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

November Not Fiction Book Discussion

Join us for a virtual discussion of Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist by Eli Saslow. 

"From a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, the powerful story of how a prominent white supremacist changed his heart and mind. This is a book to help us understand the American moment and to help us better understand one another" (from the publisher).

When? Tuesday, November 10, at 6:30 p.m. Please note that this is the SECOND TUESDAY OF NOVEMBER. We hope you will vote on or before Tuesday, November 3.

Where? Not Fiction Book Discussion has moved to Zoom! We will most likely hold all of our discussions on Zoom through the end of the year. 

Here is the invitation to register on Zoom. The meeting code you receive will work for the remainder of the discussions this year.

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Nov 10, 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 October's selection . . .

 If you enjoyed The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri, then you might also like these titles about the refugee experience suggested by Nayeri:

Pride and Prejudice: The Best Books on the Refugee Experience  From a comedy about a childhood in wartime to a memoir smuggled from Manus Island on a phone, Dina Nayeri selects the best books about asylum. The Guardian, September 30, 2019, online edition. 

And these books about migration suggested by Julia Carrie Wong, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Luis Alberto Urrea, Angie Cruz, Mohsin Hamid, Matt de la Peña, Dina Nayeri and Aida Salazar:

'Love, Loss and Longing': The Best Books on Migration, Chosen by Writers  Amid the American Dirt controversy, we asked authors of our favorite books about migration for their recommendations. The Guardian, February 6, 2020, online edition.

October Not Fiction Book Discussion

 

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri, winner of the UNESCO City of Literature Paul Engle Prize and finalist for the Kirkus Prize in Nonfiction, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Rome Prize. 

What is it like to be a refugee? Nayeri, who fled Iran with her mother and brother at the age of 8, and was eventually given asylum in America, gives readers insight into the experience of the world's more than 25 million refugees through her own story and the stories of other refugees and asylum seekers. She asks us to reconsider the stereotypes we hold about people who emigrate and immigrate and to try to understand their motivations and the challenges they face.

When? Tuesday, October 6, at 6:30 p.m.

Where? Not Fiction Book Discussion has moved to Zoom! We will most likely hold all of our discussions on Zoom through the end of the year. 

Here is the invitation to register on Zoom. The meeting code you receive will work for the remainder of the discussions this year.

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Sep 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 September's selection . . .

 If you liked The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú, then you might also enjoy these books suggested by our discussion group members:

The End of the Myth: From the Frontier to the Border Wall in the Mind of America by Greg Grandin

Lost Children Archive: A Novel by Valeria Luiselli

Separated: Inside an American Tragedy by Jacob Soboroff

And in a 2019 interview for The New School, Melanie Odell asked, 

"What authors can you recommend who are writing about the border now?"

Cantú replied,

"I think a lot of the best writing about the border has been coming from poets. The poet Natalie Scenters-Zapico and her book The Verging Cities. The Mexican poet Sara Uribe, whose work is referenced in The Line Becomes a River. The essayist Cristina Rivera Garza’s forthcoming book, Dolerse, is one of the most important collections of essays and thinking about the violence happening in Mexico. Reyna Grande’s memoirs and Javier Zamora’s book of poetry, Unaccompanied. One of the most important books I read last year was Gore Capitalism by Sayak Valencia. She is a thinker and intellectual living in Tijuana. She writes a lot about the intersections of drug war violence in Mexico and US capitalism, and how the spectacle of violence feeds the process of de-humanization."

September Not Fiction Book Discussion

Join us for a virtual discussion of The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border by Francisco Cantú. Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Current Interest and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Nonfiction Award. After earning a degree in international relations, Cantú, a third-generation Mexican-American, worked as an agent for the United States Border Patrol on the U.S./Mexico border as a way to witness and understand the impact of immigration policy on the lives of people on both sides of the border. 

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

Where? Not Fiction Book Discussion is moving to Zoom! We will most likely hold all of our discussions on Zoom through the end of the year. 

Here is the invitation to register on Zoom. The meeting code you receive will work for the remainder of the discussions this year.

Hi there, 

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Sep 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.