At our Thoughts with Food potluck on January 12, we read the query and came up with the following titles.  They are in the order of how Friends brought them forward.

Ernest Thompson Seton, Two Little Savages.  This is a novel set in the 19th century about woodcraft, with illustrations and insights on nature and human nature.

Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertising.  I learned how advertisers can make you feel bad about yourself in order to sell their products.

Lynne McTaggart, The Power of 8.  The author gives scientific proof of the power of energy and intercessory prayer.

Nancy Ellen Abrams, A God that Could be Real.  God is held up to scientific standards in this book.  It is a history of religion as well as science of the universe.

Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild. This is the story of Chris McCandless who hitchhiked across the country experiencing nature ending up in Alaska.

Sally Field, In Pieces.  The book talks about the long-last wounds of sexual assault.

Grant Achatz and Nick Kokomas, Life on the Line.  The author was a super chef who developed tongue cancer and the book talks about his life changes.

William Arkin, Top Secret America.  This book tells what is really going on with the media and their relationship to President Trump.

Gregory Boyle, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship.  The author, a Jesuit priest, helps former prisoners and gang members.  It is about putting your own ego aside in doing this work to help people on the margins.

Jeff Hobbs, The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace.  This book is about finding out where the home of your spirit is by telling the story of a college-educated African-American man who succumbs to the danger in the streets.

Louise Bachelder, The Understanding Heart.  The author has collected inspiring quotations which are particularly uplifting when you are feeling overwhelmed.

Somerset Maughan, The Razor’s Edge.  The story is of a seeker who finds that even though good works do not necessarily lead to rewards, it is still essential to do them.

Herman Melville, Moby Dick.  Some claim it is one of the greatest novels and one of the characters is a Quaker.

Julia Alekseyeva, Soviet Daughter.  This is a tribute to an intrepid woman who had lived through the horrors of the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s rule as told in graphic novel form by her great granddaughter.   

Yurko Saito, Everyday Aesthetics.  The author helped to found this area of the philosophy of art by considering everyday things like one’s own house, going for a walk, or working in the garden.  It is about beauty.

Esther Forbes, Johnny Trumain.  This is a vivid historical fiction set in the Revolutionary War which strips away the glories of war as the character faces the reality of his friend’s death.

Apostolos Doxiadis & Christos Papadimitriou, Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth.  This graphic novel tries to find a logical structure for everything and then discusses why it doesn’t work.

Harold Weaver, Jr., Paul Kriese, Stephen W. Angell, editors, Black Fire: African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights.  This is an anthology African American writers and poets who were Quakers or had a connection to Quakerism. 

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women who Run with Wolves.  The author uses ancient stories and fables to empower women.