Peregrine kate and I were having a conversation a while back, and I casually mentioned that I thought it would be fun to have a MCK group to discuss books; an online book club, of sorts. Here's the thing: never, ever mention something "casually" to Our Kate without expecting her to encourage you to make it happen! So...
...I am proposing a book "club" to begin the week of 19 January. The general outline for our approach, once a book is selected, would be to determine a time/day each week for our book discussion here on DK. This will not be a formal DailyKos or strictly MCK group; folks who are reading the book can just jump in as their time/reading allows. Depending on the book, we can determine how many chapters we will discuss each week, so if you miss a week, it will be easy enough to jump back into the discussion later. I've seen this done quite successfully at Balloon Juice, and if you want to get a flavor of how this works, you can go to that website and search for "book group".
So that's the idea. Now for some specific book suggestions (in no particular order):
The Reactionary Mind: Conservatism from Edmund Burke to Sarah Palin by Corey Robin - from the publisher's blurb:
Written by a keen, highly regarded observer of the contemporary political scene, The Reactionary Mind ranges widely, from Edmund Burke to Antonin Scalia, from John C. Calhoun to Ayn Rand. It advances the notion that all rightwing ideologies, from the eighteenth century through today, are historical improvisations on a theme: the felt experience of having power, seeing it threatened, and trying to win it back.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $8.44 - $26.25.
The ALL NEW Don't Think of an Elephant!: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate by George Lakoff -
In this updated and expanded edition, Lakoff, urges progressives to go beyond the typical laundry list of facts, policies, and programs and present a clear moral vision to the country—one that is traditionally American and can become a guidepost for developing compassionate, effective policy that upholds citizens’ well-being and freedom.
Available in paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $9.99 - $12.21.
The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit, 2nd edition (with updated preface) by Thomas Sugrue -
Once America's "arsenal of democracy," Detroit is now the symbol of the American urban crisis. In this reappraisal of America's racial and economic inequalities, Thomas Sugrue asks why Detroit and other industrial cities have become the sites of persistent racialized poverty. He challenges the conventional wisdom that urban decline is the product of the social programs and racial fissures of the 1960s.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $9.99 - $15.37.
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander -
With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $9.99 - $19.47.
Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa Harris-Perry -
This groundbreaking book brings to light derogatory stereotypes that shape the experiences of African American women, then assesses the emotional and political costs of the struggle to counteract such negative assumptions.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $12.44 - $20.74.
Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power by Rachel Maddow -
Rachel Maddow's Drift argues that we've drifted away from America's original ideals and become a nation weirdly at peace with perpetual war. To understand how we've arrived at such a dangerous place, Maddow takes us from the Vietnam War to today's war in Afghanistan, along the way exploring Reagan's radical presidency, the disturbing rise of executive authority, the gradual outsourcing of our war-making capabilities to private companies, the plummeting percentage of American families whose children fight our constant wars for us, and even the changing fortunes of G.I. Joe. Ultimately, she shows us just how much we stand to lose by allowing the scope of American military power to overpower our political discourse.
Available in hard cover, paperback, Kindle and Nook with prices ranging from $9.99 - $19.04.
If anyone wants to participate but finds the book prices daunting and a library book impractical, please, please please kosmail me so we can work something out. We're Dems...we don't do "poll taxes" of any sort!
And last but not least, if this has enough interest, when should we have our discussions? My suggestion is on Wednesdays, starting at 7:45. That would enable us to participate in the weekly open thread and then jump right into the book discussion (for me, it would have the added benefit that I should actually be home from work by then). Our first discussion thread would be January 21st. If you have a different preference for date and/or time, please add that to your comment. So...who's in?
And as always, this is an open thread.