Staying in for Book Club

This morning I stumbled across the David Suzuki Foundation's Book Club. Put forth by their Community Leadership department, this simple resource provides internet-based reading guides. I found is easy, accessible and helpful. I thought you might like it, too.

This is how the website describes the idea:

Books – those fertile storehouses of ideas – can inspire conversation and debate. They can also move people to action that can change the world. That's why the David Suzuki Foundation has its very own book club, and you can be a part of it – on your own, with a friend, or in a group.

I don't necessarily need to be part of a "club" to read the books, right? I'll think of it as an annotated Amazon list. I can read with the discussion questions in mind, get updated emails about new, thoughtful books out there, and read at my leisure.

It is a little daunting, the idea of reading "to change the world." This is typical David Suzuki foundation language, isn't it? It's not worth doing unless the entire world will be changed. It's noble, don't get me wrong. It's just an exhausting pursuit. Instead, I will read to change my ideas, be more informed and subsequently a more responsible community member. If the world changes, that will be an unexpected bonus.

The first book? Thomas L. Friedman's Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why we need a Green Revolution and how it can renew America. I'm looking forward to it.

Signs of Spring: A Softening

Winter is a weighty burden. The short days, the dry air and the chill compound and press down as we wait. And we wait. We wait until we can wait no longer. And then, quite suddenly, the morning air smells of moist earth and the sparrows resurrect. The cold is being pushed back and, in its place, the warm breezes of Spring are settling in. All of creation lets out a sigh of relief. We almost didn't make it this time.

With Spring comes a softening - and not only within the landscape. As neighbours visit over fences and children stomp in puddles, a spirit of leisure descends. We take the time to walk to the store rather than drive. We choose to read outside, despite the barely-above-freezing temperature. Spring on the horizon. May we be bolstered by this hope growing around us.