I was at a program yesterday at Piscataway Public Library celebrating National Reading Group Month where I spoke about reading books that deal with issues–social, political, religious–challenging book groups to (maybe) read out of their comfort zone. I’ve attached the bibliography, Something to Talk About! so you can print it off.
I forgot to mention one title that my reading group enjoyed: Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel. Each chapter reviews the work of a different philosopher–Bentham, Mill, Kant, Rawls, Aristotle, and others–and uses their philosophies to examine current social, economic, and political issues. I think a group could have a great time focusing on a few chapters. My book group found it very interesting. There’s also material from Sandel’s Harvard course on the web that provides additional discussion points.
A Reader's Place 
Just to let you know – I included your post today in a round-up of NRGM posts. Thanks for supporting it! http://carolinebookbinder.blogspot.com/2010/10/national-reading-group-month-posts.html
Hey, thanks for participating in the NRGM event.
Barbara at Reading Group Choices and On the Bookcase
Thank you for the list. I just heard about Half the Sky and recommended it to my niece. The Justice book also sounds great – it is on the list for the teenager.
PB