We Are by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. Book group regulars were intrigued by the pioneering government career of host Margaret Plunkett '27, PhD '30, which included overseas postings as the State Department's first female labor attache. The book itself stirred talk about evolution, human behavior, and the genetic relationships among all living beings. Free-form book talk commonly segues into exchanges about current and cultural events, Cornell news, and everyday social conversation. The group, which includes this writer, encompasses people from a range of colleges and classes.
Members choose books the summer before the program year.
While authors Toni Morrison, MA '55, and Vladimir Nabokov have been featured, Cornell ties are not necessary. The group has also discussed works by John Keegan, Ursula le Guin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Robert M. Pirsig, and Minnesotan Tim O'Brien. Talk is lively around the coffee shop table. Of course, participation is ungraded. And none of the reading is required.