As we enter 2024, confusion and uncertainty swirl.
Will we preserve our democracy? Is civil war conceivable? What’s in store as the climate crisis deepens? Have identity politics run their course…or just started their run? Will the hallucinations of AI crowd out facts about politics, history, public health…everything? Is “fact” now, in fact, a droll anachronism?
Seattle’s Twists and Turns Society is determined to solve these and other riddles — or at least share good books, exotic cocktails, and hearty laughs while trying. The Society will meet monthly at the home of a member with exquisite taste in interior design (or, failing that, minimally a working furnace or heat pump).
Our titles will span history, sociology, political science, and occasionally historical fiction and memoir — whatever we think can throw clarifying light on our world in all its buzzing, confounding, yet still beautiful complexity.
Over time we hope the Society will expand to encompass a large number of good-hearted, free-thinking souls able to gracefully challenge themselves — and each other. As Voltaire said, "Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."
Society Specifics
How we roll
Gatherings are the second Thursday of each month, typically at the home of a member.
The timeframe is 7:00 to roughly 9:00, allowing time for both socializing/community-building and rich discussion of the book.
Attendees bring drink, appetizers, and other light fare to fuel convivial mingling.
Each gathering involves a somewhat different mix of people based on individual interests and schedules.
The Twists & Turns Society prizes people of diverse backgrounds and opinions. At the start, we assume most participants will be friends (or friends of friends) of the founders. But ultimately we hope to go wider.
To express interest, email info at twistsandturns dot org
Discussions will be capped at 10 to 12 people so everyone can meaningfully contribute. If there's especially strong interest in a particular title, we may convene a second gathering that month.
Members needn't come to every gathering. Come always...or come occasionally — it's up to you.
If you attend, please completely read the book.
One attendee at each gathering assumes the role of facilitator, reading the book extra-closely, doing supplemental research, and guiding a rigorous, inclusive discussion that honors the book and the time people invest in reading it.
Our next book
(Thursday, August 15, 2024)
Location will be shared by email.
“A great book. You just feel like you’re there in Chicago in 1860, which was an interesting place and an unbelievably interesting event. I highly recommend it.” — David Axelrod
The vivid, behind-the-scenes story of perhaps the most consequential political moment in American history—Abraham Lincoln’s history-changing nomination to the lead the Republican Party in the 1860 presidential election.
As the Republican National Convention opened in mid-May 1860 in Chicago, powerful New York Senator William Seward was the overwhelming favorite for the presidential nomination, with notables like Salmon Chase and Edward Bates in the running. Few thought Lincoln stood a chance.
From smoky hotel rooms, to night marches by the militant young Wide Awakes, to fiery floor speeches at the giant convention center called The Wigwam, historian Edward Achorn portrays a contentious political climate out of which the seemingly impossible long shot prevailed, to the nation’s lasting benefit. Atmospheric and original, The Lincoln Miracle is essential reading for all who wonder about the positive potential in political crisis.
Books under consideration for coming months:
Curated for You