Prejudice, bias, morality, ethics are important topics of conversation these days.

At the Clark County Public Library’s discussion group Meeting of Minds, we joke those topics are “thinking about thinking.” The comment’s facetious, the practice is entertaining, fun and enlightening,

The library recently received new “thinking about thinking” books. For thoughtful reading, start with these. All can be found in the New Books section and explore the library for more.

“Free All Along: The Robert Penn Warren Civil Rights Interviews,” edited by Stephen Drury Smith and Catherine Ellis (call # 363.0922 Warr) is a good beginning. It is transcripts of taped interviews Kentucky author, Robert Penn Warren, made in 1964, the height of the civil rights movement, with black leaders like Martin Lither King, Jr., Stokely Carmichael, Kentuckian Roy Wilkins and Malcolm X.

Those interviews made up Warren’s 1965 book, “Who Speaks for the Negro.” “Free All Along” presents the transcripts unedited, an oral history of the civil rights movement from the black people who made it happen.

If you attended an implicit bias session Pastor Edward Palmer presented in March, follow-up reading is “Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice that Shapes What We See, think, and Do,” by Jennifer L. Eberhardt, Ph.D. (call # 303.385 Eber).

An expert on implicit racial violence, Eberhardt’s book also deals with bias in the boardroom, schoolrooms, neighborhoods and government. She demonstrates how bias systemically pervades our society but explains how understanding helps solve it.

Todd May, Memorial Professor of Humanities at Clemson University, has written a book called “A Decent Life: Morality for the Rest of Us,” (call #170.44 May).

In it, he discusses how to use philosophical ideas to live a decent life. An idea of goodness that makes morality unattainable is self-defeating. May prescribes a forgiving, but serious moral compass in human relations.

Are you interested in the intersection of science and spirituality? Read Rupert Sheldrake’s “Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative Experiences and Their Effects on Our Bodies, Brains, and Health” (call #201.65 Shel).

Sheldrake shows how science validates seven religious practices: meditation, gratitude, connecting with nature, relating to plants, rituals, singing and chanting, and pilgrimage. It illuminates evolutionary origins of religious practices and shows how core practices of spirituality are accessible to all.

Those will get you saying “hmmm.” To discover more, ask your friendly neighborhood librarian.

Programs next week:

— At 2 p.m. Monday, Chair Yoga. Taught by Kathy Howard, a certified yoga instructor with Yoga Alliance. $5 per class.

— At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Tenny Ostrem discusses her six-month, 2,000 mile thru-hike along the US Mexican border. Free and open to the public.

— At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Kentucky Picture Show. In 2018, decades after her original visit, the magical nanny (you know who) returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael’s children through a difficult time. Rated — PG

— At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jeff Gurnee confounds intellects with Trivia Challenges at the Engine House Pizza Pub.

— At 9:15 a.m. Thursday, Stoke up your Namaste with Gentle Yoga taught by Kathy Howard, $5 per class.

— From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Photographic auditions for I Was Here, Phase II. Clark County residents of all races, ethnicities, ages, genders, and socio-economic backgrounds are encouraged to audition to portray mothers, daughters, friends, families, sons, grandsons and granddaughters. For information contact Patrick Mitchell at 345-645-9045; www.imagesbypatrik.photography.

Remember the words of that great philosopher, Fran Leibowitz: “Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

John Maruskin is director of adult services at the Clark County Public Library. He can be reached at john.clarkbooks@gmail.com.