Join The Progressive Book Club

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:25:00 GMT

Dave Eggers, Barbara Kingsolver, Michael Chabon, and other liberal authors who don't write about politics have put together the latest nerd sensation.

The Progressive Book Club, which officially launched Monday, combines the offerings of a traditional book club with the interactive features of an online social network and the ideals of a grass-roots political party.

[The above authors] are among the editorial board members for the new club, which offers a selection of works each month, at discounts from 10 percent to 40 percent, and perhaps up to 80 percent. For most sales, the club will donate $2 on the member's behalf to a range of educational, environmental and other organizations.

We'd have suggested "The Book on Bush" by Eric Alterman and Mark Green, plus "Don't Think of An Elephant" by George Lakoff... but those are pretty dated titles. Sounds like they'll have political books by people like Joe Conason, plus books by the founders of the club and good books with at least some progressive content or message (Watership Down, etc.), with that $2 being the real "progressive part."

What would you recommend?

Via Yahoo! / Photo via Bloomberg

The Prospering Cheaters: Doin' it for the Kids

Emily Farris — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 15:29:00 GMT

Now that Scanner Bryan has wrapped up his charitable act for the year, it's Scanner Emily's turn to do her part (slowly leaving the "we....").

As you know, I play lots of Scrabulous lately to maybe, possibly make up for not doing something else. This has left me somewhat obsessed with Scrabble and also I'm getting pretty good at it.

Before I began spending my days glued to the computer with the loyal Scanner readers, I was a volunteer tutor at 826NYC, a non-profit, after-school drop-in center founded in California (826 Valencia) by Dave Eggers. While 826 helps kids with all of their homework, the main goal of the organization is to support students age 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills.

Great right? A free after-school, drop-in writing lab! Yes! But it costs money to run. That's why I've signed up with my friend Dan (Team: The Prospering Cheaters) for Scrabble for Cheaters. But it costs us every time we cheat. Plus, we're playing with the likes of John Hodgman and John Oliver (The Daily Show) and Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), and frankly we want to kick their asses... while we raise money for the kids, of course. Don't you want The Prospering Cheaters to invent a word in your honor ($500) or maybe just buy an extra vowel ($50)?

[The Prospering Cheaters]

Scanner : dave eggers

Join The Progressive Book Club

The Prospering Cheaters: Doin' it for the Kids