NEW! Phoenix Skeptic Book Club

Skeptics,

We're excited to announce the Phoenix Skeptic Book Club! The first meetup is in early February, so get your monocles and velvet smoking jackets and join us for an intellectual good time!

At each meetup the group will discuss two books: one in the first hour, the other in the second. We picked books to start off, but we'll be taking suggestions on an ongoing basis. The idea is to pair a skeptical "classic" with a modern science or skepticism hit at each meetup. The organizers will keep the discussion on track. The cost of the meetup is $1 per attendee.

(6:30-7:30)

The Science of Superstition: How the Developing Brain Creates Supernatural Beliefs*, by Bruce Hood (2010). [*Previously titled SuperSense]

From Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Science-Superstition-Developing-Creates-Supernatural/dp/0061452653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324574579&sr=8-1): "In The Science of Superstition, cognitive psychologist Bruce Hood examines the ways in which humans understand the supernatural, revealing what makes us believe in the unbelievable."

It's available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Science-Superstition-Developing-Creates-Supernatural/dp/0061452653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324574579&sr=8-1) in paperback for around $12.

(7:30-8:30)

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan (1997)

From Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark/dp/0345409469/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324574805&sr=1-1): "Carl Sagan muses on the current state of scientific thought, which offers him marvelous opportunities to entertain us with his own childhood experiences, the newspaper morgues, UFO stories, and the assorted flotsam and jetsam of pseudoscience. Along the way he debunks alien abduction, faith-healing, and channeling; refutes the arguments that science destroys spirituality, and provides a "baloney detection kit" for thinking through political, social, religious, and other issues."

It's available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle-Dark/dp/0345409469/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324574805&sr=1-1) in paperback for around $12.

I hope everyone is as excited as we are!

• Matt and Caroline, Organizers