Masculinity
What do we inherit as men, and what can we put down?
- FictionThings Fall ApartChinua Achebe · 1958
- Non-fictionOf Boys and MenRichard V. Reeves · 2022
A thinking community for the boys of the Bay. One Sunday a month, one table, one conversation.
What this is
A table for thinking out loud
Once a month, six to ten of us sit down for brunch in Oakland and talk about something that matters: being a man, health, money, art, beauty, and how to live.
Nobody has to finish a book before brunch. Each month has a Book of the Month to read at your own pace, and a short conversation guide you can get through in an hour or two. It might be an essay, a chapter, a podcast episode or a film. The guide is what we talk about at the table.
The table moves to a new spot in Oakland every month, to keep things interesting.
How a brunch runs
Ninety minutes
Plates and coffee. Order, eat, settle in.
Check-in. A minute each on what's on your mind this week.
The guide. This month's Chef frames the topic and opens the conversation.
Takeaways. Everyone names one thing they're leaving with.
The draw. A name comes out of the hat. That's next month's Chef, who picks the topic and writes the guide.
Book of the Month · November · Masculinity
The Will to Change
Men, Masculinity, and Love
hooks writes about how boys are taught early to shut down what they feel, and what that costs them and the people who love them. A good first book for a room like this one.
Starter shelf
The shelf
Fiction and non-fiction across six themes. The monthly letter adds to it.
Health
Why is it so hard for men to say something is wrong?
- FictionThe Death of Ivan IlyichLeo Tolstoy · 1886
- Non-fictionI Don't Want to Talk About ItTerrence Real · 1997
Finance
What is money actually for?
- FictionA Raisin in the SunLorraine Hansberry · 1959
- Non-fictionThe Psychology of MoneyMorgan Housel · 2020
Art
What would you give up to make something?
- FictionThe Moon and SixpenceW. Somerset Maugham · 1919
- Non-fictionWays of SeeingJohn Berger · 1972
Beauty
Is caring how you look vanity or self-respect?
- FictionThe Picture of Dorian GrayOscar Wilde · 1890
- Non-fictionOn Beauty and Being JustElaine Scarry · 1999
Philosophy
How should a man spend a life?
- FictionThe StrangerAlbert Camus · 1942
- Non-fictionMeditationsMarcus Aurelius · 2nd century
The monthly letter
One email a month
The Book of the Month, the next conversation guide, and new picks for the shelf across all six themes, fiction and non-fiction.
The table is small, but the letter is open to anyone. Can't make brunch? Sign up and read along.
Getting a seat
By invitation
Six to ten seats a month. If a friend sent you this page, ask them to put your name forward.
- Finish the guide.
- Bring one question.
- Be on time. It's only ninety minutes.