UU Non-Fiction Readers
UU Non-Fiction Readers are intellectually curious folks who enjoy reading non-fiction, especially books that deepen our understanding of UU principles and beliefs. We generally meet on the third Saturday of each month, at 10:30, in the Kirby Room. We select our reads every 6 months or so from books nominated by group members, and we take turns facilitating discussions. Our meetings are lively and informal.
Please drop in if a particular book interests you; no need to sign up in advance. Participants are responsible for obtaining their own copy of the book; only paperbacks are selected.
For more information, contact Ed Steffes at nonfiction@c3huu.org.
Please drop in if a particular book interests you; no need to sign up in advance. Participants are responsible for obtaining their own copy of the book; only paperbacks are selected.
For more information, contact Ed Steffes at nonfiction@c3huu.org.
The group meets at 10:30 on 3rd Saturdays, Kirby Room (unless otherwise indicated).
2020
- Jan 18 - Leslie Chang. Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China; Leader: Steve M.
- Feb 15 - Francisco Cantu. The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border; Leader: Carolyn H.
- Mar 21 - Nadia Murad. The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight against the Islamic State; Leader: Mary H.
- Apr 18 - Robin DiAngelo & Michael Eric Dyson. White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk about Racism; Leader: Jan P.
- May 16 - Stephen Kinzer. Overthrow: America’s Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq; Leader: Lila B.
- June 20 - Steven Waldman. Sacred Liberty: America’s Long, Bloody and Ongoing Struggle for Religious Liberty; Leader: Ed S.
- Dec - No meeting
Participants select books twice a year, by nominating books and then voting. To control the cost to participants, books must be available in paperback.
Some potential categories include:
Some potential categories include:
- biography/ autobiography/ memoir
- economic justice
- environmental
- health, medical, and end-of-life matters
- history
- interdisciplinary (e.g., history and science)
- religion/spirituality
- travel
- recommended reads from respected sources (for example, the UUA common read, UNC summer read, etc.)
Typical Meeting Structure
- 10-15 minutes for check-in, including “why I am interested in reading non-fiction”
- 70 minutes for facilitated discussion
- 5-10 minutes for administrative issues (e.g, book selection)
- The leader usually sends discussion questions by email in advance.
- Please come with your favorite passage marked. You might have an opportunity to read this passage aloud and explain why you liked it/or what it made you think about.
- Most discussions will end with a go-around, asking everyone for their overall rating of book just discussed. The rating scale is shown below.
| 1 | Disliked, just couldn’t get into this book |
| 2 | Book was OK, but nothing special |
| 3 | Liked the book--it was a good read |
| 4 | Really liked the book |
| 5 | Love the book--it was fabulous |
Meeting Ground Rules
- Let’s keep social discussion for before/after meeting, and stay focused on book during our discussion time
- Let’s share air time equitably
- Come when you can. We want to welcome newcomers, so our membership will remain open. If we grow too large for a good discussion (more than 16 attending regularly), we will look for ways to split into two groups.
Note: Lists are in reverse chronological order.
2019
- Jan 19 - The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. Leader: Jeannie Z.
- Feb 16 - Mir Tamim Ansary. Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World through Islamic Eyes. Leader: Steve M.
- Mar 16 - Barbara Ehrenreich. Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer. Leader: Ivy B.
- Apr 20 - Yuval Noah Harari. Sapiens: A Brief History of Human Kind. Leaders: Carolyn H and Joe S.
- May 18 - Steven Brill. Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America’s Fifty-Year Fall—and Those Fighting to Reverse It. Leader: Ed S.
- Jun 15 - Madeleine Albright. Fascism: A Warning. Leader: Jeff B.
- Jul 20 - Jon Meacham. The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels. Leader: Lila B.
- Aug 17 - John Barry. The Great Influenza:The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History. Leader: Steve M.
- Sep 21 - Susan Quinn. Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady. Leader: Carolyn H.
- Oct 19 - Colin Mayer. Prosperity: Better Business Makes the Greater Good. Leader: Ed S.
- Nov 16 - Elaine Pagels. Why Religion? A Personal Story. Leader: Mike G.
- Dec - No meeting
2018
- Jan 20 - Haidt, Jonathan. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. 2012. Leader: Mike G.
- Feb 17 - Tolan, Sandy. The Lemon Tree. 2007. Leader: Mary H.
- Mar 17 - Coates, Ta-Nehisi. We Were Eight Years in Power. 2017. Leader: Mary L.
- Apr 21 - Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States. 2014. Leader: Carolyn
- May 19 - Woodard, Colin. American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America. 2012. Leader: Laurence
- Jun 16 - Hochschild, Arlie. Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right, A Journey to the Heart of our Political Divide. Leader: Ed
- Jul 21 - Roach, Mary. Gulp. Leader: Mary H.
- Aug 18 - Almond, Steve. Bad Stories. Leader: Jeannie Z.
- * Sept 22 (rescheduled from Sept 15) - Al-Sharif, Manal. Daring to Drive. Leader: Carolyn H.
Oct 20 - Godwin, Peter. When a Crocodile Eats the Sun. Leader: Betsy K. - Nov 17 - Friedman, Thomas L. Thank You for Being Late. Leader: Ed S.
- Dec - TBD
2017
- Jan 21 - Konner, Melvin. Women After All: Sex, Evolution, and the End of Male Supremacy. Leader: Ed
- Feb 18 - Wangari, Maathai. Unbowed: A Memoir. Leader: Jeanne
- Mar 18 - Barber, William. The Third Reconstruction. Leader: Mary
- Apr 15 - Klein, Naomi. This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate. Leader: Ivy
- May 20 - Ford, Martin. The Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future. Leader: Ed
- Jun 17 - McCullough, David. The Wright Brothers. Leader: Steve
- Jul 15 - Wilkinson, Richard, and Kate Pickett. The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Society Stronger. Leader: Lila
- Aug 19 - Muir, Frederic, Editor. Turning Point: Essays on a New Unitarian Universalism. Leader: Carolyn
- Sept 16 - Marshall, Tim. Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain Everything about the World. Leader: Steve
- Oct 21 - Mayer, Jane. Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires behind the Rise of the Radical Right. Leader: Carolyn.
- Nov 18 - Partanen, Anu. The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life. Leader: Jeanne.
- Dec - No meeting
-
2016
- Jan 16 - Coates, Ta-Nehisi. Between the World and Me. Leader: Carolyn
- Feb 20 - Diamond, Jared. The World Until Yesterday. Leader: Steve
- Mar 19 - Cose, Ellis. Bone to Pick: Of Forgiveness, Reconciliation, Reparation and Revenge. Leader: Ivy
- Apr 16 - Milanovic, Branko. The Haves and the Have-Nots: A Brief and Idiosyncratic History of Global Inequality. Leader: Marya
- May 21 - Stevenson, Bryan. Just Mercy. Leader: Lila
- Jun 18 - McCullough, David. The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914. Leader: Laurence
- Jul 16 - Cain, Susan. Quiet. Leader: Judy
- Aug 20 - Boyer, Paul and Stephen Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Social Origins of Witchcraft. Leader: Lila
- Sep 17 - Tribe, Lawrence and Joshua Matz. Uncertain Justice: The Roberts Court and the Constitution. Leader: Kathryn
- Oct 15 - Nawaz, Maajid. Radical: My Journey Out of Islamist Extremism. Leader: Carolyn
- Nov 19 - White, Courtney. Grass, Soil, Hope: A Journey Through Carbon Country. Leader: Jeanne
- Dec - No meeting
2015
- Jan 17 - Harris, Mark. Grave Matters: A Journey through the Modern Funeral Industry to a Natural Way of Burial.
- Feb 21 - Powers, William. Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream.
- Mar 21 - Sommers, Tamler. A Very Bad Wizard: Morality Behind the Curtain.
- Apr 18 - Morris, Jan. Conundrum.
- May 16 - Kolbert, Elizabeth. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
- June 20 - Demick, Barbara. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea.
- July 18 - Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
- Aug 15 - Gawande, Atul. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters at the End of Life.
- Sept 19 - Reston, James. Dogs of God: Columbus, the Inquisition, and the Defeat of the Moors.
- Oct 31 - Marshall, Megan. Margaret Fuller: A New American Life. Leader: Carolyn H.
- Nov 21 - Kurlansky, Mark. Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World. Leader: Steve M.
- Dec 19 - Prothero, Stephen. God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World. Leader: Marya I.