February's Not Fiction Book Discussion

 

This month we continue reading about the forces that shaped the Americas with Silver, Sword and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story by Marie Arana. Arana tells the story of how exploitation (silver), violence (sword), and religion (stone) have influenced Latin America by interweaving history with the lives of three contemporary Latin Americans.

We hope you will join the discussion:

When? Tuesday, February 2, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? We will meet virtually on CCPL's Zoom server. Here is a link to register for the February meeting:

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting.  

When: Feb 2, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqceisqjkvGdQlXPa0Wx5dyNGMbiuz9u5K 

 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Readalikes: If you enjoyed January's selection . . .

 If you enjoyed The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America by Greg Grandin, then you might also enjoy these books suggested by our discussion group members:

The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantu
What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance by Carolyn Forche
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer

January Not Fiction Book Discussion

 

We begin our conversations for 2021 with the winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction, The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America by Greg Grandin, professor of history at Yale University. Grandin asks us to take a fresh and honest look at the brutal realities behind the myth of American exceptionalism, using the symbols of the frontier and the border wall to frame his discussion of the evolution of American identity and its inextricable roots in capital gained through the paradigm of an extractive economy.

We hope you will join the discussion:

When? Tuesday, January 5, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? We will meet virtually on Zoom. Here is a link to register for the January meeting:

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Jan 5, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqceisqjkvGdQlXPa0Wx5dyNGMbiuz9u5K 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Not Fiction Book Discussion Titles for 2021

 "[S]imple awareness is the seed of responsibility." --Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

We are all ready for 2021--a new year, a fresh start . . . and a new list of books for discussion, posted on the right. This year's books look at the pursuit of capital in the Americas and capitalism's means, ends, and limits. They look at our most precious resource, our attention, as capital to be exploited or reclaimed and used wisely. And they encourage us to shift our perspective towards the vast, the slow, the cyclic, the interconnected life of the natural world, the cosmos, deep time, and myth. 

We hope you will join the discussions:

When? We will meet the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

Where? We will meet virtually on Zoom until CCPL is able to safely resume in-person programming. Here is an invitation to register for the January meeting on Zoom: 

Hi there, 

 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Jan 5, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYqceisqjkvGdQlXPa0Wx5dyNGMbiuz9u5K 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Readalikes: If you enjoyed December's selection . . .

 If you enjoyed The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power, then you might also like these books suggested by our discussion group members:

• Madame Secretary: A Memoir by Madeleine Albright
• Pelosi by Molly Ball
• Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman
• My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem

December Not Fiction Book Discussion

 

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Education of an Idealist: A Memoir by Samantha Power, the Anna Lindh Professor of the Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and William D. Zabel Professor of Practice in Human Rights at Harvard Law School. From 2013 to 2017, Power served in the Cabinet of President Barack Obama and as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. From 2009 to 2013, Power worked on the National Security COuncil as Special Assistant to the President for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights. 

"The Education of an Idealist brings a unique blend of suspenseful storytelling, vivid character portraits, and shrewd political insight. It traces Power's distinctly American journey from immigrant to war correspondent to presidential Cabinet official. . . . Along the way, she illuminates the intricacies of politics and geopolitics, reminding us how the United States can lead in the world, and why we each have the opportunity to advance the cause of human dignity. Power's memoir is an unforgettable account of the power of idealism--and of one person's fierce determination to make a difference" (from the publisher). 

When? Tuesday, December 1, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? The Not Fiction Book Discussion has moved to Zoom! Here is an invitation to register on Zoom: 

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Dec 1, 2020 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAud-2gqjIvE9UoDxD6kM7PgZkdGwWP1FF2 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

We hope you will join the discussion!

Readalikes: If you enjoyed November's selection . . .

 If you liked Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow, then you might also like these books suggested by our discussion group members: 

White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein

Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence edited by Chad Williams, Kidada E. Williams, and Keisha N. Blain