Any interest in reviving the r/collapse Book Club? Starting with A Short History of Progress

Posted by Same_Bug5069@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 35 comments

Noticed it’s been a couple of years since the r/collapse book club was active, so I was thinking maybe it’s time to dust it off.

I was thinking of starting with *A Short History of Progress* by Ronald Wright. Picked up a used copy a while back and it’s been staring at me from the to-read pile...

It’s a short read and a solid fit for this sub; overshoot, ecological limits, progress traps, etc.

If there’s interest, we could set a timeline and do a discussion thread once people have had time to read it. I'm also open to other book suggestions.

Also, I'm not sure if this is the proper way to go about this or if it requires a request to the mods.

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A belated 'I'm In'! Just found a copy. The Massey Lectures are generally v. good. This was published around the same time as those he gave in 2004. I'll make a start next weekend. Skimmed the comments below and not sure how we meet but will keep an eye out for progress. Could suggestion OP

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

Awesome. Yeah, I'm not exactly sure either. I was going to message the mods and see how its been done before because theres an entire book club section thats just beem dormant.

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awolf_alone@reddit

Great book. The documentary was good also. Made me cry. Never regained much hope after that

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

I wasnt aware there was a documentary. I'll check it out, thanks.

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awolf_alone@reddit

It has some great visuals

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NoExternal2732@reddit

I love to read, but this isn't available at my library or through Libby, so maybe next time!*

*if I bring any more physical media into my house I'll get sighs and eye rolls...

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RendezvousSpot@reddit

Internet Archive will let you borrow the e-book free here https://archive.org/details/shorthistoryofpr0000wrig/page/n9/mode/2up

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NorthReading@reddit

The sub-reddits r/Annas_Archive or r/zlibrary might be of use to you.

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Low_Complex_9841@reddit

[ Removed by Reddit ]

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kiwinut@reddit

I'm in! Looking for some good reading!

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InvisibleAstronomer@reddit

It's also 20 years old... Feel like there must be more relevant and modern books on the topic

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Wollff@reddit

Why?

The main problem we had 20 years ago was that we were building an increasingly globalized fossil fuel dependent economy, completely unsustainable in many ways.

The problem today is that we have built a globalized fossil fuel dependent economy, completely unsustainable in many ways.

If anything important had changed in the last 20 years, I would agree. But I don't think anything has changed.

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

It is older but I think the key concepts will remain relevant even if some of the data is dated. I'm also just as happy for people to suggest titles and maybe do a survey.

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dmonkbiz@reddit

These will sound completely like early boomer-type questions (and most likely answer is in Reddit itself), but is there a way to organize it within the sub, allow for polls for people to vote on next reads, etc.?

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dmonkbiz@reddit

Some proposals after researching through Reddit:

Frequency: given the inherent challenge of coordinating schedules (some people might be busier some weeks, others might be busier others), cadence might make sense on a bi-monthly or even quarterly basis (so 3-6 books per year). This will also allow those who are into reading but want to keep their sanity intact to read other books without having to make their whole reading time about collapse. We want to keep ourselves informed but also sane
Hosting: Redditors sign up to be the “host of the month / bi-month / quarter.” Then, we randomly allocate the order of hosting. Hosts are then in charge of providing a book selection list (4-5?). Members of the club then vote and host is responsible for updating the book’s post with some of the comments they find most interest
Topics: To broaden the scope of books that we can read (and because, personally, I’m a huge believer of applying intersectionality even in the context of collapse), books do not need to be inherently linked to collapse - rather, the hosts are responsible for providing a list of books and provide a statement for each on how it can be linked to collapse / current events in a way that sparks debate / critical thinking. Some examples that might illustrate it follow. Example 1: Frantz Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth” - how decolonization plays a role in the forming of resistance to raising techno fascism. Example 2: Lily Bart’s “The House of Mirth” - the increasingly powerful role of capitalism and money as a predictor of collapse survival. I understand this might be a challenge for books we haven’t read, so the host and members can use discretion when bringing up concepts or topics they think can be weaved into the material

Of course, some of these suggestions might be of zero interest to folks and do not want to overshadow OP, but I told my partner about this post and she encouraged me to go ahead and make suggestions because I have bored her to death with the dream of finding like-minded people to share of my thoughts on books I have read.

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NoExternal2732@reddit

To make it simpler, maybe the host just chooses a book? I usually recommend a host pick a reread for themselves, that way they can focus on the discussion...just a thought, so that democracy doesn't trample the free thinkers.

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dmonkbiz@reddit

That’s quite a good suggestion, I like it. We might have something going here

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

Inwas digging through the r/collapse about page in the old book club. Any thoughts on how to use that?

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

Great suggestions

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Same_Bug5069@reddit (OP)

Looks like we have enough interested to get this started.

Let’s make A Short History of Progress our first read and aim to finish by the end of May. That should give everyone enough time to get a copy and read at a comfortable pace.

Do people want to break it up with discussion threads along the way, or just do one big discussion at the end once everyone’s finished?

Also, it looks likes there's a whole book club section in r/collapse about page which I have no clue how to use. Anyone happen to know?

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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StatementBot@reddit

The following submission statement was provided by /u/Same_Bug5069:

Looks like we have enough interested to get this started.

Let’s make A Short History of Progress our first read and aim to finish by the end of May. That should give everyone enough time to get a copy and read at a comfortable pace.

Do people want to break it up with discussion threads along the way, or just do one big discussion at the end once everyone’s finished?

Also, it looks likes there's a whole book club section in r/collapse about page which I have no clue how to use. Anyone happen to know?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1subvpy/any_interest_in_reviving_the_rcollapse_book_club/oi3r1bf/

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