April Not Fiction Book Discussions

One of the most inspiring books we have read for our Not Fiction Book Discussions is Mountains Beyond Mountains by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder, the story of Dr. Paul Farmer and his quest to provide free, dignified health care for people in Haiti and beyond with his nonprofit organization Partners In Health. In his new book, Strength in What Remains, Kidder tells the story of a young man who worked for Farmer at Partners In Health, a hero for our times. Deogratias, a medical student from Burundi, survived civil war and genocide in Burundi and Rwanda and fled to America, where he found himself homeless, plagued by nightmares of the violence he had witnessed, and with no English. The story of how he met strangers who would help him find his way to medical school and of how, with great hope and forgiveness, he established a medical clinic in Burundi, "transcends the moment and becomes as powerful and compelling as those journeys of myth" (Jonathan Harr). Kidder writes, "When Deo first told me about his beginnings in New York, I had a simple thought: 'I would not have survived.'" What were the ingredients in Deo's almost mythical ability not just to survive but to transcend? Providence? Character? Experience? The coincidence of meeting the right people at the right time? And what can we learn from this great story of our times?

We invite you to join our discussions: Tuesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, April 22 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.

To learn more about Partners in Health, Paul Farmer's nonprofit, visit http://www.pih.org/.

To learn more about Village Health Works, Deogratias' nonprofit, which has served more than 28,000 patients since opening its doors in December 2007, visit http://www.villagehealthworks.org/.

Time change for Main Library Not Fiction Book Discussions

Charleston County Public Library will cut its operating hours to compensate for budget shortfalls caused by the continuing economic downturn. The Library’s Board of Trustees unanimously decided to close the five Regional Libraries on Sundays and close the Main Library one hour earlier at 8 p.m., beginning April 1st. The Main Library currently stays open until 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. By closing one hour earlier, at 8 p.m. on those days, it makes the closing time at Main coincide with the current 8 p.m. closing already in effect at the five Regionals and three large branch libraries. Main is open from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and will remain open from 2-5 p.m. on Sundays. (For more information about the library's reduced hours, please click here.)

Consequently, the Not Fiction Book Discussion meetings at Main Library will be rescheduled for 6:30 p.m. beginning with the April 6 meeting.

March Not Fiction Book Discussions

Drawing on over three decades of acquaintance and intimate conversation with the Dalai Lama, Pico Iyer, in his book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, creates a multifaceted portrait of the man, both his public life as a politician and global icon, and his private life as a philosopher and monk. Moving beyond simple biography to a history of Tibet, a consideration of the current global culture, and a memoir of his own relationship with the Dalai Lama, Iyer says, "one of the main things I have attempted in this book is to bring the Dalai Lama out of Tibet and Buddhism and into the larger community of ideas and thinkers, to show how much and how often his interests chime with those of other traditions and explorers." In our discussions, we will consider what elements have combined to make this Dalai Lama so relevant politically and culturally, the first in a long line of men who have filled this position to leave Tibet and take up a role on the world stage: Was it the coincidence of being appointed Dalai Lama just as the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1950-51, forcing him to flee and set up a government in exile? Long hours of travel, conversation with world leaders, public appearances, and following current events? Or could it be his willingness to embrace "the open road," Iyer's metaphor for "the natural home of someone who is visibly pressing along a path, to talk to anyone he meets along the way and to see how foreigners, specialists, fellow travelers can instruct him"? And is this willingness to embrace and learn from the unknown a quality shared by other people who have experienced success?

We hope you will join our conversation, either Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library, Thursday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog.

February Not Fiction Book Discussions

In Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Steve Martin, a true original and icon in the world of comedy, says of his years as a stand-up comedian, "I was seeking comic originality, and fame fell on me as a by-product. The course was more plodding than heroic: I did not strive valiantly against doubters but took incremental steps studded with a few intuitive leaps. I was not naturally talented--I didn't sing, dance, or act--though working around that minor detail made me inventive. I was not self-destructive, though I almost destroyed myself. In the end, I turned away from stand-up with a tired swivel of my head and never looked back, until now. A few years ago, I began researching and recalling the details of this crucial part of my professional life--which inevitably touches upon my personal life--and was reminded why I did stand-up and why I walked away." The quiet humor, surprising honesty, and economy of this passage are characteristic of what Martin calls his "biography" of himself during those early years. We learn that the "wild and crazy guy" was a carefully constructed persona, the result of both intellectual inquiry into the nature of comedy and skills honed through hours of study and practice. However, Martin also managed to be in the right places at the right times in his early career. We learn that Martin is actually a complicated guy. So what are the secrets of his success? Innate talent, in spite of what he claims? Simple hard work? The good fortune to be born into a culture that was developing a taste for the kind of comedy he offered? A few lucky breaks?

We hope you will join our conversation--Tuesday, February 2 at 7 p.m. at Main Library, Thursday, February 18 at 11 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library, or here on the blog--about what Jerry Seinfeld says is "One of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written" (GQ).

To learn more about Steve Martin's books, films, and Grammy nomination for his album of banjo tunes titled The Crow visit http://www.stevemartin.com/.

January Not Fiction Book Discussions

We will open the year of discussions with Outliers:The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. In the clear, anecdotal style that made The Tipping Point and Blink bestsellers, Gladwell attempts to answer the question "Why do some people succeed far more than others?" using examples such as the Beatles and Bill Gates, star athletes and Asian math whizzes. His conclusion--that success is as much the result of culture and circumstance as it is of intelligence or ambition--may change the way you view human potential. In an interview, Gladwell said, "My wish with Outliers is that it makes us understand how much of a group project success is. . . . and that means that we, as a society, have more control about who succeeds--and how many of us succeed--than we think" (www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html).

We will use Gladwell's ideas in Outliers throughout our discussions this year, considering, for example, how much of Steve Martin's success as a comedian is the result of talent, ambition, hard work, or circumstance in our conversation about his memoir Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life; or the implications for how best to help women of the Third World overcome oppression in our conversation about Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.

We hope you will join our discussions, Tuesday, January 5, at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, January 21, at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.

Not Fiction Book Discussions List for 2010

We are excited to announce the list of titles for our 2010 Not Fiction Book Discussions! We will begin with Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success, which will set the theme for the year's discussions. You can find a complete list of titles and dates on the right side of the page under Not Fiction Book Discussions 2010.

And don't miss the final Not Fiction Book Discussion of 2009! We will be discussing Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey at the West Ashley Branch on Thursday, December 17 at 11:00 a.m.

We hope you will join us, either in person or here on the blog.

December Not Fiction Book Discussions

Have you ever wished you could take a behind-the-scenes tour of a great museum? Then join us for a discussion of Richard Fortey's Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum!

Fortey, who was a senior paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in London, guides readers on a rambling walk through the museum's vast collections of fossils, jewels, rare plants, and exotic species, pulling open drawers full of orderly rows of specimens, wandering down seldom-used passageways, and poking around in the miscellany of the Dry Storeroom No. 1 of the title. He also introduces readers to the sometimes eccentric scientists who have devoted their professional lives to studying the museum's collections. Full of fascinating detail about such items as Charles Darwin's barnacle collection or the cursed amethyst of Edward Heron-Allen, and of humorous anecdotes such as the one about the time Fortey nearly set the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History on fire, Fortey's tour is, according to the L.A. Times, "Worth the price of admission." Yet Fortey hopes to do more than entertain us; he hopes to persuade us of the essential role museums play in preserving our collective cultural memory and the diversity of life.

Join the conversation Tuesday, December 1 at 7:00 p.m. at Main Library; Thursday, December 17 at 11:00 a.m. at West Ashley Branch Library; or here on the blog.