Thursday, July 24, 2008

Richest Man In Babylon

"Babylon was once the richest city in the world, known for its lavish houses, palaces and huge city walls. It created fertile farmland where once there had been desert through the use of irrigation. But as George Clason notes, it was also the cradle of modern finance: money as the means of exchange, tradeable property titles, promissory notes and all forms of lending and borrowing were all highly developed. Its prosperity continued for centuries because its inhabitants were allowed to make money freely. Even slaves, if they could earn a bit on the side, could eventually buy their way to freedom.

"Babylon's success inspired Clason to write a series of fables which would demonstrate the unchanging principles of finance and wealth-building. They became very popular and were distributed by banks, insurance companies and other employers to teach the benefits of saving and hard work. "The Richest Man in Babylon" was one of these stories, and they were later collected into the inspirational classic we know today." (sited here.)

I look forward to discussing the principles taught in the "Babylonian Fables" discussed in "The Richest Man in Babylon". As you read, think about the fundamental principles being taught and what you feel would help you most. You may find that you already practice some of these principles and if that is true please come prepared to share that with us.

Until Thursday, August 7th, happy reading.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Breaking Dawn discussion anyone?

I just read Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse this summer and am interested in Breaking Dawn. I didn't join in the book group discussion of Eclipse last year because I had not read the first two books and could not read all three that quickly. So, would anyone like to get together and discuss Breaking Dawn? I would be happy to host. How many long should we wait after it comes out to get together and talk about it? Let me know.
Angela

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Let's Discuss

Ok friends, we have a slight problem. This book group is AWESOME! Well . . . when people come and read the books. Now, I'm as guilty as anyone about not finishing that last book on time, but it seems to me that we've had a smaller turnout with fewer people finishing more and more over the last few months. Is this because people were just out of town? Is it because we're having trouble finishing books in just one month? Is it Thursday nights? Is it because we don't have a set format for how exactly to run the group? It's also hard to figure out who will host in the future when we have such sporadic attendance. I am wondering if changes are in order.

So, please give some input here. I'm NOT giving up on the group by any means! I just want to see what can make it work for us.

Would you like to meet every other month? How about an online forum for discussion for those who can't make the meetings? Would more reminders to get the book read be helpful? What do you think?

It's not surprising we need a little bit of an overhaul--do you know we've been going strong for 3 years?? YAY for us!