STRUCTURE

ReImagine Taiko Book Club meets virtually once a month to discuss one book for ~5-8 months going through it section by section. Book Club meetings are facilitated by book club readers with leadership switching monthly. Each gathering lasts for 1.5 hours followed by a 30 minute unstructured hang-out.

Currently there is one book club:

• Sunday ReImagine Taiko Book Club meets once a month on Sundays at 8:00 am Hawaii / 10:00 am Pacific / 1:00 pm Eastern / 6:00 pm GMT

General Meeting Format 

• 80 minutes Facilitated Conversation centered on designated book section

• 10 minutes Gathering Rituals/Responsibilities: Co-decide next month’s gathering date, Confirm the next facilitator(s)

• (optional) 30 minutes Post-Gathering Hangout: Casual time and space to check-in with each other, delve deeper into the reading, or talk through any organizing needs

MEMBERSHIP & EXPECTATIONS

ALL taiko-affiliated people who are committed to reading and acquiring the assigned book, aligned with the Book Club goals, and willing to observe the Community Agreements are welcome to join.

Meetings are conducted via Zoom, and book club members will need access to an internet connection, speakers, microphone and a webcam. 

SIGN-UP PROCESS

Once a new book is selected, there will be a one-month period for new readers to sign-up (and continuing members to recommit) by completing an application interest form. Membership is limited to a maximum of 16 people to provide space for discussion and participation from all. If sign-up interest for a book exceeds 16 people, then the current steering committee members will review the applications and make final decisions on the roster. 

Sunday ReImagine Taiko Book Club
Current Book Selection: Caste, The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Sign-ups closed.

Join our mailing list to be notified about any upcoming book selections!

STEERING COMMITTEE

Book Club host, Michelle Fujii, alongside ~1-3 current book club readers serve as an advisory group that collects and collates community input to make directional decisions, resolves any conflicts, reviews the sign-up applications for new book cohorts, and develops organizing/governing procedures. 

Steering Committee members must have participated in one book journey with ReImagine Taiko Book Club and will:

• Serve through (at least) one full book journey

• Commit to consistently attending the 30-minute post-gathering hangout

• Meet ~1-3 times as a committee outside of the book club gatherings

• Be responsive and available if anything arises. 

At the end of each book journey, the Steering Committee membership will be opened for any interested continuing book club member to join. 

SELECTING NEXT BOOK PROCESS

ReImagine Taiko Book Club readers are invited to add to a list of book recommendations. At the last meeting of a book journey, the attending readers will vote on which book they would like to read next. 

PAST BOOK JOURNEYS

Our first book journey was Radical Dharma by activist and thought leaders Reverend angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens and Jasmine Syedullah. We centered our time around contemplative prompts of meditation, listening, noticing and breath.

Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler. We chose this book because it is incredibly prophetic and relevant to what is happening in this world right now. This book also serves as an essential prerequisite to delve into the book, Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown, that has been referenced often within the taiko community. 

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. We selected this book because it spoke to the importance of listening to the deeply embedded wisdom of our indigenous communities. This tenderly written book embraces "the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers", and that "the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world."

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem.