Book Club by Leftist-Progressive Night Out!

Welcome to the Leftist-Progressive Book Club at Night! For our next meeting, we'll be discussing the book

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? Our economy is rooted in scarcity, competition, and the hoarding of resources, and we have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love. Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival. As Kimmerer explains, “Serviceberries show us another model, one based upon reciprocity, where wealth comes from the quality of your relationships, not from the illusion of self-sufficiency

As Elizabeth Gilbert writes, Robin Wall Kimmerer is “a great teacher, and her words are a hymn of love to the world.” The Serviceberry is an antidote to the broken relationships and misguided goals of our times
nd a reminder that “hoarding won’t save us, all flourishing is mutual

Robin Wall Kimmerer is donating her advance payments from this book as a reciprocal gift, back to the land, for land protection, restoration, and justice

This is a meeting for anyone interested in this book by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Read and discuss, or if you haven't read it yet, come hang out with like-minded people and get the cliff-notes! This bookstore has amazing Turkish desserts, coffee/tea/espresso, sandwiches, and other dishes available for purchase. Come hungry for good food and great conversation

How to find us: We will have a table in the back, behind the cafe counter. You can tell the cashier at the register you are here for the meetup group, and they will point you in the right directio

The Book Club by Leftist-Progressive Night Out is a space for thoughtful discussions on leftist and leftist-adjacent books, or any other books that we find interesting. Whether you’re a longtime reader of progressive literature or you just want to discuss some interesting books, this is the place to engage with great stories, big questions and good compan

☕ Drinks & snacks available for purcha