Introducing the Digital Book Club
/I love reading! I love reading even more when I am able to discuss the book I am reading with others who have read the book as well. Because of that, I want to start a digital book club!
The goal of this club will be to, 1) keep myself and others accountable to reading each book in a timely manner, 2) generate meaningful discussion around the books being read.
To do this I have created a Facebook group called "Jason Crawford Book Club". I know, I know, super original. The group name will be changed once more people join and someone can come up with a better name than I could think up.
I will most likely be reading non-fiction books, but I am open to any suggestions as long as the books are thought provoking and will lead to good discussion. I will do my best to lay out a realistic reading schedule and come up with weekly primer questions.
So what will the first book be?
"Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl
After hearing this book be recommended for the hundredth time, I thought it was finally time to read it. Here is a short description of the book:
"Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's memoir has riveted generations of readers with its descriptions of life in Nazi death camps and its lessons for spiritual survival. Between 1942 and 1945 Frankl labored in four different camps, including Auschwitz, while his parents, brother, and pregnant wife perished. Based on his own experience and the experiences of others he treated later in his practice, Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful."
If you are interesting in reading this book, here is the plan of attack:
- Join the Facebook group here (if you haven't already)
- Purchase the book to begin reading by July 16th
- Read the book in three weeks:
- Part 1 is ~90 pages, and will be read the first two weeks (or ~6 pages per day)
- Part 2 is ~60 pages, and will be read the third week (or ~7 pages per day)
- Discuss!
Let me know what other books you would like to read in the future, but in the meantime I look forward to reading this book with everyone! Happy reading!
P.S. - Here are the other books I am thinking about reading in the future:
- "Enlightenment Now" by Steven Pinker
- "Principles: Life and Work" by Ray Dalio
- "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
- "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott
- And many more!