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
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.
Well said :gold-communist:
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.