Last night I attended my first book club meeting for the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Scholars (the trade group for conservative academics!). This month's selection is "Power, Faith, and Fantasy" by Michael Oren which I plan to count as two books on my 2007 reading list since it is over 600 pages long :-)
Overall the book club is dominated by historians - the one "futurist" in the room felt out of place I think but his presence was appreciated -- who are primarily retired and/or adjunct faculty members. I must note that I was a bit nervous as I drove on the Macalester College campus in St. Paul, Minnesota where the book club meets. Why? Because below the USA flag was a United Nations flag which is not on my short list of institutions I support. The baby blue UN banner was flying high (just a flag - no black helicopters!!!!) of course because former UN Secretary-General , Kofi Annan, is a Macalester alumni -- http://www.pbs.org/wnet/un/life/map2.html - with a degree in economics so clearly he did not read the same books I have in my life given his work at the UN.
Last night's discussion was active and wide-ranging so I look forward to our future gatherings. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a retired professor of Soviet studies so the Cold War Warrior in me really enjoyed our sidebar conversation. Ah, the good old days!!
It is great to have found a "home" in a new book club such as this one. I would enjoy hearing from blog readers regarding their own book club experiences.
Read with friends,
Todd
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This blog is focused on books I have read, book readings I have attended, Banned Books Week, and related issues. I welcome your book reviews and suggested reading materials.
3 comments:
Glad you enjoyed the book discussion. I'm the retired Soviet historian, also the author of a satire, Alice In Washington. I'm always looking for plugs or reviews. You can see a description of the book at www.rpbonine.com, a new Website that doesn't always work. You can order the book at Amazon.com or iUniverse.com.
Thanks for lowering the average age. Richard Bonine
Todd,
Glad you enjoyed the book club. It has been very rewarding for me also to participate in the group. The collective wisdom and learning among the participants is very intellectually stimulating.
I appreciate the diversity of perspective and opinion.
I look forward to your future participation and input.
Nice blog. Quite a range of books under consideration here.
I myself would probable fit the diagnosis of "hyperbibliophilia". My library grows much faster than I am able to read it.
Are you writing any book reviews here or elsewhere?
Jon,
Yes I plan to do my first formal book review by reviewing Professor Bonine's book, "Alice in Washington" whenever my delivery arrives this summer. I ordered it via Barnes and Noble last week.
I welcome suggestions.
Todd
Post a Comment