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• It's time to start suggesting books for our next fiction and non-fiction book discussions. You'll see the new suggestions threads in the appropriate forums. Tell us what you would like to read and discuss next.

• The live chat with Dr. Frans de Waal will be Thursday, July 30th at 9:00 pm Eastern. Mark your calendars! We'll be discussing book Primates and Philosophers!

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"Brothers Kept Apart"

Christians and Muslims
needlessly kept apart
for the past 1,300 years


New comprehensive study reveals harmony between the essential teachings of the Bible and the Qur’an, without compromising the teachings or damaging the integrity of any verse in either book.


Brothers Kept Apart: Examining the Christian and Islamic religious barriers that have divided Christians and Muslims for over 1,300 years - by Walter Phillips

by Walter Phillips


"The Travelers"

JUST RELEASED!

Young Americans, French hippies, Canadian drug smugglers, home bound Muslim woman, travelers…intertwined lives in Casa Blanca, Morocco.


The Travelers by Delaney Henderson

by Delaney Henderson


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Sacred Hearts: A Novel by Sarah Dunant

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About our online reading group

BookTalk is the Internet's best FREE online reading group!

If you've been searching the Internet for a great online reading group you are aware that there just doesn't seem to be many quality book discussion sites out there. Fortunately, you have found us and I'm confident that you'll soon realize that BookTalk is by far the very best online reading group in the world.

BookTalk started out originally as an in-person book discussion group. Just prior to any real-life group meetings I realized the limitations, complications and risks of creating a reading group that meets in person.


BookTalk is not the typical reading group!

The typical reading group meets once or twice per month either at a public place, like a coffee shop or restaurant, or at a member's personal home. I applaud those reading group owners that have succeeded in creating book discussion groups that meet in person, but I strongly believe what we have here online is far superior to the in-person reading group.

What makes BookTalk better than an in-person reading group?

Thanks for asking this question! With an in-person book club you have all sorts of potential problems that we just don't have to deal with here. Don't get me wrong. There are thousands of small informal book groups throughout the world, and most of them are probably worth investigating and even joining. But the advantages of an online group just can't be ignored.

With an online group you don't have to spend your hard-earned money at restaurants and coffee shops just to have the right to use their building for your group meetings. You also don't have the headache and expense of feeding and cleaning up after a group of people when it's your turn to host the meeting at your home.

And do you really want to invite just anyone into your home? How do you screen these people to weed out the dangerous ones or at least the ones lacking common sense, courtesy and etiquette? Once someone knows where you live you can't click your fingers and make them forget. Are you sure it is safe to have book group meetings in your private home? And how do you ask the new guy with the bad manners and even worse gas to please not come again?

With an online reading group you have no annoying background noises such as screaming children, clanging dishes or rude customers. You can make comments about the book without having to wait your turn, only to realize that some people don't really care what you have to say and will never give you the floor.

The price of gas and the dangers of driving are additional factors. It is far cheaper and safer to enjoy your book discussions in the comfort and safety of your own home. If you do decide to join an in-person group find one close to home and wear a helmet when driving.

And think of how frustrating it could be to save up your energy and enthusiasm for your book only to have one rude member monopolizing the entire once-per-month meeting! You might never get a chance to speak. Our book discussion forums are open 24 hours per day every day and are 100% free. Post what you want - when you want - and reply to whoever or whatever post you feel warrants a reply.

But why BookTalk? ...why not another online reading group?

BookTalk is different in many ways, but the truth is we don't really have much competition. In the 5+ years we've been around I have yet to find another comparable online reading group. And I've been searching! If you know of another quality online reading group please email me and let me know!

So how are we different? We read and discuss nonfiction books for starters. Most book groups specialize in fiction books. And most of our book selections are somewhat academic or of specific appeal to intellectuals. We don't read romance novels, murder mysteries or fantasy books - at least not as a group. Most of our member's read and thoroughly enjoy all sorts of genres including all of the above, but our focus here on BookTalk is books that stimulate discussion, make you think deeply and passionately, and hopefully expand and increase your appreciation, respect and sense of awe for humanity, nature and the cosmos.

BookTalk.org is about learning, sharing and growing intellectually. So we're not for everyone and we don't deny this fact, but if you're looking for the very best online nonfiction reading group in the world you've found it.

As a final note I'll say that you won't find another online reading group that regularly hosts live chat sessions with leading authors and scientists. All members are invited to attend and participate in our live author interviews and chat sessions. You won't be simply a spectator - ask questions and interact directly with our authors in a casual and comfortable online setting.

To get involved just click on the above FORUMS link, create a free ezboard account, and start posting on the forums. There are no catches and no fees. You can even join the discussions bare naked. See, another benefit of an online reading group! Try that at Starbucks.

Welcome to BookTalk!

Recent Topics
» two books on China
by Thomas Hood on Sun Jul 05, 2009 8:24 am

» Please help me find the right book
by Robert Tulip on Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:42 am

» Among credible writers
by green1706 on Sun Jul 05, 2009 3:12 am

» Reading for pleasure! What are you reading now?
by Ashleigh on Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:58 pm

» Favorite/Influential books you read as a teen
by Aussie_Lifter on Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:24 pm

» What is critical thinking?
by Thomas Hood on Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:54 pm

» "Life of Pi" or "Self" by Yann Martel
by Aussie_Lifter on Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:45 pm

» Aussie_Lifter says Hey!
by Aussie_Lifter on Sat Jul 04, 2009 7:32 pm

» Fiction recommendations
by Aussie_Lifter on Sat Jul 04, 2009 6:40 pm

» American Gods Question 4: Adaptation of Old Gods
by Krysondra on Sat Jul 04, 2009 5:38 pm


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Singular Intimacies: Becoming a Doctor at Bellevue by Danielle Ofri

Beyond Success: Redefining the Meaning of Prosperity

The Other Kind of Smart: Simple Ways to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence for Greater Personal Effectiveness and Success by Harvey Deutschendorf

World Famous: How to Give Your Business a Kick-Ass Brand Identity by David Tyreman

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton

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BookTalk.org is a book discussion group, also known as a reading group or book club. We read and talk about non-fiction books, as a group. Live author chats where book group members can interact with and interview authors are common. We often give away free books to our members in book giveaway contests. Our booktalks are open to everybody who enjoys booktalk.  Booktalk is a free online reading group that features quality book reviews, resources for readers and book lovers. Discussing books is our passion. Non-fiction chat, book forum, literature forum, or reading forum. Register a free book club account today. Suggest nonfiction books. Authors and publishers are welcome to plug their books or ask for an author chat or interview.

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BOOKS WE HAVE DISCUSSED
American Gods: A Novel by Neil GaimanPrimates and Philosophers: How Morality Evolved by Frans de WaalThe Enormous Room by E.E. CummingsThe Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar WildeGod Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher HitchensThe Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama Paradise Lost by John Milton Bad Money: Reckless Finance, Failed Politics, and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism by Kevin PhillipsThe Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson BurnettGodless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists by Dan BarkerThe Things They Carried by Tim O'BrienThe Limits of Power: The End of American ExceptionalismLolitaOrlando by Virginia Woolf On Being Certain by Robert A. Burton50 reasons people give for believing in a god by Guy P. HarrisonWalden: Or, Life in the Woods by Henry David ThoreauExile and the Kingdom by Albert CamusOur Inner Ape: A Leading Primatologist Explains Why We Are Who We Are by Frans de WaalYour Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year-History of the Human Body by Neil ShubinNo Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthyThe Age of American Unreason by Susan JacobyTen Theories of Human Nature by Leslie Stevenson & David HabermanHeart of Darkness by Joseph ConradThe Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature by Stephen PinkerA Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled HosseiniThe Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip ZimbardoResponsibility and Judgment by Hannah ArendtInterventions by Noam ChomskyGodless in America by George A. RickerReligious Expression and the American Constitution by Franklyn S. HaimanDeep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Phil McKibbenThe God Delusion by Richard DawkinsThe Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared DiamondThe Woman in the Dunes by Abe KoboEvolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction by Eugenie C. ScottThe Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael PollanI, Claudius : From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 by Robert GravesBreaking The Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. DennettA Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East Peace by David FromkinThe Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NiffeneggerThe End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam HarrisEnder's Game by Orson Scott CardThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark HaddonValue and Virtue in a Godless Universe by Erik J. WielenbergThe March by E. L DoctorowThe Ethical Brain by Michael GazzanigaFreethinkers: A History of American Secularism by Susan JacobyCollapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared DiamondThe Battle for God by Karen ArmstrongThe Future of Life by Edward O. WilsonWhat is Good? The Search for the Best Way to Live by A. C. GraylingCivilization and Its Enemies: The Next Stage of History by Lee HarrisPale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl SaganHow We Believe: Science, Skepticism, and the Search for God by Michael ShermerLooking for Spinoza: Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain by Antonio DamasioLies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al FrankenThe Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt RidleyThe Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature by Stephen PinkerUnweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder by Richard DawkinsAtheism: A Reader edited by S.T. JoshiGlobal Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind From the Big Bang To the 21st Century by Howard BloomThe Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of Nature by Howard BloomGuns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared DiamondThe Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl SaganBury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West by Dee BrownFuture Shock by Alvin Toffler

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