Gravity Music.Books.Art, the bookstore on Route 422 in Exeter near the Burger King, sent me the below press release for a discussion next Friday.

Exeter bookstore hosts theology discussion
EXETER — Gravity Music.Books.Art, 4850 Perkiomen Ave., will host a discussion on "Christians v. Theology" on Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Author Ed Cyzewski will be leading the discussion, which will include such topics as "Is Homosexuality okay or not okay?" "Should we worship with a rock band or with an organ?" and "Can women take a leadership role or should they take a backseat in the service?"
In his new book, "Coffeehouse Theology," Cyzewski, encourages his fellow Christians to engage in a dialog about differences in theology rather than let it cause separation and conflict.
"Theology [should] help us draw near to God and communicating this concept properly needs to be an ongoing task of the church," said Cyzewski. "We should spend our time working together to find a way to agree on the core of the Gospel and leave room for a variety of perspectives while we figure out the particulars of our theologies."
Cyzewski holds a master’s of divinity from Biblical Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, and serves as the chair of the Northshire Nonprofit Network as well as with several ministries and nonprofit organizations in Vermont.
The book discussion is open to the public and does not require prior knowledge of the book.
Gravity Music.Books.Art is a faith-based retail owned by Robert and Cheryl Tyson. After a combined total of 15 years in the mainstream and Christian music industries, Robert and Cheryl identified a growing need for a renewed perspective on faith both within and outside of the Christian "bubble".
For more information, call 610-779-3003 or visit www.gravityonline.com

This posting is thanks to Mercury Online Editor Eileen Faust, who found this Associated Press story about a fun little book about what could be done with all the money spent on the War on Terror thus far.

As of this posting, the war has cost each American at least $1,853.66, according to the site below.

Bring the boys (and girls) back home!

Here's the story:

iPods for all: Other ways to spend Iraq war's $1T

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD
Associated Press Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - When the Sunday morning political pundits began talking last year about the tab for the war in Iraq hitting $1 trillion, Rob Simpson sprang from his couch in indignation.

"Why aren't people outraged about this? Why aren't we hearing about it?" Simpson said. And then it came to him: "Nobody knows what a trillion dollars is."

The amount — $1,000,000,000,000 — was just too big to comprehend.

So Simpson, 51, decided to embark "on an unusual but intriguing research project" to put the dollars and cents of the war into perspective. He hired some assistants and spent 12 months immersed in economic data and crunching numbers.

The result: a slim but heavily annotated paperback released in July (Hyperion Books, $9.95) titled, "What We Could Have Done With the Money: 50 Ways To Spend the Trillion Dollars We've Spent on Iraq."

Simpson is no geopolitical, macro-economic, inside-the-Beltway expert. He's an armchair analyst and creative director for a Knoxville advertising agency, a former radio announcer and music critic in Ontario and a one-time voiceover actor in Cincinnati.

His alternative spending choices reflect his curiosity and wit.

He calculates $1 trillion could pave the entire U.S. interstate highway system with gold — 23.5-karat gold leaf. It could buy every person on the planet an iPod. It could give every high school student in America a free college education. It could pay off every American's credit card. It could buy a Buick for every senior citizen still driving in America.

"As I started exploring, I was really taken aback by some of the things that can be done, both the absurd and the practical," Simpson said.

America could the double the 663,000 cops on the beat for 32 years. It could buy 16.6 million Habitat for Humanity houses, enough for 43 million Americans.

Now imagine investing that $1 trillion in the stock market — perhaps a riskier proposition today than when he finished the book — to make it grow and last longer. He used an accepted long-term return on investment of 9 percent annually, with compounding interest.

The investment approach could pay for 1.9 million additional teachers for America's classrooms, retrain 4 million workers a year or lay a foundation for paying Social Security benefits in 65 years to every child born in America, beginning today.

It's too recent to make Simpson's list, but that $1 trillion could also have paid for the Bush administration's financial bailout plan, with $300 billion to spare.

It might not be enough, however, to pay for the war in Iraq. Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz has recently upped his estimate of the war's cost to $3 trillion.

Simpson created a Web site companion to his book that lets you go virtual shopping with a $1 trillion credit card. Choices range from buying sports franchises to theme parks, from helping disabled veterans to polar bears.

Click on Air Force One, the president's $325 million airplane. The program asks: "Quantity?"

"At one point we couldn't find anybody who actually stuck with it long enough to spend $1 trillion," Simpson said. "It will wear you out."

___

Companion Web site to the book: www.whatwecouldhavedonewiththemoney.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

I don't say this about many books: The Lovely Bones is a great one. It's dark, suspenseful, unforgettable and well-written. And here in the Pottstown-area, we have reason to anticipate the film version, which was filmed in part in nearby Royersford borough (selected for its natural early 70s look) last spring. Until the film is released in 2009, we can occupy ourselves with talk about the book.

I do not however, recommend Sebold's more recent effort, "The Almost Moon." But that's a story for another day.

Below is a book discussion announcement from our rival paper, The Reading Eagle. And, may I say, "The Lovely Bones" is a plenty spooky enough choice for a Halloween week discussion:

Reading Library sets discussion of Sebold's 'The Lovely Bones' Berks County

The Reading Public Library has set two book discussions of Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" for Thursday and Oct. 29.

Both events are free and will take place in the library at 100 S. Fifth St.

On Thursday, there will be a brown bag book discussion from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Participants are invited to bring their own lunch. The library will provide beverages and desert.

On Oct. 29, the book discussion will take place from 7 to 8 p.m.

Registration is required. To sign up, call 610-655-6355 or stop by the library's reference desk.

(And I'm not talking about The Mercury's two Pulitzer Prize winners, Tom Kelly and Tom Hylton). Here's a story on an upcoming presentation from a more recent Pulitzer winner written by our sister paper, The Lansdale Reporter:
(note, the event will be simulcast to MCCC's Pottstown campus)

Pulitzer-prize writer to speak at MCCC
By staff, The Reporter 10/20/2008

Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Hours," will be featured at Montgomery County Community College's annual Writers Conference.

The event is set for Nov. 14-15 in the Science Center Theater, 340 DeKalb Pike, Whitpain.

It also will feature conference workshops by other writers on novel, short story, query letter, poetry, writing for the Web, journalism, comics, romance and literary law.

There will be a hospitality center, an agents panel, and individual appointments with agents.

The Writers Conference will begin Nov. 14, at 3:30 p.m. with a question and answer session with Cunningham for registered attendees.

An hors d'oeuvres reception follows at 5:30 p.m., followed by Cunningham's keynote address at 7:30 p.m.

The recipient of a Whiting Writers Award (1995), a Guggenheim Fellowship (1993), a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1988) and a Michener Fellowship from the University of Iowa (1982), Cunningham is one of the preeminent American writers working today.

His novel "A Home at the End of the World" was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 1990. "Flesh and Blood," another novel, followed in 1995. He received the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel "The Hours."

He has written one nonfiction book, "Land's End: A Walk Through Provincetown." He is also the author of "Specimen Days" (June 2005), and his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Paris Review, and other publications.

His story "White Angel" was chosen for Best American Short Stories 1989, and another story, "Mister Brother," appeared in the 2000 O. Henry Collection.

The conference continues on Nov. 15 with individual meetings with publishing agents for pre-registered attendees, a panel discussion on working with an agent, and workshops on the pragmatic issues relating to writing across a range of genres for various markets.

Registration for all Friday and Saturday events costs $85 when postmarked by Oct. 31, or $95 any time after. A discount is available for pre-registered senior citizens, MCCC staff, and Montgomery County Intermediate Unit staff.

An additional discount is available for MCCC and Montgomery County Intermediate Unit students.

Tickets for Cunningham's presentation only on Friday night cost $15. The Friday night presentation will be simulcast to the West Campus in Pottstown.

Additional details are available at www.mc3.edu/writers-conf, by calling the (215) 619-7422 or by e-mailing writersconf@mc3.edu. Conferees may register by mail or online.

Learn more about Cunningham and read some of his work on his Web site

This timely column comes from author and business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, who has penned several business books, including NewRules@Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead (which I blogged about earlier this year) ($13.95, paperback, Prentice Hall Press) and When The Little Things Count: And They Always Count ($13.95, paperback, Marlowe & Co.)

She specializes in business etiquette and communication. Her client list features major organizations worldwide, including Microsoft, Pfizer, Chrysler and Genentech.

If you're tired of the constant political commentary everywhere you go this presidential election year, including work, read on:


With the presidential election in less than four weeks, it can be tempting to get into political discussions at work. What is the harm in admitting who you think should win the election or giving your opinion about post-war Iraq? It is just your opinion after all. Right?

“Yes, it is tempting, but don’t do it!” advises business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter, author of The Power of Positive Confrontation ($14.95 paperback, Marlowe & Co.). “When it comes to politics, people have strong opinions. Political discussions can quickly and easily escalate into arguments, sometimes heated ones. You may say something that insults your co-worker, boss or customer.

Yet, Pachter acknowledges, in today’s super-charged political climate, it is easy to want to know your colleagues’ opinions. But, if you think of the consequences of discussing the following questions, you may not ask them.

1. “Who are you going to vote for?”
Do not ask this question! You may get an answer you did not expect or want. Your opinion of that person can be altered, often negatively, if he or she is not voting for your candidate.

2. “Who do you think won the debate?”
You and your colleague may have very different opinions about who answered the questions effectively or who looked good behind the podium. Arguing the points will usually not resolve them. If a colleague keeps pushing his/her opinion, you can say, “Let’s agree to disagree.”

3. “How can you possibly vote for____?”
Asking this question is not just commenting on the person’s choice, it is putting the person down. Discussions can quickly become ugly after that!

4. “Don’t you think the candidate’s stance on ______ is outrageous?
Using strong negative language to discuss an issue can become fighting words to people. If you want to comment on an issue, a better way to word your disagreement is, “I disagree with the candidate’s position on _____because of_____.”

Others may ask these questions of you to draw you into a political discussion. Remember you don’t have to answer every question asked of you. Quickly excuse yourself or change the topic. You can also be assertive and politely tell the person, “I’m uncomfortable discussing this at work. Let’s get back to business.”

xxx

For a free copy of Pachter's e-newsletter, “Competitive Edge,” call (856) 751-6141 or go to www.pachter.com.