
What we’re about
If you have any questions, use Meetup internal communication or contact me via eugenefrominquiry@gmail.com (Preferred).
Books are made better by the conversations that happen about them.
Reading is isolating, unless you talk about the book. Then reading becomes a social experience within a community.
If you liked or did not like a book, and want to hear different thoughts on the book, this is a book club for you.
Want to create a habit of reading? The book club's community will support your drive.
Not sure about what you get out of books, or how to think about books, or how to apply the book's topics? Join the discussions and put your knowledge to the test.
This club primarily hosts non-fiction book club event, and some fiction. The value of the club comes from the discussions, and listening to everyone's views about the book. Everyone's different views. There will be agreement, but disagreement is permitted and encouraged. Everyone's diverse backgrounds will cause everyone to have different approaches to the topic which will elucidate arguments for and against the topic. What matters is how you engage with the information learned in the book and everyone's ideas. To seek out and understand the complexity of the topic.
A Note On Disagreement: Conflict is inevitable. Disagreement is inevitable. People come from different backgrounds, which causes them to interpret information differently. Sparking conflict and disagreement. Although conflict and disagreement cannot be avoided, each individual can choose how they respond to them. Everyone can choose how to fight. Can choose how to disagree. Everyone can make conflict and disagreement productive. Enabling everyone to become better. Disagreement causes a search for more information, for the reasons why others think differently. Which makes everyone more informed, better able to analyze the information. Knowing how to disagreement is a skill that can learned through practice.
There are conditions that are needed to facilitate an honest discussion about the different views everyone has, community guidelines. 1) To enable everyone be heard, everyone is able to speak. Priority goes to those who spoke less. 2) It is acceptable for everyone to err, and disagree. By finding out different information can any individual choose to error correct. For more community guidelines and the event's discussion, see Community Guidelines (Click Here).
The list of books are mostly member suggestions. Every cycle members suggest books, and then poll which books they wish to read. Books are selected for poll rank, and topic diversity. For details about How The Book List Gets Made, Click Here. Page contains the reasons why books are listed, and things to consider when suggesting books.
Club Maintenance:
The club has costs. If you appreciate the event, support the club. Contribute via:
- Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo. Contribute to eugenefrominquiry@gmail.com.
- GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/adabd41c
My blog for book reviews: https://www.inquiryreviews.com/p/about-inquiry.html
Basic Statistics:
Past Events = 140
Book Club Events = 133
Author Appearance = 7
Book Shop Visits = 6
Related Events = 1
Attendance: Average = 11, Standard Deviation = 6
Upcoming events
11
- •Online
The Sirens' Call: Attention Resource by Christopher L. Hayes |Book Club
OnlineFull Title: The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
Suggested by: Jennifer S.
Pages to read: 230
ISBN: 9780593653111 (Originally listed edition)
ISBN: 9780593653128 (Edition Eugene is using)Eugene's review of the book (Blog Link, Click Here)
Community Guidelines (Meetup Link, Click Here)
All Upcoming event (Meetup Link, Click Here)
Forthcoming Similar Events:
1 - Attention - 10/18/2025 = Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre
2 - Resources - 10/25/2025 = The Big Picture: Origins of Life, Meaning, Universe by Sean Carroll
3 - Misuse of Attention - 11/29/2025 = Weapons of Math Destruction: Big Data by Cathy O'Neill
4 - Philosophy - 12/06/2025 = An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David HumeWhile reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book? Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•What is attention?
•What is attentional blindness?
•How is attention a resource?
•How does attention get used?
•What is voluntary attention?
•What in involuntary attention?
•hat is social attention?
•How does new technology get treated?
•What has technology done to attention?
•What is a brand?
•What is a news cycle?
•What happened to Odysseus?
•Would a person do an unpleasant activity or no activity at all?
•What is the problem with boredom?
•How did boredom come to be?
•What is the king’s paradox?
•How is attention addicting?
•What is an infinite entertainment device?
•What is the worth of advertisement?
•How does competition affect the quality of information?
•How has the amount of information affected peoples lives?
•What makes an information processing system useful?
•How did Google change its search engine?
•What kind of conversation is needed for a functioning democracy?Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.
4 attendees - •Online
Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre | Book Club
OnlineSuggested by: Carol H.
Pages to read: 784
ISBN: 9780415278485 (Originally listed edition)
ISBN: 9781982105464 (Edition Eugene is using)Eugene's review of the book (Blog Link, Click Here)
Community Guidelines (Meetup Link, Click Here)
All Upcoming event (Meetup Link, Click Here)
Forthcoming Similar Events:
TBDWhile reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book? Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•What is being?
•What is nothingness?
•What is consciousness?
•What is faith? What is bad faith?
•What is the past?
•What is the future?
•What are the dimensions of the body?
•What is shame?
•What is freedom?Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.
2 attendees - •Online
The Big Picture: Origins of Life, Meaning, Universe by Sean Carroll | Book Club
OnlineFull Title: The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll
Suggested by: Member
Pages to read: 436
ISBN: 9780525954828 (Originally listed edition)
ISBN: 9780698409767 (Edition Eugene is using)Eugene's review of the book (Blog Link, Click Here)
Community Guidelines (Meetup Link, Click Here)
All Upcoming event (Meetup Link, Click Here)
Forthcoming Similar Events:
TBDWhile reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book? Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Can people live forever?
•What is ontology?
•How do people think about the universe?
•What is naturalism?
•What were Galileo Galilei’s insight?
•What is the difference between physics and social sciences?
•What is Laplace’s Demon?
•What is Chaos Theory?
•What is quantum mechanics?
•What do people think of random chance?
•What is the Principle of Sufficient Reason?
•What is the difference between the Bing Bang model, and the Big Bang?
•What does the future of the universe look like?
•How does time function?
•What is Bayesian philosophy?
•What is coarse-graining?
•What are the different types of emergences?
•What is a stable set of beliefs?
•What is cognitive dissonance?
•What is confirmation bias?
•What is the difference between mathematical proofs and legal sufficient evidence?
•What is empiricism?
•How does evolution function?
•What are memories?
•What is consciousness?
•What is panpsychism?
•What is Gobel’s Incompleteness Theorem?
•Is there free will?
•What are the Ten Commandments?Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.
1 attendee - •Online
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie | Book Club
OnlineSuggested by: Book Shop Extra
Pages to read: 572
ISBN: 9780345408778 (Originally listed edition, & Edition Eugene is using)Eugene's review of the book (Blog Link, Click Here)
Community Guidelines (Meetup Link, Click Here)
All Upcoming event (Meetup Link, Click Here)
Forthcoming Similar Events:
TBDWhile reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book? Why do people read this book?
•What are some limitations of the book?
•To whom would you suggest this book?
•Who was Catherine the Great?
•Who is Peter the Great?
•Who was Elizabeth?
•Who are Elizabeth’s parents?
•Why was Elizabeth able to take the throne?
•Why was Elizabeth not able to marry?
•What did Elizabeth think of Catherine?
•What were the features of Elizabeth’s evening balls?
•Who is Peter Ulrick of Holstein?
•What did Catherine think of Russia?
•What did Peter think of Russia?
•How did Sophia become Catherine?
•How did Catherine’s and Peter’s relationship change?
•What happened during the marriage of Catherine and Peter?
•How did Catherine change after Paul was born?
•What threats did Catherine face when Elizabeth was close to death?
•Why did the Count Nikita Panin support Catherine?
•Why did the Gregory Orlov support Catherine?
•Why did the Catherine Dashkova support Catherine?
•How was Catherine treated during the reign of Peter III?
•What policies were enacted during the reign of Peter III?
•How did Catherine take the throne of Russia?
•What happened to Peter III after Catherine took the throne?
•How was Catherine’s succession different than what was expected?
•How did Catherine effect Russian sovereignty?
•How did Catherine effect Russian religion?
•How did Catherine effect Russian army?
•How did Catherine effect Russian navy?
•How did Catherine effect Russian medicine?
•What happened to the Catherine’s imperial allowance?
•What kind of authority did Catherine think was needed in Russia?
•What did Catherine and Voltaire correspond on?
•What did Catherine think of the French Revolution?
•What did Catherine think of Diderot?
•What did Arseniy want for Religion?
•How did Catherine effect serfdom?
•What was Catherine’s love life as empress?
•How did Catherine handle Gregory Orlov?
•Who was Potemkin?
•What were Potemkin villages?
•How did Catherine change Russian laws?
•Did Catherine marry someone after Peter?
•What was Catherine’s relationship with her son, Paul?
•What happened to Paul’s marriage?
•How did rumors change the court of Russia?
•Who is Otto Brümmer?
•How did Brümmer treat Peter?
•Who was Staehlin?
•How did Johanna treat Sophia (Catherine) as a child?
•Who was George Lewis?
•What was Prussia’s status during the 18th century?
•What did Frederick think of Sophia (Catherine)?
•What happened to Ivan VI?
•Who was Bestuzhev?
•What was Johanna’s responsibility in Russia?
•Who is Madame Krause?
•Who were the Chernyshevs?
•What did Catherine think of the treatment of Elendsheim?
•What happened when Catherine wanted to go to Carnival in 1758?
•What was the situation with Khitrovo?
•What was Poland’s political structure?
•How did Catherine effect Poland?
•Why was Poland partitioned?
•How did the Ottoman Empire effect Russia?
•Who are the Cossacks?
•Who was Pugachev?Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.
4 attendees
Past events
246
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