In January of 2007 I started the Etsy Book Club. Together we read The Wal-Mart Effect, The Perfect Store and Ben & Jerry’s Double Dip: How to Run a Values Led Business and Make Money, Too. After each book we held an online workshop and invited people to the Etsy Labs for a nice long discussion. (We even got the author of The Perfect Store to participate in the workshop discussing his book.)
Then Anda inserted Buckminster Fuller's turgid Critical Path into our reading list, and the book club quietly passed away. Sorry, Bucky! You're getting the boot.
I'm restarting our book club with Yunus's Banker to the Poor. This is a wondrous piece of prose. Many people say "Oh, I know what microcredit is," and leave it at that. Yunus is onto something much, much larger. He does a lot of work that enables people to make a living making things, which is Etsy's biggest goal. What's more, his sentences are candid and clear.
This book has a sequel, the recently-released Creating A World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism. We'll read this next.
Then we'll watch a documentary, Manufactured Landscapes, and read Deep Economy by Bill McKibben. Both of these explore the production of everyday goods. After watching Manufactured Landscapes, you'll never look at a toaster oven the same way again.
During the month we can spark forum posts to share thoughts as we read and gather material for the workshop. This workshop will take place on Thursday, February 28th, at 1pm EST. (We'll try and record it for anyone who can't make it, too.)
Here's the calendar so far:
February: Banker to the Poor & Creating a World Without Poverty
March: Manufactured Landscapes (DVD), Deep Economy
April: Please post your suggestions in the comments
You can order the books from Powell's, Amazon, anywhere else, or borrow from your local library. If you want to participate in this month's book club, you'll need to get 'em quickly!
