Book Club

Calling all bookworms, architecture enthusiasts, and those with a burning curiosity to know more!

Join the Taliesin West Book Club as we explore a range of texts and topics. Join fellow literary and design enthusiasts as you dive into engaging conversations about each book and connect it to different architectural spaces found on Taliesin West’s expansive grounds. Each month we’ll announce a new book along with the special location where the conversation will be held.  

Time: 6-7 p.m., the first Wednesday of each month

Questions regarding tickets? Email: programs@FrankLloydWright.org

Join the fun as we read these books during our 2022-2023 season of the Taliesin West Book Club.
Sept. 7 Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life Ada Louise Huxtable	Oct. 5 Inland Téa Obreht	Nov. 2 Braiding Sweetgrass Robin Wall Kimmerer
Learn More Renowned architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable's biography Frank Lloyd Wright: A Life looks at the architect and the man, from his tumultuous personal life to his long career as a master builder. Along the way she introduces Wright's masterpieces, from the tranquil Fallingwater to Taliesin, rebuilt after tragedy and murder-not only exploring the mind of the man who drew the blueprints but also delving into the very heart of the medium, which he changed forever. We will meet in the Garden Room.	Learn More Mythical, lyrical, and sweeping in scope, Inland tells the 19th century story of settlers in the harsh and unfamiliar territories of Arizona and New Mexico. With one foot in the lived world and the other with those passed, Obreht conjures up complex characters faced with difficult decisions about familial obligations, love, surviving in the harsh desert landscape of the American Southwest.	Learn More As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Robin Wall Kimmerer embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers, and in Braiding Sweetgrass she illuminates the vital connections between the scientific study of nature and its sacred meaning to humankind. We will meet in the WWP Conference Room.
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Dec. 7 The Design of Everyday Things Donald A Norman	Jan. 4 The Blessing Way Tony Hillerman Music Pavilion	Feb. 1 Natural Abundance: Ralph Waldo Emerson's Guide to Prosperity Dr. Ruth L Miller
Learn More Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans -- from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools -- must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed. This meeting will take place in the Board Room.	Learn More Homicide is always an abomination, but there is something exceptionally disturbing about how this particular victim is discovered, abandoned at a crime scene devoid of clues. Though it’s against his better judgment, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn cannot help but suspect a supernatural killer. There is palpable evil in the air, and Leaphorn's pursuit of a Wolf-Witch is leading him where even the bravest men fear, on a trail that winds perilously between mysticism and murder.	Learn More Dr. Ruth L. Miller interprets a few essential essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson that tell us how the world always responds to our thoughts, words, and actions, and what we can do to ensure that our life is truly joy-filled in all aspects. In clear, simple language, she gives us a direct sense of what Emerson felt, saw, and struggled to share with his fellow human beings. We will meet in the Cabaret to discuss this book club selection.
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March 1 Death Comes for the Archbishop Willa Cather	April 5 Power Lines: Phoenix and the Making of the Modern Southwest Andrew Needham	May 3 Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People Debbie Millman
Learn More Death Comes for the Archbishop is an epic story of a life lived in the silence of the southwestern desert. In 1851 Father Jean Marie Latour becomes the Apostolic Vicar to New Mexico. What he finds is a vast territory of red hills and tortuous arroyos, American by law but Mexican and Indian in culture. In the years that follow, Latour spreads his faith, all while contending with unforgiving landscape, derelict and sometimes openly rebellious priests, and his own loneliness. We will meet in the Kiva to discuss this book club selection.	Learn More Between 1940 and 1980, Phoenix grew from a small, agricultural city of 65,000 to metropolis of 1.5 million. By the 80s five coal-burning power plants surrounded the Navajo reservation, generating electricity for export to Phoenix, Los Angeles, and other cities. Exploring the postwar developments of these two very different landscapes, Power Lines tells the story of the far-reaching environmental and social inequalities of metropolitan growth, and the roots of the contemporary coal-fueled climate change crisis. Join us on the Sunset Terrace to discuss this book.	Learn More In this illustrated, curated anthology, Millman includes approximately 80 of her best interviews with visionaries from across diverse fields. Grouped by category—Legends, Truth Tellers, Culture Makers, Trendsetters, and Visionaries—these eye-opening, entertaining, and enlightening conversations—offer insights into new ways of being and living. Join us as we discuss the book in the Sun Cottage.
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