The Revolution Will Be Well-Read

Friend of the library Samwise tweeted out a call for #ActivistNovels this morning.  We think we can help.

Below is a list of fiction either dealing with a revolution or with themes of social injustice, war, and repression.  It’s not definitive by any means – leave us your comments with any additions you have.

List is organized alphabetically by author’s last name.  Because we’re book snobs.

Baum, L. Frank – The Wizard of Oz

Bradbury, Ray – Fahrenheit 451

Card, Orson Scott – Ender’s Game

Dickens, Charles – A Tale of Two Cities

Doctorow, Cory – Little Brother

Doctorow, E. L. – Ragtime

Eliot, George – Felix Holt, the Radical

Ellison, Ralph – Invisible Man

Finney, Jack – Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Hansberry, Lorraine – A Raisin in the Sun

Heinlein, Robert A. – The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Heinlein, Robert A. – Stranger in a Strange Land

Hugo, Victor – Les Miserables

Huxley, Aldous – Brave New World

Lee, Harper – To Kill a Mockingbird

Le Guin, Ursula K. – The Left Hand of Darkness

Levin, Ira – The Stepford Wives

O’Brien, Tim – The Things They Carried

Orwell, George – 1984

Orwell, George – Animal Farm

Remarque, Erich Maria – All Quiet on the Western Front

Sinclair, Upton – The Jungle

Steinbeck, John – Grapes of Wrath

Stowe, Harriet Beecher – Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Vonnegut, Kurt – Cat’s Cradle

Vonnegut, Kurt – Sirens of Titan

Wolfe, Tom – Bonfire of the Vanities

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Reading Recommendation Roundup, part 1

If you follow us on Twitter and/or like us on Facebook, you might have seen our tweets/posts last week asking for your Occupy reading recommendations.  We got some great responses, which we’re sharing below.  We’ll do this again periodically, so stay tuned!

 

Hey Occupy Chicago, let’s talk books!  If you had to choose one book to recommend to Occupiers, what book would it be and why?

@exileinflyville: Tough Q. Probably The Shock Doctrine.

@immnamna: The Wisdom of Forgiveness, about the Dalai Lama. Some very surprising anecdotes by a man close to him.

@greasy0vagabond: “The Way of the Peacful Warrior” by Dan Millman … Its the perfect read.

@ThinkmoreNow: The Shock Doctrine Tells it like it is

@danacutts: Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism

@sigfreyd: A Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood, b/c it’s a precautionary tale of theocratic/corporate tyranny.

@nickLbrothers: Second on Shock Doctrine.

@SamwiseOccupies: 1 book for Occupiers? The Lorax (fuck the movie, though)

@OC_EDU: One recommendation: @davidgraeber’s Debt.

@chiiillin: Get Up Stand Up by Bruce Levine, because it’s both encouraging/emotional and strategic/logical.

@Mojostarz: Boomerang by Michael Lewis

@thezitoeffect: Death in the Haymarket; a saga about the 1886 general strike for the 8 hr. workday

@The_book_girl: Why We Can’t Wait by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Great philosophy behind Civil Rights movement. Relevant today

Colleen Haithcock: I don’t think it has been written yet but google Will Allen Food Revolution and see what he is up to! (Note: The Good Food Revolution by Will Allen will be published on May 10th.)

Justin Gallant: three-Last Days of Ancient Sunlight by Thom Hartmann (Because it lays out our environmental and psychological problems)
Work- CrimeThinc (Because it shows how everyday employees are committing the heinous crimes that we fight against, how the whole system of work is a mockery of our gifts)
Critical Path by Buckminster Fuller (Beecause he lays out what we must do about the problems we face today)

Randal Haithcock: Christopher Alexander et al, A Pattern Language. It is an architectural handbook based on a study of humane traditional building (The Timeless Way of Building). Useful for planning rehabbing of buildings.

M.g. Mary Grace: The Assassination of Fred Hampton by Jeffrey Hass is a riveting page-turner as well as profound lesson in taking on Chicago police and corrupt cronies when they use murder and violence to get their way. It also shows how amazing the People’s Law Office is, with civil rights attorneys such as the great Flint Taylor, who still practices in Chicago today. Knowledge = Power; we must arm ourselves with the lessons of the past. And Fred Hampton is a crucial leader for Occupy to look up to and remember.

M.g. Mary Grace: Red Star Sister by Leslie Brody, To Teach: the Journey in Comics by Bill Ayers, The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci

Randal Haithcock: John Vonhof, Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatment for Athletes, for folks who have to walk a lot.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!  Happy reading.