Blog from the Bookstore: The Bookshelf Non-fiction Book Club

We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us. (Winston Churchill)

On the last Thursday evening of most months, a small non-fiction book club meets in The Bookshelf Greenroom. This book club would like to grow!

This month we read the book Walking Home by Ken Greenberg. Greenberg, like many of us, loves eminent urban activist Jane Jacobs. He has a lot of interesting perspectives on how a city should grow organically, cherish its architectural ancestors, and should not be planned with a capital P. We started off by chatting about the case studies in the book for a half-hour or so. Greenberg loves the cultural and architectural diversity of Toronto and New York City very much, as he spent years of his career in both cities.

After familiarizing ourselves with Walking Home, we began talking about some of its principles in the context of Guelph. We all came from different professional backgrounds and have lived in different areas of Canada throughout our lives. In general, people felt that in order for Guelph to reach its fullest potential as a city, we ought to be pro-development in the core of the city while respecting and preserving its architectural and cultural history and limiting sprawl development on the periphery of the city. It was fun applying some of Greenberg's thoughts on urban development to our own city. If you're interested in urban development, I'd highly recommend this book.

Next month we're reading Rick Mercer's newest book, A Nation to Rant About. Come out for a laugh, a rant, a glass of wine, a cup of tea...and to engage with some of the great folks in your community.