HOMES A REFUGEE STORY BY ABU BAKR
Canada Reads 2019 contender
In 2010, the al Rabeeah family left their home in Iraq in hope of a safer life. They moved to Homs, in Syria – just before the Syrian civil war broke out.
Abu Bakr, one of eight children, was ten years old when the violence began on the streets around him: car bombings, attacks on his mosque and school, firebombs late at night. Homes tells of the strange juxtapositions of growing up in a war zone: horrific, unimaginable events punctuated by normalcy – soccer, cousins, video games, friends.
Homes is the remarkable true story of how a young boy emerged from a war zone – and found safety in Canada – with a passion for sharing his story and telling the world what is truly happening in Syria. As told to her by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, writer Winnie Yeung has crafted a heartbreaking, hopeful, and urgently necessary book that provides a window into understanding Syria.
Ed Adams will host November 14th & 28th book club meetings at his home 1042 Oriole Drive, Peterborough, from 2-4pm.
On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity, and Getting Old by Parker J. Palmer – October’s Read
From beloved and bestselling author Parker J. Palmer (Let Your Life Speak, The Courage
to Teach, Healing the Heart of Democracy), comes a beautiful book o
f reflections on what
we can learn as we move closer to “the brink of everything.”
Drawing on eight decades of life — and his career as a writer, teacher, and activist — Palmer explores the questions age raises and the promises it holds. “Old,” he writes, “is just another word for nothing left to lose, a time to dive deep into life, not withdraw to the shallows.”
But this book is not for elders only. It was written to encourage adults of all ages to explore
the way their lives are unfolding. It’s not a how-to-do-it book on aging, but a set of
meditations in prose and poetry that turn the prism on the meaning(s) of one’s life,
refracting new light at every turn.
From beginning to end, the book is laced with humor as well as gravitas — beautifully enhanced by three free downloadable songs from the gifted singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, written in response to themes in the book.
Linda Palmason will host October 10th and October 24th (2-4pm) at her home at 3022 Westridge Boulevard.
The Chicken Qabalah of Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford
The September monthly bookclub will meet on Thursdays, September 12 & 26 from 2-3:30pm at the home of Donna Flotron, 1850 Cherryhill Road #7.
……Dilettante’s Guide to What You DO and Do Not Need to Know to Become a Qabalist. A unique and humorous — and also practical — approach to the increasingly popular study of Qabalah. This is a seriously funny book! Traditional Qabalistic (or Cabalistic, or indeed, Kabbalistic — read this book to find out what the difference is…we know you’ve always wondered) sources tend to be a bit, er dry. DuQuette spices up the Qabalah and makes it come alive, restoring the joy of learning the fundamentals of this admittedly arcane system by using simple amusing anecdotes and metaphors. This account, written psuedepigraphically (fictitiously attributed to a supposed authority), allows DuQuette as Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford to soar to outrageous heights and, when necessary, stand apart from the silliness to highlight the golden eggs of Qabalistic wisdom nested therein.
Sure to be a revelation to those who think that learning about the Qabalah needs to be tedious and serious, DuQuette shows that great truths can be transmitted through the medium of laughter.
ONE STORY, ONE SONG by Richard Wagamese
June’s meeting will be held on June 13, at the home of Gillie Trowbridge, 24 Cricket Place at 2PM. We will be discussing One Story,One Song by Richard Wagamese. As well we will be proposing. books for discussion going forward in September. In One Story, One Song, Richard Wagamese invites readers to accompany him on his travels. His focus is on stories: how they shape us, how they empower us, how they change our lives. Ancient and contemporary, cultural and spiritual, funny and sad, the tales are grouped according to the four Ojibway storytelling principles: balance, harmony, knowledge and intuition. As always, in these pages, the land serves as Wagamese’s guide. And as always, he finds that true home means not only community but conversation— good, straight-hearted talk about important things. We all need to tell our st
ories, he says. Every voice matters.
Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz
April’s meetings will be held at the home of Linda Palmason (3022 Westridge Blvd.) at 2pm on April 11th and 25th. (This book was scheduled for March, but due to difficulties getting books, we’ve postponed it to April. There
will be no bookclub meeting on March 28th. 
This bestselling history of and investigation into human error explores what it means to be wrong, and why homo sapiens tend to tacitly assume (or loudly insist) that they are right about most everything. Kathryn Schulz argues that error is the fundamental human condition and should be celebrated as such. Guiding the reader through the history and psychology of error, from Socrates to Alan Greenspan, Being Wrong may change the way we perceive screw-ups, both of the mammoth and daily variety, forever.
Bill McKibbon says of this book: “Both wise and clever, full of fun and surprise about a topic so central to our lives that we almost never even think about it.”