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Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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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Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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Official Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!Q4 2006 = October, November & DecemberWhy Darwin Matters has been removed from this poll and will be added to a Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll. I'm adding a new book to replace it, which will be Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam by Robert Dreyfuss - suggested by God defiles Reason. If you are one of those members that cast a vote for Why Darwin Matters don't fret! (Now there is a word rarely used!) Just click on the Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll thread and consider voting for it there. Please, also look over the other selections. And ALL members should rethink their votes now that we're adding a new nonfiction choice. Please read these directions BEFORE you vote! How many nonfiction books will we be reading?This poll will select 1 nonfiction book for community discussion. The Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll will select another book. So we're reading a total of 2 nonfiction books where one is of general interest and the other advances issues of importance to freethinkers. Periodically, there will be some overlap of these two sections.How long will the poll stay open?This poll is opening on Thursday, September 14th, 2006 and will be closing on Sunday, September 24th, 2006. This is a total of 10 full days.Since we are making a few changes this poll will stay open several extra days. Be sure to reassign your votes if you feel the need. Let's aim at closing the poll on Tuesday the 26th of September.Who can vote?All active members are invited and encouraged to vote and participate in our book selection process, but please follow these simple rules:Only cast a vote if you have 10 or more posts on our forums. If you don't have at least 10 you should have no problem jumping into some discussion threads and meeting this rather relaxed criterion. You can meet this requirement in one day.Don't vote if you don't plan on participating if your book wins. Again, if you vote for a book and it wins we really hope you participate. You should not be influencing the direction of the community if you're not actively involved.If you vote for a book and it does not win we still hope you read and discuss the winning book with us, but we understand if you opt to not participate. Please try to get involved no matter which book wins, as this is all about education AND entertainment. We can all learn from our book selections and from each other, and reading a book you typically would never have even picked up is a great way to expand your horizons and perspective on life.How do I vote?If you are an active member with 10 or more total posts AND you plan on participating in the Q4 2006 discussion if your chosen book wins THEN you are permitted to cast a total of 3 votes. You can use your three votes however you see fit, which could mean assigning all three votes to just one of the book choices, or distributing the three points over the book choices according to your own interest level for each book. No half-points assigned to books. You should make a brief post to this thread telling everyone how you wish to distribute your three votes.Nothing further needs to be said, but you're welcome and encouraged to be as verbose as you like. Just make it crystal clear how you are voting.It is inevitable that some people will either forget to cast all three votes or will not have read this entire post. They will simply vote on one book. If this happens I will be assigning all three of their votes to the one book they selected. You are permitted to change your vote during the voting period, but not after I close the poll. The poll is closed on the last day of the polling period as stated above.This thread can be used as an open discussion of the books on the poll. You're welcome to try to sell people on a particular book, or dissuade them from another. NOTE:As always, we will need a discussion leader that is willing to be active in the reading and discussion of the winning book. If you are up to the task please let us all know in this forum by making a post and stating your interest in the position.Or, if you are only interested in being the discussion leader if your choice of books wins the poll, you may wait to see if it wins and then let us know of your interest in the forum that is created to discuss that book. But please consider volunteering! Being a discussion leader does not entail being an authority on the subject matter or defending the author's position. You simply need to attempt to stimulate discussion. And here are our NONFICTION book choices for 4th Quarter 2006 (October, November & December). Please read about all books before casting your votes. Think hard about which book will be the most educational, entertaining, and worthy of discussion. May the best book win! Drum roll please... Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 11:56 am
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Chris OConnor

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Re: Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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And these are our nonfiction book choices for Q4 2006. You get a total of 3 points or votes. Assign them however you see fit. * Put 3 votes on 1 book* Put 2 votes on 1 book and the 3rd vote on a 2nd book* Put 1 vote on each of 3 booksBOOK 1 of 4: The Joy of Philosophy: Thinking Thin versus the Passionate Life by Robert C. SolomonSuggested by Dissident HeartBook DescriptionThe Joy of Philosophy is a return to some of the perennial questions of philosophy--questions about the meaning of life; about death and tragedy; about the respective roles of rationality and passion in the good life; about love, compassion, and revenge; about honesty, deception, and betrayal; and about who we are and how we think about who we are.Recapturing the heart-felt confusion and excitement that originally brings us all to philosophy, internationally renowned teacher and lecturer Robert C. Solomon offers both a critique of contemporary philosophy and an invitation to engage in philosophy in a different way. He attempts to save philosophy from itself and its self-imposed diet of thin arguments and logical analysis to recover the richness and complexity of life in thought. Solomon defends the passionate life in contrast to the life of thoughtful contemplation idealized by so many philosophers, attempting to recapture the kind of philosophy that Nietzsche celebrated as a "joyful wisdom." Card catalog description"The Joy of Philosophy is a return to some of the perennial questions of philosophy - questions about the meaning of life; about death and tragedy; about the respective roles of rationality and passion in the good life; about love, compassion, and revenge; about honesty, deception, and betrayal; and about who we are and how we think about who we are."--BOOK JACKET. "Robert C. Solomon offers both a critique of contemporary philosophy and an invitation to engage in philosophy in a different way. Although super-professionalization and a near exclusive emphasis on the thinnest of philosophical formulations have robbed the enduring questions of their visceral power. Solomon attempts to save philosophy from itself and its self-imposed diet of thin arguments and logical analysis to recover the richness and complexity of life in thought."BOOK 2 of 4: How Are We to Live?: Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest by Peter SingerSuggested by lizziebizzieMidwest Book ReviewAs Peter Singer wrote, "The problem is that most people have only the vaguest idea of what it might be to lead an ethical life. They understand ethics as a system of rules forbidding us to do things. They do not grasp it as a basis for thinking about how we are to live. They live largely self-interested lives, not because they were born selfish, but because the alternatives seem awkward, embarrassing, or just plain pointless. They cannot see any way of making an impact on the world, and if they could, why should they bother?The next two book choices are in the next post below... Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 11:58 am
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Chris OConnor

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Re: Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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BOOK 3 of 4: Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael PollanSuggested by MadArchitectFrom BooklistHumans were clearly designed to eat all manner of meats, vegetables, fruits, and grains. But, as Pollan points out, America's farmers have succeeded so wildly that today's fundamental agricultural issue has become how to deal sensibly with overproduction. The result of this surfeit of grain is behemoth corn processors, who have commoditized the Aztecs' sacred grain and developed ways to separate corn into products wholly removed from its original kernels. This excess food and Americans' wealth and rapid-paced lifestyles now yield supersized portions of less-than-nutritious eatables. Pollan contrasts the technologically driven life on an Iowa corn farm's feedlots with the thriving organic farm movement supplying retailers such as Whole Foods. Pollan also addresses issues of vegetarianism and flesh eating, hunting for game, and foraging for mushrooms. Throughout, he takes care to consider all sides of issues, and he avoids jingoistic answers. Although much of this subject has been treated elsewhere, Pollan's easy writing style and unique approach freshen this contemporary debate. Mark KnoblauchCopyright
funda62

Re: Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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2 votes for Devil's Game1 vote for Omnivore's DilemmaYou'll need to reassign your Why Darwin Matters vote to one of the 4 choices, one of which is replacing Why Darwin Matters. And we now have a Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll to which Why Darwin Matters has been moved. Edited to reassign two votes to Devil's Game. Edited by: funda62 at: 9/16/06 3:08 pm
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Re: Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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2 votes for the Omnivore's Delimma1 vote for How Are We To Live Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 12:04 pm
tomiichi

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3 votes for Omnivore's Dilemma.Is the last book going to be put on a different freethinker poll?Yes, I've been sold on the idea. I'm creating that poll right now. You will see it below this thread. Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 12:05 pm
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The Joy of Philosophy: 2 votes.How Are We To Live: 1 vote.It will be a joy to argue with Singer again. I remember how much fun I had arguing with his views on animal rights back in my college days. Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 12:15 pm
tomiichi

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I know this isn't my job, but since I was adding up the votes so I could see where we were, I decided to post the results so far.2 - The Joy of Philosophy2 - How Are We to Live?6 - Omnivore's Dilemma2 - Why Darwin Matters Moved from this poll to the Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll.Thanks for tallying the votes! I appreciate the help. Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 12:17 pm
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Chris OConnor

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Re: Q4 2006 Nonfiction Book Poll!

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Why Darwin Matters will be removed from this poll and added to the new Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll thread.Assuming the below tally is correct we have 2 points assigned to Why Darwin Matters that will need to be reassigned to one of the remaining 3 nonfiction books. If you voted from Why Darwin Matters please quickly reassign your votes and then visit the new Q4 2006 Freethinker Book Poll and cast your votes in that poll. Check out the other books too. 2 - The Joy of Philosophy2 - How Are We to Live?6 - Omnivore's Dilemma2 - Why Darwin Matters Go back up to the top posts and see that we've added a replacement for Why Darwin Matters! Edited by: Chris OConnor  at: 9/15/06 12:20 pm
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How are we to live -- 2 Omnivores dilemma -- 1 "All beings are the owners of their deeds, the heirs to their deeds." Loricat's Book NookCelebrating the Absurd
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