As an organizing tool, to build community. Recommendations of normie friendly books that are also worth owning a copy of.
I'll throw in some hard theory, too, but I don't want it to be too heavy handed. Can't reveal my power level, too much.
Reading Bullshit Jobs right now, to give you an idea.
Edit: used online bookstore that isn't Amazon? I'll check out the local stores, but incase they don't have what I'm looking for.
Also, libs bait that isn't the worst? Harry potter-ish, but better?
edit/the list so far:
- Lost connections: why you're depressed and how to find hope
- Mistborn Trilogy 1 The Final Empire
- The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive)
- People's History of the United States
- Lies my teacher told me: everything your American history textbook got wrong
- Perdido Street Station
- The Grapes of Wrath
- The Dispossessed, An Ambiguous Utopia
- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: A Story
- Debt the first 5000 years
- Jakarta Method
- Shock Doctrine
- Blackshirts and Reds
- Against Empire
- Capitalist Realism
- Stupid White Men
- Listen Liberal
- The Divide
- The Jungle
- Red Rising
Chomsky writes good radicalizing shit, he’s a little silly nowadays, but his work is still valuable. Thomas Franks’s “listen liberal” and Jason Hickel’s “the divide” are top tier
A people’s history of the United States is currently radicalizing my lib mom
The Jungle is theory that people will look at like "hey I remember hearing about that in high school"
Lost Connections is about the social causes of mental illness, and it introduces some leftish ideas (workplace democracy, direct organizing to prevent eviction, universal basic income) without seeming radical or using scary words. It is a great Trojan horse for these concepts and a good introduction to the alienation of capitalism overall.
I'll just let the top Amazon review speak for itself:
The nine causes of depression form the foundation for the big set up after the halftime show. They appear well thought out, researched and relevant to today's society. You are essentially hooked and have no choice but to eagerly consume the final act, which is the re-connections. Here in lies the trap. Mr Hari, albeit well intentioned and I believe sincere, exposes the subliminal message which is to advocate for a Socialist welfare state where the value and dignity of self-reliance is shunned and quietly frowned upon.
Same, honestly. I only got through the book in question because I used to have a daily two hour commute, and audiobooks were the only way to keep my sanity.
currently have like a 10 minutes commute, which i wouldn't change for anything save full Communism, but it does make listening to podcast/audio books harder
Yeah, gonna include some cooks books, too. Still new to organizing (or whatever this is) so don't wan to be too radical about it. Yet.
I don't think any of those dystopias are meant to be YA besides Hunger Games, if that genre category means anything. One that very much is YA and I presume was inspired at least a bit by "Omelas," is The Giver.
I'll endorse adding pretty much any Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles especially, although I've found different editions collect different stories.
Someone here mentioned China Meiville's (dude is based) Perdido Street Station series the other day. It's a little old so you should be able to find used copies, apparently it doesn't get particularly political until a bit further into the series.
Everything else I can think of rn has already been mentioned. As someone else said, Steinbeck is pretty good, Grapes of Wrath specifically. A People's History might be pretty good bait for some nerd patriot.
Just realised that a book of Bertolt Brecht's poems would be good also (and other based poets ofc)
If you can find them, have some kids books!
Rainbow Fish seems like a great model for what you're looking for in that regard- big favorite from my childhood. Been a long time since I've been involved with children's literature though seeing as I don't have any of my own and certainly don't plan on it any time soon.
Don't know if there are children in my building (embarrassingly) but definitely a good idea
Even just having them can make the more explicitly political stuff seem less scary to libs lol.
Libs be something else. So house broken. Happily watch Iron Man, but then be like "I don't like stuff that is biased"
They're playing a different language game. They just use the word "bias" for anything that causes cognitive dissonance. If it fits within their uncritically adopted hegemonic attitudes its "apolitical," if it challenges any of their assumptions (whether they're conscious or not) then it's "political," or "biased." To libs, the status quo is a given. They often ignore the contingent nature of the present, or at the very least compartmentalize in such a way that they don't have to confront how shakey the status quo actually is.
For kids books, I can recommend Don't Touch my Hair, The Widow's Broom, The Lorax, Yertle the Turtle, Click, Clack, Moo, Julian is a Mermaid.
I didnt ask permission, but was willing to risk getting yelled at/losing the books.
The update is that people have added to my liitle project!
Be the change.
If you're stacking it with sci-fi, put The Culture in there or else.
Anyway, I don't think the Wretched of the Earth and Open Veins of Latin America would be too overt.
Me.
If you don't include The Culture, you'll make me sad. :sadness:
