
In This Changes Everything Naomi Klein argues that climate change isn’t just another issue to be neatly filed between taxes and health care.

Second book
The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe Paperback by Lynne McTaggart

Third book
Chaucer's Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury
Brought expertly to life by Paul Strohm, this is the eye-opening story of the birth one of the most celebrated literary creations of the English language

Fourth place, will vote on next time

Gwynne's empire of the summer moon

Books to Vote on

Please bring in your books to vote for our next series of books.  We should vote by Aug 9.  So far we have

Jennifer has suggested
After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam Paperback – September 7, 2010 by Lesley Hazleton

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells the tragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now more than ever.

Doug has suggested

Chaucer's Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury


Brought expertly to life by Paul Strohm, this is the eye-opening story of the birth one of the most celebrated literary creations of the English language.

Doug has suggested

American Bloomsbury: Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Henry David Thoreau: Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work


The 1850s were heady times in Concord, Massachusetts: in a town where a woman's petticoat drying on an outdoor line was enough to elicit scandal, some of the greatest minds of our nation's history were gathering in three of its wooden houses to establish a major American literary movement. The Transcendentalists, as these thinkers came to be called, challenged the norms of American society with essays, novels, and treatises whose beautifully rendered prose and groundbreaking assertions still resonate with readers today. Though noted contemporary author Susan Cheever stands in awe of the monumental achievements of such writers as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Louisa May Alcott, her personal, evocative narrative removes these figures from their dusty pedestals and provides a lively account of their longings, jealousies, and indiscretions. Thus, Cheever reminds us that the passion of Concord's ambitious and temperamental resident geniuses was by no means confined to the page

Gary has suggested

Don't think of an elephant by George Lakoff


Don't Think of an Elephant! is the definitive handbook for understanding what happened in the 2004 election and communicating effectively about key issues facing America today. Author George Lakoff has become a key advisor to the Democratic party, helping them develop their message and frame the political debate.

Sharon has suggested

This changes everything by Naomi Klein

In This Changes Everything Naomi Klein argues that climate change isn’t just another issue to be neatly filed between taxes and health care.

The most important book yet from the author of the international bestseller The Shock Doctrine, a brilliant explanation of why the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core “free market” ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems.

In short, either we embrace radical change ourselves or radical changes will be visited upon our physical world. The status quo is no longer an option.

Jim has suggested

The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe Paperback by Lynne McTaggart

In this groundbreaking classic, investigative journalist Lynne McTaggart reveals a radical new paradigm—that the human mind and body are not separate from their environment but a packet of pulsating power constantly interacting with this vast energy sea, and that consciousness may be central in shaping our world. The Field is a highly readable scientific detective story presenting a stunning picture of an interconnected universe and a new scientific theory that makes sense of supernatural phenomena. Documented by distinguished sources, The Field is a book of hope and inspiration for today's world.

Schedule for Muhammad His Life Based on the Earliest Sources

pages	date
1-31	6/28/2015
32-71	7/5/2015
72-115	7/12/2015
116-150	7/19/2015
151-200	7/26/2015
201-248	8/2/2015
249-289	8/9/2015
290-325	8/16/2015
326-362	8/23/2015