VegNews Book Club

The Summary: It's the end of the second week of reading Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman, and I am really loving the conversation so far. Thank you to those who participated this week in our discussion of chapters four and five. I know this is a pretty serious book that raises serious issues, which aren't always fun to think about.

I brought up three discussion questions last Monday. The first asked if it is easy to lose focus nowadays in our society, and the consensus was yes, but both Lola_318 and Z.aira brought up the fact that it is also pretty easy to regain that focus, either by surrounding yourself with nature, or even by the same thing that made you lose focus in the first place (the television, in Z.aira's case). I, for one, can lose focus very easily, and I've found that riding my bike, reading, and listening to music have helped me maintain, and regain, when needed, perspective.

Second, I asked how will the rights of animals will ever be respected when we can't even respect the rights of all human beings, which I know is a tough question, and one that doesn't necessarily have an answer. I appreciate the thoughtful responses to this question, and I do agree that it's important to try to stay positive about this issue, and to focus on the good things that people are doing to help both fellow human beings and animals.

Finally, I asked about the validity of the fear of Mad Cow Disease now after the 12 years that have passed since the book was published, and whether there are more contemporary concerns at hand. Readers were in agreement that there are probably more pressing concerns at the moment, such as Salmonella, but that it's still important to be wary of the threat of Mad Cow Disease. It was also mentioned that we can fight each one of these problems by choosing a cruelty-free diet.

So that is it for this week! This Monday I will post the discussion questions for chapters six and seven of Mad Cowboy. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend. Happy reading!

~VN Book Club Hostess Lyndsay Orwig