Cohousing-L Mailing List: Books about Community (was Re: 5th sacred thing)

[Gretchen Westlight (gren]

Hi -

I read _The Fifth Sacred Thing_ before we joined cohousing, so now I'll
have to re-read it from a new perspective.  I also *love* everything by
Ursula K. LeGuin (hey, we belong to the same food coop! :-); _Four Ways to
Forgiveness_ has some interesting points to make about coping with
conflict and rebuilding a severely fractured society.

But the real reason I'm writing is to recommend _The Dazzle of Day_ by
Molly Gloss (also a Portlander).  Esperanto-speaking Quakers in a 200-year
biosphere space trip -- what a premise!  There are really fantastic things
about community and meetings that have greatly affected how I bring items
to my cohousing group.  I now allow a lot more breathing space and
reflection time when I plan a discussion (I've been taking on a lot of
"special projects" that don't seem to fall under the auspices of any
committee).  Essentially, the elements of Quaker meeting without the
spiritual underlay.  I like the results a lot.  And the book is a great
read even if you're not looking for that kind of inspiration -- fabulous
writing.  Enjoy! 

Any other recommendations about community-oriented novels that might have
some relevance to contemporary cohousing?

- Gretchen

--
gren [at] agora.rdrop.com                       http://www.ogi.edu/~gren/