Plan for "great reads" without needing to read a single book!

Book Selections for the

 

2016 Urban Engagement Book Club

The Third Thursday of Each Month

CitySquare Opportunity Center

                             1610 S Malcolm X Blvd.
                                  Dallas, TX 75226

January -- Broke, USA From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. - How the Working Poor Became Big Business by Gary Rivlin

February -- Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption - by Bryan Stevenson

March -- Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

April -- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

May -- Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning) by Dr. Marion Nestle

June -- Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado

July -- Strength to Love by Martin Luther King Jr

August -- Under the Affluence: Shaming the Poor, Praising the Rich and Sacrificing the Future of America (City Lights Open Media) by Tim Wise  

September -- Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education by Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica 

October -- All You Can Eat: How Hungry is America? by Joel Berg 

November -- Latino America: How America’s Most Dynamic Population is Poised to Transform the Politics of the Nation by Matt Barreto and Gary M. Segura 

December -- Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few by Robert B. Reich

 

30 of the very best business books

My friend, Randy Mayeux leads our Urban Engagement Book Club twice each month.  The club sponsored by CitySquare focuses on books dealing with poverty, social justice and community development, and is a part of our overall public policy work.

In Randy's other world he leads the First Friday Book Synopsis that deals with the latest and greatest business books.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of this gold mine of business writing treasure.

To make the occasion, Randy selected the 30 best business books from the many he has presented.  It is more than worth a look!

You can see Randy's list and learn more about the First Friday Book Synopsis here.

Heroic Leadership

Each month CitySquare hosts two sessions of our "Urban Engagement Book Club."  Meeting each month on the first Thursday (Highland Park United Methodist Church) and the third Thursday (First United Methodist Church Dallas) from noon until 1:15 p.m., the groups enjoy a book synopsis and follow on discussion of books relating to urban issues, inner city ministry, public policy, leadership and history.  Randy Mayeux provides an innovative, comprehensive overview of each volume.  Participants receive a couple of pages of key quotes and an outline of the book being considered.  The goal of each session is to make people leave feeling as if they have read the book, whether they have or not!  So, no advanced reading is required. 

Here's a quote from Chris Lowney's great book on leadership drawn from the history of the Jesuits:

…the abilities to innovate, to remain flexible and adapt constantly, to set ambitious goals, to think globally, to move quickly, to take risks. ...I became convinced that their approach to molding innovative, risk-taking, ambitious, flexible global thinkers worked.

Heroic Leadership: Best Practices from a 450-Year-Old Company that Changed the World
Chicago: Loyola Press (2003)
by Chris Lowney

The Grapes of Wrath

CDM's Urban Engagement Book Club for April took a informative look at John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath.

Steinbeck won a Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for his efforts. Not a bad book to be reading in 2009.

Helpful background for Steinbeck's award winning work can be viewed here.

Randy Mayeux is our book synopsis guru and, as usual, he did a masterful job with the book.

The movie trailer for the 1940 film version of the novel is worth watching.



Speaking of our monthly book club, here is a glimpse into that experience. Our meetings create a dedicated space for conversation about important ideas, values and questions related to justice, urban concerns and the struggle of the poor in this nation and around the world. Every month, participants enjoy a simple meal, receive two pages of the key quotes from the book of the month, along with an outline of the contents. We hear a synopsis before engaging in a lively discussion.

If you are in Dallas on the first Thursday of each month, you need to check it out!



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