Welcome!! This book club is very informal! We are all on different levels and come from different backgrounds so hopefully we can all appreciate what it is we are trying to do and participate. The reading list provided is not exclusive, we can add or pass any of them, although I feel strongly that we should begin with Machiavelli's The Prince. It would also be good to have our early selections consist of the works done by those who contributed to concept of the modern Republic and Democracy so that we can better appreciate the literature written or inspired by the events of American History. Having said all that I am going to toss out the recommendation that we read these books following the Prince, and our commentary on the Prince... 1. The Prince by Machiavelli
2. Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
3. Social Contract by Jean Jaques Rousseau
4. The Second Treatise of Government by John Locke
5. Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the US
I would imagine that a month, give or take will be needed to work through each book and to think about what it means and to create some kind of response, whether its about what you liked, did not like, how you hated the book etc or key highlights that really stood out to you. The point is, to create discussion and friendly debate so that we can become sharper in political thought and appreciate the system we have in America and be more educated about how or why our government does what it does.
The nice thing about having this all as a blog is that the discussion does not have to end! It can keep going as long as you wish it while also allowing others to continue. As a bonus, if friends choose to join up even several months after we get going, they can participate in prior discussions as they see fit. Also, its all electronic so if we have a thousand comments, well who cares, its pretty cool as long as we participate. Participation is the next bonus to this type of club, because its a book club via blog on the net, you can do your reading and responses at 2 am and no one cares! In your PJ's? No one cares!!!
Sticking to one text at a time is a good idea because this allows people to acquire the book or find it on the net (many of the them will be on the net in one form or another) a library card might help if your not willing to add to your own personal library. If you want to suggest a book that is awesome, just let us all know!! We just need to make sure we are all reading the same book during the same month so we can comment during a specific window, but like I said, its on the net so if you need more time its cool, your not being graded!
