Books & Banter Book Club

Everyone, please join us on Monday, April 6 at 7 p.m. to discuss The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson. | 510pp. Our discussion will focus on ancient Egypt, i.e. the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, and not the final chapters on Greek and Roman Egypt.

In this landmark volume, one of the world’s most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its absorption into the Roman Empire. Drawing upon forty years of archaeological research, award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson takes us inside a tribal society with a pre-monetary economy and decadent, divine kings who ruled with all-too-recognizable human emotions. Here are the legendary leaders: Akhenaten, the “heretic king,” who with his wife Nefertiti brought about a revolution with a bold new religion; Tutankhamun, whose dazzling tomb would remain hidden for three millennia; and eleven pharaohs called Ramesses, the last of whom presided over the militarism, lawlessness, and corruption that caused a political and societal decline. Filled with new information and unique interpretations, The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt is a riveting and revelatory work of wild drama, bold spectacle, unforgettable characters, and sweeping history.

Our meetings have a $3 fee, purely to offset the cost of Meetup. This can be paid via Venmo, Paypal, or in cash.

We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the above fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.

Everyone, please join us on Monday, May 11 at 7 p.m. to discuss The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. | 222pp.

This timeless classic recounting the correspondence between two devils is one of Lewis’s most brilliant imaginative creations and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

“My Dear Wormwood...."? Enter Screwtape, an experienced devil. His nephew Wormwood is just at the start of his career as a tempter and has been assigned to secure the damnation of an ordinary young man who has just become a Christian.? In this slyly humorous exchange, C. S. Lewis delves into moral questions about good and evil, temptation, repentance, and grace.

This is a book for C. S. Lewis fans and anyone who wants to take a deep dive into what it means to be a human. Lewis uses The Screwtape Letters to convey religious concepts like temptation in an understandable way by exploring free will and how it is humanity’s greatest weakness as well as its greatest strength.

Our meetings have a $3 fee, purely to offset the cost of Meetup. This can be paid via Venmo, Paypal, or in cash.

We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the above fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.

Everyone, please join us on Monday, June 22 at 7 p.m. to discuss Discipline And Punish by Michel Foucault. | 309pp.

Discipline and Punish is an analysis of the social and theoretical mechanisms behind the changes that occurred in modern Western penal systems. Foucault argues that prison did not become the principal form of punishment just because of the humanitarian concerns of reformists. He traces the cultural shifts that led to the predominance of prison via discourse on the body and power and by examining the parallel use of discipline in schools, hospitals, and the military.

A long list of other books we are considering reading is available here.

Our meetings have a $3 fee, purely to offset the cost of Meetup. This can be paid via Venmo, Paypal, or in cash.

We do not accept requests from authors to read their books. We will never ask for money beyond the above fee. If you receive offers purporting to come from the club they are part of an online scam.