Circle of Friends Book Club
Next bookclub meeting: Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at 7 pm at the Bahá’í Center. All are welcome. We will be discussing The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, both by Colson Whitehead.
The Circle of Friends Book Club is one of the many groups that are meeting at the Baha’i Center of Washtenaw County. Dedicated to exploring books of all sorts, the group meets on the second Wednesday of every month from 7-9 pm. Both Baha’is and non-Baha’is are welcome at bookclub. Please join us for lively conversation, new information about books, and exchange of ideas in a comfortable small group atmosphere. Come and enjoy light snacks and lots of laughter too!
A detailed outline of the results of our consultation is available from bookclub members or by emailing circleoffriendsbooks@gmail.com. Please come and join us at any bookclub meeting!
Visit the event calendar for more info on upcoming book club dates.
Past Book Club Meeting summaries
- Circle of Friends Book Club meeting summary for January 2020
January 8, 2020
At our January meeting, members decided to continue our discussion of Reading Lolita in Tehran before moving on to any other topic. The discussion centered on current events as illustrative of what was experienced by the common people in the book, and similarities and differences in those experiences in Iran and in the United States. There was also a general discussion of the trauma experienced by those subject to war and upheaval.
Members then decided to offer the Prayer for America, and some devotions for peace. (more…)
- Circle of Friends Book Club meeting summary for December 2019
December 18, 2019
We were lucky enough last month to have two new attendees with personal knowledge of Iran, so we spent the majority of our discussion on background and the portrayal of Iran in the book Reading Lolita in Tehran. There were many issues raised and the information gave a more in-depth context to what was presented in the book.
The discussion was mostly about Tehran, because that was the focus of the book. It was wide-ranging and informative. It also included the role of women in Iranian society and the qualities of a teacher, as portrayed in the book and in general, since there are several educators in the book club. (more…)
- Circle of Friends Book Club meeting summary for November 2019
November 13, 2019
Book club for November was a small group due to weather. All members present read the same book: The Monk of Mokha by Dave Eggers. This nonfiction book follows Mokhtar Alkahanshali, the founder of the Port of Mokha coffee company. In addition to the story of the founder and the coffee company, the book introduces the reader to the history of coffee in Yemen, basic information on coffee processing and quality control, and the role of coffee in society. (more…)
View all past meeting summaries
Past Book Club Selections
Past book club selections have included Racial Healing: A Safe Place to Talk About Race by Sharon E. Davis, W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson and The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan. Selections are chosen by group consensus. There are also meetings that are centered on individual choices brought to share with the group. Club members have been introduced to a wide variety of books of all genres, both fiction and non-fiction. Books brought by individual members to share have included: Monkeys, Myths, and Molecules by Dr. Joe Schwarcz, Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide by Joy-Ann Reid, Race Amity: A Primer on America’s Other Tradition by W.H. Smith and Richard Thomas, and Bahá’í Black Men’s Gathering by Frederick Landry, Harvey McMurray, and Richard Thomas.