SHL Book Club List of Potential Reads
Updated for JUNE 2017
NEW SECTION: ​List of Interesting Titles that I found in my wanderings on
the Web. If anyone has read (or is willing to read) a book from this list,
please give us feedback on if you would recommend it for our club. AND IF
YOU HAVE ANY INTERESTING TITLES YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADD TO
THIS LIST JUST LET ME KNOW at [email protected]!
An Atheist Stranger in a Strange Religions Land, Selected Writings
from the Bible Belt​ by Herb Silverman (2017).
Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us
About Contentment ​by Phil Zuckerman (2008).
Books by Sam Harris​ (we read his ​Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A
Dialogue​ last year and I was impressed. Here are a list of his other efforts)
1. The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of
Reason ​(2005)
2. Letter to a Christian Nation ​(2006)
3. The Moral Landscape: How Science can determine Human
Values​ (2010)
4. Free Will ​(2012)
5. Lying ​(2013)
6. Waking Up: A guide to Spirituality​ (2014)
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OLD SECTION:
*Note that (#) indicates the number of votes the book received at last
month’s meeting.
SELECTED FOR ​JUNE ​2017 BOOK CLUB READ
(7)​ The Enigma of Reason by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber (4/2017, 408p).
Gilbert Harman of Princeton University said: “​This is a terrific book. The best thing I
have read about human reasoning. It is extremely well written, interesting, and very
enjoyable to read.” To me, that clears one hurdle for published science research. Philip
Johnson-Laird also of Princeton describes how the authors argue that reason aids
cooperation and communication and that “this theory is presented with brilliant insights,
profound scholarship, and entertaining anecdotes.” With these accolades, I am
interested in learning more especially in the present political environment here in the US
where reason is sometimes elusive.
https://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Reason-Hugo-Mercier/dp/0674368304/ref=sr_1_1?s=
books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487698723&sr=1-1&keywords=the+enigma+of+reason
(Available: HC $20.14, Kindle $9.88)
LIST OF BOOKS UNDER CONSIDERATION FOR READING FOR THE REST OF
THIS YEAR:
(7) ​The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events
Happen Every Day by David J. Hand (2014, 289p).​ The renowned statistician David J.
Hand argues that extraordinarily rare events are anything but. In fact, they're
commonplace. Not only that, we should all expect to experience a miracle roughly once
every month.
https://www.amazon.com/Improbability-Principle-Coincidences-Miracles-Events/dp/0374
535000/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472665373&sr=1-1&keywords=the+impro
bability+principle+why+coincidences+miracles+and+rare+events+happen+every+day
(HC $6.26, PB $6.52, Kindle $9.99, Available in Audible)
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(5) ​Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach (2016, 288p).​ An
Amazon Best Book of 2016: This book explores how our soldiers combat their
non-gun-wielding opponents--panic, heat exhaustion, the runs, and more. It will give you
a new appreciation not only for our men and women in uniform, but for the unsung
scientist-soldiers tasked with coming up with ways to keep the “grunts” alive and well. If
you are at all familiar with Roach’s oeuvre, you know her enthusiasm for her subjects is
palpable and infectious. This latest offering is no
exception.​https://www.amazon.com/Grunt-Curious-Science-Humans-War-ebook/dp/B01
6APOD1K/ref=pd_sim_351_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VCWEY3ZD2E4HEK
E2F4R6
(HC $17.27, PB $8.92, Kindle $15.28, Available in Audible)
(5) ​The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee (2016, 608p). ​THE #1
NEW YORK TIMES​ BESTSELLER, A ​New York Times​ Notable Book, A ​Washington
Post​ and ​Seattle Times​ Best Book of the Year, and on Bill Gates list of 2016 books.
Siddhartha Mukherjee weaves science, social history, and personal narrative to tell us
the story of one of the most important conceptual breakthroughs of modern times,
Mukherjee animates the quest to understand human heredity and its surprising
influence on our lives, personalities, identities, fates, and choices. With new gene
editing techniques treading seriously close to the creation of designer humans,
understanding the power of the gene is necessary in these times.
https://www.amazon.com/Gene-Intimate-History-Siddhartha-Mukherjee/dp/1476733503/
ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490138974&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gene+an+inti
mate+history
(HC $20, PB $12.19, Kindle $14.99, Available in Audible)
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(4) ​Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (2007, 336p).​ A national bestseller.
New Yorker staff writer, Malcolm Gladwell writes: “Not offering a self-help book, but
instead mounting a scientific explanation of the limitations of the human imagination and
how it steers us wrong in our search for happiness, Gilbert, a professor of psychology at
Harvard, draws on psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy and behavioral
economics to argue that, just as we err in remembering the past, so we err in imagining
the future.”
https://www.amazon.com/Stumbling-Happiness-Daniel-Gilbert/dp/1400077427/ref=tmm
_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1481033729&sr=1-1
(HC $14.82, PB $12.92, Kindle $11.99, Available in Audible)
(3) ​Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari (2015, 469p). ​New
York Times Bestseller.​ From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of
humanity’s creation and evolution—a #1 international bestseller—that explores the
ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of
what it means to be “human.” From examining the role evolving humans have played in
the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, ​Sapiens​ integrates history and
science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with
contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.
https://www.amazon.com/Sapiens-Humankind-Yuval-Noah-Harari-ebook/dp/B00ICN066
A/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1490144390&sr=1-1&keywords=sapiens+a+brief
+history+of+humankind+by+yuval+noah+harari#customerReviews
(HC $21, PB $15.17, Kindle $16.99, Available in Audible)
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(2) ​Muslim Girl: A Coming of Age by Amani Al-Khatahtbeh (2016, 144p).​ A ​New
York Times​ Editor’s Pick. “It is a blunt observation, reflective of the potent message she
delivers to her readers, a skillful unraveling of the myth of the submissive Muslim
woman and a timely introduction to those other, very American and largely unheard
9/11 kids who bear the destructive burden of that one day, every day.” —​The New York
Times Book Review
https://www.amazon.com/Muslim-Girl-Coming-Amani-Al-Khatahtbeh-ebook/dp/B01HBV
B2KC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1481033301&sr=1-1&keywords=muslim+girl
(HC $10.82, PB $9.64, Kindle $10.99, Available in Audible)
(1) ​The End: What Science and Religion Tell Us about the Apocalypse by Phil
Torres (2016, 288p).​ The author spoke at our Secular Humanist meeting in August,
2016. "In atheism, as in many religious traditions, the end of the world has a special
significance. For us, the goal is to make sure it doesn't happen. Phil Torres' book is a
great start. It's a provocative look at existential risks near and far, and is sure to get
people thinking about these important questions" written by Sean Carroll, theoretical
physicist at Caltech and author of ​The Particle at the End of the Universe​.
https://www.amazon.com/End-Science-Religion-about-Apocalypse/dp/1634310403/ref=
sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474288791&sr=1-1&keywords=phil+torres+the+end
(PB $14.95, Kindle $9.99, Available in Audible)
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(3) ​Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (2014,
354p).​ Named one of the Best Books of the Year by The New York Times • The
Washington Post • The Boston Globe • The Seattle Times • Esquire • Time and multiple
award nonfiction award winner. This is a powerful true story about the potential for
mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix our broken system of justice—from one of
the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.
https://www.amazon.com/Just-Mercy-Story-Justice-Redemption-ebook/dp/B00JYWVYL
Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1477420905&sr=1-1&keywords=just+mercy+by+
bryan+stevenson
(HC $12.17, PB $7.99, Kindle $9.99, Available in Audible)
(2) ​The Good Soldiers by David Finkel (2009, 301p). ​In January 2007, President
George W. Bush announced a new strategy for Iraq. He called it "the surge." Among
those listening were the young, optimistic army infantry soldiers of the 2-16, the
battalion nicknamed the Rangers. Fifteen months later, the soldiers returned home
forever changed. Pulitzer Prize-winning ​Washington Post​ reporter David Finkel was with
them in Baghdad almost every grueling step of the way. In telling the story of these
good soldiers, the heroes and the ruined, David Finkel has also produced an eternal
tale--not just of the Iraq War, but of all wars, for all time.
https://www.amazon.com/Good-Soldiers-David-Finkel-ebook/dp/B00305CYH4/ref=sr_1
_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479737962&sr=1-1&keywords=the+good+soldiers+by+da
vid+finkel
(HC $1.00, PB $8.92, Kindle $15.28, Available in Audible)
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