Book Club

[Shirley MacLaine]

Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer is a non-fiction book that goes in depth into murders that took place in an FLDS cult.

I read this on a plane a few years ago and IIRC was really into it. I would definitely be into rereading it.

[gracelesstraitor]

I love this idea. What about The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs? He decided to follow every rule in the Old Testament for a year. His wife was unamused.

[NeonJungle]

Man, I cannot third enough the recommendation of "Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith." It is a great, though disturbing, read.

ETA, another book that just came to mind, "Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life:"

http://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Over-Womans-Escape-Amish/dp/006052992X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1359334023&sr=8-6&keywords=crossing+over

[Izzybee]

I'd love to join in too. There are some other polygamy books that are good reads - shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer and Favorite Wife by Susan Ray-Schmidt are two women who were married to the same man and make for an interesting read.

[dawbs]

to add one more non-fiction suggestion, I've been 15 pages into "in the land of Believers" by Gina Welch for like 6 months...It is interesting but I've been busy :oops:

http://www.amazon.com/Land-Believers-Ou ... +believers

[NeonJungle]

Oh! Those both sound great!

"The 19th Wife" is a fiction book about LDS in its early days, but from what I understand is based on biographical events.

Another one that might be a good non-fic read based on Dawbs' recommendation is "Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party:"

http://www.amazon.com/Republican-Gomorrah-Inside-Movement-Shattered/dp/B004P5OPAM

Or the book by Francis Schaeffer's son Frank Schaeffer:

"Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back:"

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-God-Helped-Religious-Almost/dp/0306817500/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359338535&sr=1-1&keywords=frank+schaffer

ETA, one more. I love Barbara Brown Taylor's books, and this one was poignant to read (especially as a cradle Episcopalian):

http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Church-A-Memoir-Faith/dp/0060872632

And eta yet again! Someone stop me.

"Was America Founded as a Christian Nation? A Historical Introduction" by John Fea.

http://www.amazon.com/Was-America-Founded-Christian-Nation/dp/0664235042/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359338862&sr=8-1&keywords=was+america+founded+as+a+christian+nation

[dawbs]

Frank Schaffer's books are on my "Things I should buy w/ my amazon cards from Christmas" list.

[Boogalou]

I think a month per book would be good. Although if it were two weeks per book and the list and schedule was posted ahead of time that would be good because then people could just do every other book or something. All those books sound really interesting, a few I have read before, so I am kind of excited for this!

[Bethella]

Okay, Curious is going to create a poll for us so we can vote on which books we want to read. Deadline for suggestions will 5:00 pm EST on Tuesday January 29th (at least this round) at which point I'll submit them to Curious.

[Shirley MacLaine]

Okay, Curious is going to create a poll for us so we can vote on which books we want to read. Deadline for suggestions will 5:00 pm EST on Tuesday January 29th (at least this round) at which point I'll submit them to Curious.

Cool. Is there a way to do a poll where you select all that you'd be interested in on this site? And then we'd pick the most popular one? Because it would be hard to pick just one!

[BlondeAgent007]

i think 2 books a month with a predetermined list is a good option. Then people can pick and choose which ones to read. At least then, if there was one you didn't particularly want to read, you still have a choice for the month. If a person reads the book at a later time and wants to discuss it, they could always pull the thread on that book up again.

[NeonJungle]

i think 2 books a month with a predetermined list is a good option. Then people can pick and choose which ones to read. At least then, if there was one you didn't particularly want to read, you still have a choice for the month. If a person reads the book at a later time and wants to discuss it, they could always pull the thread on that book up again.

This is a great idea. I'm in for however it is decided.

[Bethella]

Cool. Is there a way to do a poll where you select all that you'd be interested in on this site? And then we'd pick the most popular one? Because it would be hard to pick just one!

I don't know since regular members can't do polls. But I intend to ask Curious if she can set it up so people can vote for more than one book. What I'm kind of hoping for is to have people vote and any book that gets more that say 5 or 10 votes (depending on how many people actually vote) will get put on the schedule for sometime in the future.

[NerdyHil]

I'd love to join in too. There are some other polygamy books that are good reads - shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer and Favorite Wife by Susan Ray-Schmidt are two women who were married to the same man and make for an interesting read.

"His Favorite Wife" is excellent. The author did a signing at the bookstore I worked at a few years ago. I had to keep my nine million questions about her life down to a dull roar. She was super nice. I'm really excited to be part of this book club. Thanks for thinking of this!

[StacyW]

Would anyone be interested in scheduling a google plus hangout to discuss each book? I guess it would be hard to pick a time that works for everyone, but I think it would be fun to try.

[Bethella]

Curious put the poll up under announcements, so go vote!

I wasn't able to start this in the thread, so I just made it an announcement for you guys. It will be easier for people to find that way, anyway. I set it to run for 5 days. You should be able to vote for as many choices as you want and you should also be able to change your votes. I also listed all the books in the body of the message here, because it wouldn't let me put in the Non Fiction and Fiction labels without making those options in the poll. If you need anything else, have someone shoot me a PM :)

Have fun!

Non Fiction:

Escape by Carolyn Jessop

A Stolen Life by Jacyee Dugard

Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce

In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language and a Culture by Alister McGrath

The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright

Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krackauer

Dating Jesus by Susan Campbell

Jesus Girl by Hannah Faith Notess

Unorthodoxy by Deborah Feldman

Daughter of the Saints: Growing Up in Polygamy by Dorothy Allred Solomon

The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally As Possible by AJ Jacobs

Crossing Over: One Woman's Escape from Amish Life by Ruth Irene Garrett

Shattered Dreams by Irene Spencer

Favorite Wife by Susan Ray-Schmidt

In the Land of Believers by Gina Welch

Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party

Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back by Frank Schaeffer

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor

Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction by John Fea

Fiction:

The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman

The Snares of Death by Kate Charles

Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

[Bethella]

:text-bump:

Remember to vote in the poll before 7:04 pm EST Sunday (TOMORROW!)

[DrPusey]

I voted! I'm pretty much up for any or all of the listed books.

[Bethella]

Cross-posted with the Book Club Poll thread in announcements.

Based on the poll, I've set up the following schedule for the book club (using all books that received at least 10 votes)

March 1: Escape by Carolyn Jessop (15 votes)

March 15: The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally As Possible by AJ Jacobs (14 votes)

April 1: A Stolen Life by Jacyee Dugard (13 votes)

April 15: Quiverfull by Kathryn Joyce (13 votes)

May 1: Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright (13 votes)

May 15: Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back by Frank Schaeffer (11 votes)

June 1: In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How it Changed a Nation, a Language and a Culture by Alister McGrath (10 votes)

June 15: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by John Krackauer (10 votes)

July 1: Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?: A Historical Introduction by John Fea (10 votes)

July 15: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (10 votes)

[treemom]

Awesome. I actually have a lot of those books, and read some so I might be able to participate more than I thought.

[laura oz]

Dang, I missed the vote. Fortunately I really liked a lot of those and look forward to reading them again. My inner nerd is squealing in joy right now :D

[Bethella]

Dang, I missed the vote. Fortunately I really liked a lot of those and look forward to reading them again. My inner nerd is squealing in joy right now :D

Just remember that we'll be doing another poll once we get through these books, so you can make your suggestions and vote then. :)

[Gertie]

I just realized this thread exists, and the book list really excites me. I'm definitely in! (Though not sure if I'll manage 2/month.)

Let me just check if I understand this right: we read the book by the date given, and then there will be a discussion (in this thread? Will each book have its own thread?)

ETA I'm in a different time zone from most of you so I won't be too useful at "live" discussions...

[DrPusey]

I just picked up Escape at the library and am ready to read. :)

[Bethella]

I just realized this thread exists, and the book list really excites me. I'm definitely in! (Though not sure if I'll manage 2/month.)

Let me just check if I understand this right: we read the book by the date given, and then there will be a discussion (in this thread? Will each book have its own thread?)

ETA I'm in a different time zone from most of you so I won't be too useful at "live" discussions...

Yes, I intend to start a new thread for each book on either the 1st or the 15th of each month (it may end up being put up the day before depending on my schedule/internet access). The nice thing about the forum is that it will let us have an asynchronous discussion, so just post whenever you can. :) Since the discussion will be on the board, if you don't get the book finished in time you can just bump it up to the top of the list to re-start the discussion. Also- one of the reasons I went with two a month was so that if someone doesn't want to read one of the books (or can't get a hold of a copy) they don't have to skip an entire month.