Category Archives: 2014 Selections
The Structure of Shelley’s Frankenstein
During our discussion of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) at our November meeting, most of us agreed that it was a more interesting novel from a literary perspective than we had anticipated. This assessment is amplified by the realization that Shelley … Continue reading
December Selection: Wallace Stegner’s Crossing to Safety
December selection. I have wanted to read more Wallace Stegner, but here’s the short comment from Julie Schumacher that prompted me to choose it for our December reading. She writes, “Writers still the smoldering ashes of their lives in search … Continue reading
November Selection: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
In November we will be reading Frankenstein, a selection by Burk. He provides the following information about his selection: —————————————————————- I have selected Frankenstein by Mary Shelly for our November book discussion. When I arrived back east this summer at … Continue reading
October Selection: Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy
At our October 7 meeting we will discuss Richard Smaby’s selection, Pietra Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. John Wiley & Sons, Second Edition, 2009.
Melville, Moby Dick, and Self-Referential Meaning
Starting at least as long ago as Euclidean Geometry ~300 BC and lasting until the 1930s, there was a generally held assumption amongst scholars that it should be possible, in principle, to build mathematical/logical systems within which any statement constructed … Continue reading
September Selection: Moby Dick
One of our informal traditions has been that the person who selected the book under discussion makes a few comments before the meeting about why they picked the book, and perhaps a few topics and/or questions for everyone to be … Continue reading
RMBC Play: Capitalism and Death
THE TACOMA RETIRED MEN’S BOOK CLUB PRESENTS: CAPITALISM AND DEATH A Play in Three Acts © August 11, 2014, by the following members of the Tacoma’s Retired Men’s Book Club: Burk Ketcham Jim Robbins Neil Bergeson Richard Smaby Ron Boothe … Continue reading
Summer Interlude
We are taking some time off from our regular schedule this August. Some of us are involved in an attempt to write a play as a group project. We are making good progress and will be posting it here to … Continue reading
Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy
At our June 3, 2014 meeting we will discuss Stirling’s selection, Capitalism: A Ghost Story (2014) by Arundhati Roy, published by Haymarket Books. Summary: From the poisoned rivers, barren wells, and clear-cut forests, to the hundreds of thousands of farmers … Continue reading