We will continue to meet on the last Thursday of every month. Here is the list of books for June, July, August, and September. Watch for more information. A more detailed introduction to each book: HERE
June: Joy Harjo, Catching the Light [Yale University Press, 2022]
Discussion: Thursday June 29 @ 7pm
We have decided to continue reading meditations from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer as we read the reflections by Joy Harjo. Both write insightfully and elegantly about how they have integrated their indigenous cultural perspectives with the expectations of the wider American scientific and literary communities.
In 2019 Joy Harjo became the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States and the first Native American to hold that post. In 2022 she received the Academy of American Poets Leadership Award. Catching the Light is a collection of reflections on the meaning of poetry drawn from her 2021 Windham-Campbell Lecture at Yale University.
July: Shelby Van Pelt, Remarkably Bright Creatures [Ecco Press, 2022]
For July we have chosen a novel that is both entertaining and thought-provoking. Part mystery story, part family saga, part meditation on loneliness and friendship, this
novel teaches us to see the world and all creatures differently.
Discussion: Thursday, July 27, @ 7pm
August: Javier Zamora, Solito [Hogarth Press, 2022]
When he was nine years old, Javier Zamora began a three–thousand–mile journey from
his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S.
border. He left behind his beloved aunt and grandparents to reunite with a mother,
who left when he was five, and a father he barely remembers. Traveling alone with a
group of strangers and a “coyote” hired to lead them to safety, Javier expects
his trip to last two short weeks. All he could imagine was rushing into his parents’ arms.He could not foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns,arrests and deceptions that awaited him. A memoir as gripping as it is moving,
Discussion: Thursday, August 24 @ 7pm
September: Nabeel Qureshi, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus [Zondervan Press, 2014, 2018]
Providing an intimate view into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that
Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God. Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family, Qureshi struggled with an inner turmoil that will
challenge Christians, Muslims, and all those who are interested in two of the world’s greatest religions and the quest for truth. Qureshi–with great courage and intimacy–
wrote this book with three major purposes in mind:
· To tear down walls between two of the world’s major religions by giving non-Muslim readers an
insider’s perspective into a Muslim’s heart and mind.
· To equip the reader with facts and knowledge, showing the strength of the case for the gospel contrasted with the case for Islam.
· To portray the immense inner struggle of Muslims grappling with the gospel, including all the sacrifices and doubts that rise up along the way.
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus a story about the transformative grace and mercy of the one true God
Discussion: Thursday, September 28 @ 7pm