[Hac-announce] Book Discussion Group Announcements

[Dan Blinn]

Our next discussion will be on Sat, November 19 at 3:00 pm.  We will be
discussing "Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World
Economy"<http://www.amazon.com/Freefall-America-Markets-Sinking-Economy/dp/0393338959/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357911645&sr=1-2&keywords=freefall>by
Joseph Siglitz.  Manny Ratafia will moderate.

On February 23, we will discuss The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why
Violence Has Declined<http://www.amazon.com/Better-Angels-Our-Nature-Violence/dp/0670022950/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357911796&sr=1-1&keywords=better+angels+of+our+nature+by+steven+pinker>by
Steven Pinker.  This is longer than most of the books that we read, so
you might want to get an earlier start on it!

We will selecting a novel to read for our March discussion.  The choices
include 3 books that have been been on previous surveys and one new option
that I selected.  To "vote" for the book you would like to read for the
following month, you will need to respond to an online
survey<http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z3JNWFT>.
 The options are:

 "The Plague"<http://www.amazon.com/Plague-Albert-Translated-French-Gilbert/dp/0241905265/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357913196&sr=1-2&keywords=the+plague>by
Albert Camus.

A gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and
of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a
masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a
parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In
Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of
portents, unheeded by the people. It gradually becomes a omnipresent
reality, obliterating all traces of the past and driving its victims to
almost unearthly extremes of suffering, madness, and compassion.


"Snow Falling on Cedars: A
Novel"<http://www.amazon.com/Snow-Falling-Cedars-David-Guterson/dp/067976402X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357912644&sr=1-1&keywords=snow+falling+on+cedars+by+david+guterson>
by David Guterson

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award  American Booksellers Association Book of
the Year Award.  San Piedro Island, north of Puget Sound, is a place so
isolated that no one who lives there can afford to make enemies.  But in
1954 a local fisherman is found suspiciously drowned, and a Japanese
American named Kabuo Miyamoto is charged with his murder.  In the course of
the ensuing trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than a
man's guilt. For on San Pedro, memory grows as thickly as cedar trees and
the fields of ripe strawberries--memories of a charmed love affair between
a white boy and the Jpanese girl who grew up to become Kabuo's wife;
memories of land desired, paid for, and lost. Above all, San Piedro is
haunted by the memory of what happened to its Japanese residents during
World War II, when an entire community was sent into exile while its
neighbors watched.  Gripping, tragic, and densely atmospheric, Snow Falling
on Cedars is a masterpiece of suspense-- one that leaves us shaken and
changed.

"The Red Tent: A
Novel<http://www.amazon.com/Red-Tent-Novel-Anita-Diamant/dp/0312427298/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357912710&sr=1-1&keywords=the+red+tent>"
by Anita Diamant

Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and
violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis
that tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.  Told in Dinah's
voice, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient
womanhood--the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of the
mothers--Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah--the four wives of Jacob. They
love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through childhood, a calling
to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah's story reaches out
from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate
connection with the past.  Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich
storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of
biblical women's lives.

"Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and
Spirit"<http://www.amazon.com/Ishmael-Adventure-Spirit-Daniel-Quinn/dp/0553375407/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357912752&sr=1-1&keywords=ishmael>by
Daniel Quinn

The narrator of this extraordinary tale is a man in search for truth. He
answers an ad in a local newspaper from a teacher looking for serious
pupils, only to find himself alone in an abandoned office with a full-grown
gorilla who is nibbling delicately on a slender branch. “You are the
teacher?” he asks incredulously. “I am the teacher,” the gorilla replies.
Ishmael is a creature of immense wisdom and he has a story to tell, one
that no other human being has ever heard. It is a story that extends
backward and forward over the lifespan of the earth from the birth of time
to a future there is still time to save. Like all great teachers, Ishmael
refuses to make the lesson easy; he demands the final illumination to come
from within ourselves. Is it man’s destiny to rule the world? Or is it a
higher destiny possible for him—one more wonderful than he has ever
imagined?

The descriptions are from the publisher.  *Please rank these books in your
order of preference at *
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Z3JNWFT*   The survey will be kept open until
our next monthly meeting.  *

If you have a suggestion for a book that you would like us to read, please
let me know.  Please also indicate if you would be willing to moderate the
discussion if your suggested book is picked.
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