More "Fantasy" Reading

I'm probably progressively overcommitting to book clubs, but I've also recently broached the subject of starting a Chinese cities book club with a few of the other graduate students in my department. I should really call this "fantasy reading" -- kind of like fantasy sports, in that I'm tracking books, but not actually reading them -- because I'm adding this, of course, to my other book clubs, which are all, as of yet, unstarted:

• Zil's and my "Ferdinand Braudel" reading project;
• A proposed urban literature reading group (though in my technocratic, rationalist department, this hasn't gained much traction);
• And my proposed "theological conceptions of the city" reading project. After the 2004 election, I intended to develop some theological language by which to convince red-state people that (a) cities are not inherently evil, even if the Bible says they are; and (b) that they should perhaps consider planning their gated communities that are currently serviced by 22-lane highways and SUVs. (OK, that last part might be a cheap shot, but I'm working on my reasonable tone).

So, my currently proposed books for the Chinese cities book club are:

• China's Urban Transition by John Friedmann
• Retreat of the Elephants, an environmental history of China
• The River Runs Black, by Elizabeth Economy, a contemporary book on Chinese environmental issues
• China’s Past, China’s Future by Vaclav Smil
• The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence

OK, so perhaps my list is itself somewhat technocratic and rationalist, but it is highly focused on the inexorable impact of China on the world environment. 25% of the air pollution in Los Angeles now comes from China! Even Bible-thumping, city-hating people in red states should care about this.

Technorati Tags: China, cities