Marko Book Club | August 2022 Pick

Get Your Copy and Join the Discussion

First off, I want to thank everyone who read last month’s book In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong by Amin Maalouf — and a special thanks to those of you who joined our first live book club discussion on Zoom.

I recorded the discussion and will share the recording soon for all of those who couldn’t make the live call. I’m still trying to figure out the time that works best for our global community of readers. (More on this below).

Now let’s get to the point - the August ‘22 book club pick.

Defining the Marko Book Club

On our Zoom call, I discussed the genesis of the “Marko Book Club.” It’s the name my friends came up with for my never-ending stream of informal book recommendations. But that also makes it hard to define because it’s a reflection of what I like to read.

My taste in books spans from fiction to poetry, futurism to history, the spiritual to stories of deeply flawed humans. I usually read books to learn something new, challenge my own beliefs or expand my horizons. I almost never do beach-reads.

My father has often told me that I need to lighten up a bit and just enjoy life. But I can’t help it - I’m drawn to the Big Questions of existence. Those questions that have been asked over and again for millennia despite the difficulty in arriving at a clear answer.

Therefore trying to define my book club genre can be tricky. There are so many questions to ask, so many places and ideas to explore. But here’s a start.

In the upcoming months, I promise to select books that are:

• Impactful and guaranteed to leave an impression on you or make you think.

• Global in perspective, rotating cultures, authors and continents to expand our understanding of our planet and the people on it.

• Critical of power and prejudice, using books as a jumping off point to hold live discussions around the shared future of our species.

• Authentic, because the path to truth lies through vulnerability and having the courage to share the stories of our flaws and failures is what makes us human.

• Timeless, not just in the classical sense, but also lesser-known books that probe those “Big Questions” of our purpose here on earth.

My book recommendations will always remain free to all subscribers of The Missive and the monthly live book discussion will be hosted on Zoom for paid subscribers.

But the live Zoom call - like all paid membership features - will be available to all subscribers for the next few months. So definitely come to our next live discussion on August 29th for a taste of what’s included in a paid membership.

And the August Book Club pick is…

Just Kids, by Patti Smith. I put out a survey on Instagram asking for you to pick between this book and Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino, and most of you picked Just Kids. But that’s not one of the reasons I picked it. These are:

First, Patti Smith is one of my role models (even though I’m actually not a huge fan of her music) because of her dedication to being an artist, no matter what form that may take. She’s been dubbed the “Poet Laureate of Punk Rock” and now runs an incredible Substack that actually inspired me to create my own.

Secondly, Just Kids is the memoir of her early years as a bohemian artist in New York in the late 60s when she was dating the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Not only do I love memoirs, but I’m trying to write about my own formative years. What I like about this book is that it leads right up to her period of fame, but doesn’t cross into it (similarly to Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime). And there’s something intimate and intriguing about discovering who she was before she was famous.

Third, I haven’t read it yet. One of my creative challenges is to step further into flow. That is, picking books I haven’t read yet rather than just recommending my favorites. And while I promise that we definitely will read Trick Mirror soon, I didn’t want to recommend two books of non-fiction essays back to back. So get a copy of both books if you wish, but this month we will be reading Just Kids.

Get your copy here and check out previous Marko Book Club picks on my Amazon Store. Take a photo of you with your book, tag me on Instagram and I’ll repost!

And if you know someone who would like to join our book clubs, please share The Missive by clicking the following button!

LIVE ZOOM DISCUSSION: AUGUST 29

I’m trying to figure out the best time for our next call. Please add your input to the following survey and keep your eyes out for an email announcing the final date / time.

Happy reading! Add your comments below or reply directly to this email to get into my inbox.

Cheers,

Marko