Book Club, Round One

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Okay, so we got a whole pile of ideas for books, and rather than have us vote on 30 titles, I think we can narrow it down by subject matter instead:

[Poll #1800099]

I think the fairest way to do this will be to go with the choice that gathers the most votes this go 'round, and the next book we do will not be from the group we pick this one from. So, for example, if we read The Prince for this upcoming month, we won't do a great works title until sometime in the future after we've done stuff from the other topics.

If you have a book in mind that didn't get mentioned last week, put it in the comments. I'll pull from both areas this time when we do our final choice.

Voting ends Tuesday morning, when I'll put up a final poll. That way, people will have plenty of time to get the book for the holidays.

Comments

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

I suggest "Liar's Poker" by Michael Lewis.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Seconded.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

It's a little hard for me to vote on generalizations. There are conservative books I would read and liberal books I wouldn't read, and also (a category I sort of lack here) books that are political but neither liberal or conservative (third way European or of even more different persuasions)

Could we in the future not have whomever in charge that time, pick 4-5 actual book titles to vote on, and have a rule to try and branch out while selecting titles?

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had a better structure in mind that inadvertently got upended. We'll work out the kinks.

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I like the idea in general, and picking 4-6 titles and having votes on those, while branching out between genres in titles is how we do it in my book club on line.

(in here we could even take suggestions first, pick some books from as many camps possible and then vote. Although I would be fine with having a rotating schedule on ppl suggesting books and creating polls too)

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

I chose "great works" since it makes sense for an inaugural IMO.

[sandwichwarrior.livejournal.com]

That is an excellent point.

[jonathankorman.livejournal.com]

D'accord.

[moonchylde.livejournal.com]

I would like to nominate the Federalist Papers; fills both historical and great works categories. :)

AND, it's free:

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/histdox/fedpapers.html

[hikarugenji.livejournal.com]

Sounds good to me.

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/Napoleon-Political-Life-Steven-Englund/dp/0684871424/ref=cm_lmf_tit_3

Since a lot of political and philosophical wrangling comes down to a history most exemplified in the French Revolution and the Napoleonic reaction thereto, I recommend this book.

[meus-ovatio.livejournal.com]

(Plus it could help to avoid more-modern political red-meat books which are just pithy polemics and kool-aid for the partisans.)

[moonchylde.livejournal.com]

In a couple cases you'll need to be very specific about *which version* of said historical or great works chosen. Maybe link to a specific edition in amazon?

[johnny9fingers.livejournal.com]

Allegorical fiction as a category, perhaps? I mean there are a couple of obvious ones from Ol' George O., Sam Butler, et al.

[onefatmusicnerd.livejournal.com]

Yes!

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

Way of All Flesh?

[hydropen.livejournal.com]

Reading a classic sounds like a good way to start off.

But maybe at a future point, consider The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality (http://www.amazon.com/End-Growth-Adapting-Economic-Reality/dp/0865716951) by Richard Heinberg. Basically how environmental limits will affect growth.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Another good choice for me.

[enders-shadow.livejournal.com]

TAZ: Temporary Autonomous Zone
by Hakim Bey

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I like the first two categories. "Political book" has devolved into "the other side is wrong!" name calling tomes supported by very little empirical evidence. Anything by Ann Coulter fits this; too many titles by Michael Moore do as well. And what about books that look into the divide the political parties have created, like Keynes Hayek?

I prefer my "political" books to identify novel interpretations of phenomena that often transgress far beyond the limitations of un-nuanced political dogma. The Spirit Level by Wilkenson and Pickett does this with equity issues; The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb does this with market and finance and the theories promoted toward it. Under your categorization, however, both of these would likely be lumped under the third category.

I can even think of analytic works that draw opposite conclusions, though the fields tend to be so obscure that I doubt many read them and find out. That doesn't make them uninteresting.

[pastorlenny.livejournal.com]

Two good choices.

[rick-day.livejournal.com]

You want a read that might accidentally change your mind about liberals? Read "The Years of Lyndon Johnson" and try to argue he was not The last Populist President; the peoples last champion.

If you can't handle all three volumes, pick the best of the three "Master of the Senate" by Robert A. Caro

http://www.amazon.com/Years-Lyndon-Johnson-Vol-Master/dp/0394720954

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

I may have voted twice, since I was having trouble with LJ....some things I found out later did post.