UPDATE (10/1/14): The second book club meeting is now scheduled for October 7, 2014 at 7pm in East Pyne Seminar Rooom 111.

Good evening everyone,

This past Tuesday eight of us met at Chancellor Green Cafe to discuss the first book club reading, The Alchemist by Paulo Cohelo. We had an entertaining and enlightening conversation about the philosophy (and narcissism) behind the story and are excited to move on to our next reading!

As a group, we made the ambitious decision to attempt to meet once a month, so I propose that our next meeting be Tuesday, October 7th at 7:00pm. Tentatively, we may meet in the same location, but I may reach out closer to the date with a different spot.

We also decided that book selection would, for the time being, work as follows: members will email me with their suggestions and I will pick from among those suggestions, taking into account some of the individual preferences discussed at the meeting. I received a number of great suggestions for the next book and have selected a "winner" along with some runners up. Perhaps we can read one of the runners up next if there is enough interest?

Runners Up:

• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss: Approximately 70 years before the present, the 10-year-old Polish-Jewish Leopold (Leo) Gursky falls in love with his neighbor Alma Mereminski. The two begin a relationship that develops over the course of 10 years. In this time, Leo writes three books that he gives to Alma his little wife since she is the only person whom he deeply cares about. The first book is too realistic and boring, the second one is entirely fiction and unconvincing, and the last book is dedicated to his love: The History of Love. Leo promises he will never love anyone but Alma.
• Wilson by A. Scott Berg ’71: “After dealing with college politicians,” President Woodrow Wilson ‘79 gibed, “I find that the men with whom I am dealing now seem like amateurs.”
• On Such a Full Sea by Professor Chang-Rae Lee:  Sarah mentioned this well-reviewed new novel about a dystopian Baltimore (“B-Mor”) where the main character is a Chinese-American laborer working as a diver in a fish farm.
• The Meaning in Life and Why it Matters by Susan Wolf: The required reading for incoming Princeton freshman (class of 2018)*

October's Book:

• Independence Day by Richard Ford:  Not to be confused with the White House-bombing movie, this novel follows a Princeton real estate agent through the holiday weekend as he visits his ex-wife, his troubled son, his current lover, the tenants of one of his properties, and some clients of his who have been having trouble finding the perfect house. NY Times Review: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/18/books/1995ford-independence.html

While this book wasn't initially my first choice, primarily because there were so many interesting books to chose from, I though it appropriate for a variety of reasons. First, it appears to contain elements of comedy and a lot less philosophy than the Alchemist, while still speaking (perhaps in a depressing way, we shall see) to the "meaning of life." And second, it's about a real estate agent in Princeton and I believe at least three members of the book club (myself included) recently purchased a home in the Princeton area! So I'm hoping this will be an enjoyable and relevant read that will spark interesting conversation in October. The book was suggested by Pat O'Connell, so he will lead the next discussion.

*I may also read Susan Wolf's book, which could add an interesting point of view to Independence Day, The Alchemist, and to the conversation - I encourage others to do so as well. (How's that for homework!)

Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions or timing conflicts. Happy reading and I'll be in touch towards the end of the month with confirmation of the meeting location and time.

Best,

Linsay