Saturday September 20th at 7 p.m.

Tariq Ali reads and discusses The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power
Born and raised in Pakistan, Mr. Ali is a widely published author and film-maker. In his new book, out this week, he describes the way in which American support for corrupt civilian presidents and undemocratic military rulers has been ruinous for Pakistan’s political life throughout its 60 years. At a moment when the United States is openly mounting attacks inside the borderlands of Pakistan, Mr. Ali’s book is both timely and important. It has already been warmly praised in the Washington Post. To read more about Tariq Ali and his work, visit: www.tariqali. org

This event will be held at Pakiza Restaurant, 1026 Coney Island Avenue.
Subway: B/Q to Newkirk Avenue
Food will be served.

And happening right here in beautiful Park Slope:
On Tuesday, September 23rd @ 7:30 p.m.
Mark Lilla reads from (brand new in paperback)
The Stillborn God

Religious passions are again driving world politics. The quest to bring political life under God’s authority has been revived, confounding expectations of a secular future. In this major book, Mark Lilla reveals the sources of this age-old quest – and its surprising role in shaping Western thought.

Making us question what we thought we knew about religion, politics, and the fate of civilizations, Lilla reminds us of the modern West’s unique trajectory and what is required to remain on it.

Mark Lilla is Professor of Humanities and Religion at Columbia University. A noted intellectual historian and frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, he is the author of The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics, and G.B. Vico: The Making of an Anti-Modern.

On Wednesday, September 24th @ 7:30 p.m.
The Modernist Book Group takes on Musil’s
The Confusions of Young Torless

Like his contemporary and rival Sigmund Freud, Robert Musil boldly explored the dark, irrational undercurrents of humanity. Published in 1906 while he was a student, Torless vividly illustrates the crisis of a whole society, where the breakdown of traditional values and the cult of pitiless masculine strength were soon to lead to the cataclysm of the First World War and the rise of fascism. A century later, Musil’s first novel still retains its shocking, prophetic power.

We hope you can join us for what is bound to be a colorful discussion. Copies of the book are available by the register at Community Bookstore – and there’s still time to read it if you’d like to come!

At Old First Reformed Church:

On Thursday, September 25th @ 7:00 p.m.
Elizabeth Royte reads and discusses
Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It
Presented in conjunction with Old First Reformed Church and Park Slope Neighbors

Award-winning investigative journalist – and Park Slope resident – Elizabeth Royte will read from her acclaimed new book, an illuminating albeit distressing look at the people, machines, economies and cultural trends that have made bottled water a $60-billion- a-year phenomenon even as it threatens local control of a natural resource and litters the landscape with plastic waste.

Bottlemania was featured on the front page of the June 15th New York Times Book Review, when it garnered raves from reviewer Lisa Margonelli, and was praised again in a second review by the notoriously hard-to-please Times critic Michiko Kakutani. The Boston Globe called Bottlemania "one of the year’s most influential books."

Ms. Royte will be joined by Jay Simpson, staff attorney at the environmental advocacy group Riverkeeper. Mr. Simpson, who will speak about his work as a member of Riverkeeper’s Watershed Team, investigates and prosecutes Clean Water Act violations, fights sprawl in the Hudson River watershed, and works with community groups to protect our public drinking-water supply.

This event will be held at Old First Reformed Church, on the corner of 7th Avenue and Carroll Street, in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

And our regular groups for October, to keep in mind:

First Wednesday (10/1) @ 7:00: Community Bookstore Knit Night
Third Wednesday (10/15) @ 7:30: Books Without Borders discusses Mafeking Road by Herman Charles Bosman
Fourth Wednesday (10/22) @ 7:30: The Modernist Book Group discusses The Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen