BookTalk.org

OFFICIAL POLL: Help select our NON-FICTION book for Oct., Nov. & Dec. 2021

The simple rules...

Only vote if you will participate.
Please only vote if you actually plan to participate in the next NON-FICTION book discussion. We're not looking for your opinion of which book looks the most interesting. We're wondering which book or books you will actually read and talk about with us.

Vote for as many books as you like.
There are a total of 9 great choices in this poll. Please vote for ALL books in this poll you are interested in reading and discussing with us as a group. We'll read the one or possibly two books with the most votes so please don't vote for just 1 book if there is more than 1 book that you would enjoy reading and discussing.

Share your thoughts on why you voted the way you voted.
After casting your vote please feel free to make a post explaining why you voted the way you did. You just might influence other members to change their votes so please sell us on your choice. This is an optional step but quite helpful so please consider it.

Now here are your 9 choices...

BOOK 1: Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker

BOOK 2: The Bonobo and the Atheist: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates by Frans de Waal

BOOK 3: Can Democracy Survive Global Capitalism? by Helen Pluckrose & Robert Kuttner

BOOK 4: Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis by Jared Diamond

BOOK 5: The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower by Michael Pillsbury

BOOK 6: Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal

BOOK 7: The Human Cosmos: Civilization and the Stars by Jo Marchant

BOOK 8: Believing Is Seeing: A Physicist Explains How Science Shattered His Atheism and Revealed the Necessity of Faith by Michael Guillen, PhD

BOOK 9: Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief by Francis S. Collins

I’ve changed one of my votes to Language of God. It looks like it might be a fun book to discuss. I would expect to see Collins resort to various logical fallacies to bolster his argument for the existence of God. But who knows?

I'm thinking the same thing, Geo. But I do like LanDroids idea of reading and discussing a book with which we probably disagree. It might lead to book abuse though...

The Human Cosmos: A Secret History of the Stars by Jo Marchant directly addresses my interest in the scientific analysis of mythology. I hope it can be chosen as the selection. This is a really interesting topic, showing how supernatural religion has failed to comprehend the real psychology of spiritual thinking, and how mythology conceals ancient astronomical knowledge. I am currently involved in a range of related discussions and would like to bring those to attention in a booktalk discussion of this book. However, I will be very surprised if this book provides an adequate coverage of the astronomy within Christianity, as this is a subject that remains beset by bullying and intimidation. I like the way this book introduces cosmology as a human pursuit that seeks an integrated explanation of reality. What I call terrestrial cosmology is about human connection to the cosmos, moving away from the recent assertion in astronomy that restricts cosmology to the study of the universe as a whole.

Let's aim to close this poll during the last week of this month. Hopefully we will have a clear winner at that point.

Please help spread the word about this poll. Maybe mention it in your posts in other discussions here on BookTalk.org. We need more votes for sure.

Robert Tulip wrote: I will be very surprised if this book provides an adequate coverage of the astronomy within Christianity, as this is a subject that remains beset by bullying and intimidation. I like the way this book introduces cosmology as a human pursuit that seeks an integrated explanation of reality. What I call terrestrial cosmology is about human connection to the cosmos, moving away from the recent assertion in astronomy that restricts cosmology to the study of the universe as a whole.

I checked the index (my copy came today) and "Jesus" is there, while "Christianity" is not. I look forward to see what Marchant has to say about early astronomy and Christianity. I'm actually more interested in early Pagan views.

As maddening as this may be, I changed my votes to Pinker and Marchant, my original two choices. Mr. P has been advocating Pinker's new book for a couple of months and it would be shame not to discuss it. It's a brand new title, while Marchant's was published last year. I would suggest we do PInker first and Marchant next time. Or discuss both books? What do you guys think?

I read 4-5 at a time, so I am good with 2 selections.

Bump for 'most recent' viewers.

I’ve started reading Jo Marchant’s book, and it’s really good so far. In a brazen attempt to get more people on board, here’s some of the accolades …

A Best Book of 2020 NPR
A Best Book of 2020 The Economist
A Top Ten Best Science Book of 2020 Smithsonian
A Best Science & Technology Book of 2020 Library Journal
A Must-Read Book to Escape the Chaos of 2020 Newsweek
Starred review Booklist
Starred review Publishers Weekly

Plus, a review in The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/ ... -the-stars

geo wrote:I’ve started reading Jo Marchant’s book, and it’s really good so far. In a brazen attempt to get more people on board, here’s some of the accolades …

A Best Book of 2020 NPR
A Best Book of 2020 The Economist
A Top Ten Best Science Book of 2020 Smithsonian
A Best Science & Technology Book of 2020 Library Journal
A Must-Read Book to Escape the Chaos of 2020 Newsweek
Starred review Booklist
Starred review Publishers Weekly

Plus, a review in The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/ ... -the-stars

Thanks Geo. The Guardian review is very positive. It states

"the cosmos is intrinsically bound up with human behaviour, beliefs, art, science, discovery and understanding – a fundamental connection whose recent loss, Marchant argues, is bad news for humans today. The star myths we tell “are not just stories. They’re cultural memories passed through generations for thousands of years.”"

This idea of star myths as cultural memories presents a basic heuristic to interpret ancient and modern culture. The loss of this understanding, as this point explains, creates a social vacuum that needs to be repaired and filled through study of the connection between culture and cosmos. These are major points underpinning my own research, providing an essential academic reference frame. I hope we can agree to this book. I have just bought it.