Something fairly remarkable happened at our meeting last night; to find out what, keep reading this post.
BOOKS DISCUSSED LAST NIGHT:
Our first reviewer reported on As Luck Would Have It, by Joshua Piven. This is a collection of short stories about the role of luck in people’s lives. One story is about a man who buys a hot dog, but only has a hundred dollar bill in his wallet. He decides to take his change in lottery tickets, and ends up winning $181.5 million. Another story is about the ad executive who created the Pet Rock phenomenon, making millions in the process. A third story concerns an unknown rock group that becomes a one-hit wonder, because the video of its otherwise forgettable tune happens to be among the first ones aired on MTV. Of course, the group makes millions on its one hit. Apparently, these are all true stories. According to our reviewer, this book is a quick and entertaining read.
Inevitably, this review led to a broader discussion of the role luck plays in our lives, and the extent to which our accomplishments in life are the result of our own virtue, as opposed to random luck.
Finally, members of the group shared personal anecdotes about fortuitous events that changed their own lives, ranging from missing a plane that subsequently crashed, to being saved on a cross-country skiing trip gone awry, to a fortuitous meeting with one’s life partner.
Next we heard a review of In the Valley of the Shadow, by James Kugel, a profound meditation by an accomplished writer, facing the prospect of his own mortality. Kugel is a professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University, and a biblical scholar, specializing, among other things, in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, as he writes in this heartfelt and thought-provoking new book, when confronted with a diagnosis of an aggressive, usually fatal form of cancer, he felt vulnerable, small, and very much alone.
As he battled his illness, Professor Kugel was confronted by personal feelings that reminded him of phenomena that he had previously encountered in his studies of ancient religions. He was struck by the universality of such religious feelings and beliefs, and decided to embark on a study of the origins and bases of religious consciousness. In this wide-ranging book, he looks to psychology and neuroscience to see whether religious belief is hardwired in our brains; he looks to evolutionary biology to examine whether the lack of understanding or control of prehistoric people over their lives and environment led to the development of certain religious proclivities in our natures; he examines the philosophical analysis brought to bear on the question of religious phenomena over the ages; and finally, he looks inside himself, for answers to these profound, existential questions. This is a wonderful, inspirational book, according to our reviewer.
Needless to say, after hearing this review, we spent some time discussing the origins of religion, the meaning of faith, and the extent to which confronting the great challenges and trials in our lives results in a reaffirmation of our faith.
Our third reviewer brought to us a book by Karen Armstrong, called The Battle for God. Karen Armstrong is former nun and the author of the best-selling A History of God. In this book, Ms. Armstrong examines the rise of fundamentalism in all three of the great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to our reviewer, this book is an easy read, articulate, provocative, and entertaining.
OUR SURPRISE OF THE EVENING:
It was at this point that our evening took an unexpected, and delightful, turn. As we were about to engage in a discussion of Karen Armstrong, and her iconoclastic views, one of our Book Nosh participants asked our third reviewer about the progress of her own book. After much prodding, our third reviewer admitted that, in addition to The Battle for God, there was another book in her satchel: An author’s advance copy of a brand new book, called Africa: A Practical Guide for Global Health Workers.
It turns out that our third reviewer, Laurel A. Spielberg, is the editor, along with Lisa V. Adams, of this remarkable historical, social, political, economic, and health survey of a number of African countries. (For those of you who do not know, Laurel Spielberg holds a Dr.P.H. degree from Johns Hopkins University, and has enjoyed a distinguished career as a public health administrator, university professor, and public health volunteer in Africa, among her many other endeavors and achievements.)
We spent the rest of our evening chatting with Lauren about this wonderful book, with the striking cover (courtesy of Lauren’s son). It turns out that this book is an invaluable resource for anyone planning a trip to Africa, or just interested in learning more about this often neglected continent. The information in this book ranges from the mundane, such as what to pack for your trip to Africa, to the practical, such as advice on working successfully and effectively in African cultures, to the sublime, such as really learning about the beauty and history of Africa, as written by people who have lived, worked, and given a part of their lives there.
Go out and buy this book. (Official publication date is May 10, 2011, but the book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com right now.)
LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR NEXT MEETING:
Although there were several more interesting looking books sitting on our conference table, awaiting their turn to be reviewed and discussed, we decided to “table” our reviews of the remaining books until our next meeting. After all, how often do we have a chance to discuss a brand new book with its author, in an intimate setting, over coffee and a snack, and have an opportunity to find from the author not only what is in the book, but also the process that led to its publication?
The TBI Book Nosh book club meets the first Tuesday of every month, at 7:45 pm, either at the TBI Library or the TBI Conference Room, depending on what else is going on at the building. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 3, 2011, at 7:45 pm. We are always looking for a few more members. We welcome all ages, genders, and points of view. Come and join us at our next meeting.
Finally, if there are any other published authors, or authors about to be published, in our TBI family (we know of at least one more), please come to one of out future meetings, and tell us about your book. We promise to pay you back with a snack and some good conversation.
