Invitation

Below is the original email sent out prompting the creation of this reading club:

Proposal: (mostly) Non-Fiction Reading Group

I've been thinking it might be fun to start a reading group in the JC area. The idea being that it ought to be fun to have a group of people reading the same book at the same time, and then discussing the book's content (more details below). And, seeing I'm pretty much a hermit with limited social interactions, I've included anyone I know that might be interested in doing something like this with me. I'm also hoping that some of you may also know a person or two who read books and might be interested in doing something like this. I think the ideal size of the group would be 6 to 8 people.

The reason I'd like to do this with non-fiction books is because I think that there's a lot of potential for interesting discussion if the group contains people with somewhat varying perspectives and we read books that may represent a diversity of perspectives and ideas. Topics might include things like religion, theology, current events, science, politics. My particular interest is in discussing various topics and ideas from the perspective of christian faith.

Here are my thoughts on some guidelines about how this group would operate:

Rule #1: You always talk about book club.

Rule #2: You aalllwaays talk about book club.

Rule #3: Each month a different member of the group selects a book that they think sounds interesting and might spark good conversation and discussion. The books should not be so specialized that they aren't intellectually accessible to others in the group (I.e., I would not select a book that's aimed at academic cognitive psychologists, or Mike wouldn't select a book that requires very specific understanding of molecular biology in the medical field).

Rule #4: Over the course of that month we all try to read the book (or as much as we can)

Rule #5: Throughout the month we discuss the book online in something like a listserve, or facebook, or a blogging site.

Rule #6: At the end of the month, we get together for a couple of hours over coffee or pancakes and discuss the book.

Rule #7: The person who chose the book for that month prepares a short list of discussion topics/questions about the book that can serve as a failsafe in case people are reluctant to discuss the book. I.e., it might serve to spark discussion.

Rule #8: Everyone gets a turn selecting a book before we start all over again.

Rule #9: While we may end up disagreeing on various topics, this would be a forum for discussing ideas openly while remaining respectful of one another with the hope that it will be an intellectually enriching experience for everyone involved.

Rule #10: Rules # 1 & 2 can be followed at the discretion of the member.

Assuming that I can find a few people who are interesting in this and have time to participate, I'll approach this group as a casual forum for discussing important ideas. Many of the details and logistics are a work in progress, and will depend somewhat on who actually participates. Feel free to forward this on to others who you think may be interested as well, so that we can get a good group of thinkers together. Let me know what your thoughts are and if you'll be interested. I'm thinking I'll try to begin sometime in June and our first discussion meeting would be sometime in July. As I hear back from each of you, and others, I'll work out the details of the group.