If you know me in real life, you might know that I read a lot. At the same time, I don’t often make reading a social activity. I leave my book reviews and takeaways here and there on the Internet, but I rarely seek out a space to consistently read alongside others or nurture conversations on the things that I learn. My excuse is usually that I don’t “have time for conversations” beyond the time set aside for reading (already a luxury!). Sometimes I just assume that it’s hard to come by others who might have the same level of interest and dedication to read through several books with me. So then even if I have always wanted to initiate a book club, the idea always falls through before it’s launched.
Last month, I finally started an informal climate book club for which I’m not asking for any commitment from others. Out of the many books I want to read this year, I’ve taken out 12 books on various themes related to climate change to potentially read with friends. The idea is that I’ll read these in any case, but others who are interested in one or several of these books are more than welcome to join me in the respective month(s). Then if there’s further interest for discussions, we will set up conversations to chat and share our thoughts. There is no official membership, just a “drop-in” mechanism whenever people want and have the time.
The goal is simple: to read and discuss books that explore climate change from different angles—political, cultural, scientific, economic, philosophical, and more. Some will present solutions and pathways forward; others will expose the pervasiveness of the crisis and barriers standing in the way. There is doom and gloom to experience when reading and processing the information we find in these books, but the focus will be on understanding rather than despair. More importantly, discussions will be geared toward action: what can be learned, what ideas are worth pursuing, and how these insights can be applied in concrete ways, whether individually or collectively.
This is my own attempt to push beyond passive learning, which I probably fall back on more often than I want to admit. By making this learning process a collective effort, I hope this community can all gain more insights and momentum by exchanging and compounding perspectives, vetting and deliberating ideas, and synthesizing and converging on actions. So if you are interested, send me a message whenever you want to “drop in”, and the club will always welcome you here (and in the pipe dream circle of idealists too).