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NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

Collaborate in choosing our next NON-FICTION book for group discussion within this forum. A minimum of 5 posts is necessary to participate here!
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Chris OConnor

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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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The goal here is to find one topic that most of us seem to like. Then, we'll create a book suggestion thread where only books that fit into that topic or theme will be requested and accepted. We'll then narrow those suggestions down to 3 that appear to be the most popular. Then we'll create a poll.

Hopefully, by picking our topic ahead of time we'll have more people actually participating in the book selection and discussion. Hopefully.

And I think we need to give everyone enough time to order and read their books. Maybe we wrap this thread up today or tomorrow. We have a suggestion thread up for a week. And then a poll thread up for a week to 10 days. By August 10th we should have a book chosen. We can then have this discussion start for Sept. & Oct. If we announce the book by August 10th that gives people some time to order and receive and read the book.

Make sense? Or do you have other suggestions for how to improve this process?
bleachededen

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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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That sounds good to me. I'd be cool with pre-Roman; Greeks, Egyptians, Sumerians, they're all fascinating cultures, and I'm sure many of us have museum experience we could share while we're reading.
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Suzanne

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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Pre Roman history, sounds great to me.
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oblivion

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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Pre-Roman, Hittites, etc would be fine. This could also emcompass religion, which is indeed a major discussion topic here. Religion and ritual in pre-history are fascinating. Something Stonehenge-ish, perhaps? Minoan?
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Chris OConnor

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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Can we get some idea of the pre-Roman topics or time periods you guys like?

We need to pick a topic and start the book suggestion process. As of right now I don't think many people understand the idea of pre-Roman books. Most of us start our ancient civilization studies with the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
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GaryG48
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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Mesopotamia, ancient Iran (which is almost the same thing), Sumeria, Arcadia are a few more pre-Roman civilizations we could find books to read in.

It may be appropriate to pick "Ancient Iran" since the world is now very aware of that region.
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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Chris OConnor wrote:As of right now I don't think many people understand the idea of pre-Roman books.
Yup, that would be me. I'm pretty ingnorant on the topic and am basically relying on others to come up with interesting ideas within the broad topic of "pre Roman".
GaryG48 wrote:Mesopotamia, ancient Iran
Mesopotamia, an ancient Greek term meaning "the land between rivers," is considered to be the cradle of civilization because this is where we find the origins of agriculture, written language, and cities.

http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/

Mesopotamia, this is a great sugesstion.
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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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Some suggestions:
The Greeks and Greek Love by Davidson, a study of homosexuality in ancient Greece?
Origins of Democracy in Ancient Greece
by Kurt A. Raaflaub, Josiah Ober
Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens: Rhetoric, Ideology, and the Power of the People by Josiah Ober
Or, we could start out right at the beginning and read Herodotus.
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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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I definitely believe a topic on Global Perspectives and international relations would be great to discuss due to the many perspectives and backgrounds on the site. To make the discussions even more innovative, a discussion of current events and history could be added. Sorry to break the Salem Witch Trials discussion but even that can be related to an international topic!
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Re: NEW Non-Fiction Book Selection Process - Please Participate!

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I'm game for pre-Roman ideas.
Some ideas on books:
An Imperial Possession by: David Mattingly
Till we have faces by: C.S. Lewis
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by: Edith Hamilton
Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt by: Geraldine Pinch

I also have other ideas, but I thought maybe you could look at these ones. Any are fine with me.
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