Reading List for USA's 250th

This list includes over 70 titles of fiction and nonfiction worth reading soon. Explore the list, then tell me what you’d add to it. And don’t forget to check out today’s Community Notes.

Jul 02, 2026

∙ Paid

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE TODAY’S WRITING PROMPT

This non-exhaustive reading list includes some of the books I have read over the past five to six years. I believe everyone should read at least a handful of them soon to honor the USA’s 250th birthday this year. Yes, I have read every single one of the books on this list, and have even included my book reviews for some of them.

Please, take your time looking at this list. Hopefully you’ll see why these books made it on the list, though I will admit that some are obvious choices while others may not seem as obvious at first glance. I did not put them in any particular order after the first few on the list, which are front-and-center for clear reasons, I hope.

Let me know if there are any other books you would add to this list in the comments. I know there are plenty of others out there worth mentioning and reading!

The Constitution of the United States of America and Selected Writings of the Founding Fathers by various authors is a book everyone should read right now. Yes, I read every single one of its 826 pages, and you should too. The Constitution itself is short, but how it came to be was an arduous, collaborative, yet highly contested endeavor. And you should know some of the points and arguments that were made during its creation, many of which we’re still having today.

Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die by Charles Kamasaki is one of the end-all be-all sources you’ll want to consult for immigration legislation and reform in the US. And I did my graduate thesis on rhetoric in immigration law and reform, so I feel like I can say this with confidence. I also met the author, and he is as kind as he is diligent with his work. This is a dense piece of work, but so worth it.

America, América: A New History of the New World by Greg Grandin is one of the most important history books written in the past few decades, so luckily, it’s as engaging and accessible as it is comprehensive. And I say this as someone who studied Latin American and Latino history in grad school. I cannot recommend this book enough. Starting with the Spanish conquest of the Americas, followed by the English conquest, this book lays out the intermingled histories of the Americas as we know them today and how it’s impossible to disconnect their histories if you want a realistic and comprehensive compilation of them, though most history books wind up doing just that. It also does not sugarcoat one iota of those intermingled histories. The brutality and industry of historical and modern-day conquest and slavery and oppression are outlined thoroughly, just as the ideals and writings of humanistic leaders and authors and activists are, as they push and pull each other into a new millennium across continents. Read my full review here.

Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville has had the singular honor of being, even to this day, the work that political commentators of every stripe refer to when they seek to draw large conclusions about the society of the USA, as it offers first-hand insights from the era when the USA was being birthed.

A People’s History of the United States: 1492 - Present by Howard Zinn portrays a side of American history that can largely be seen as the exploitation and manipulation of the majority by rigged systems that hugely favor a small aggregate of elite rulers from across the orthodox political parties. (This one is a bit older but still has valuable information in it. However, I would encourage readers to compare its information to what research is available now, as well.)

Let the Poets Govern by Camonghne Felix is an important book that will require you to reflect on the power of language and how we choose to wield it. So of course I loved it. It reads as part memoir, part manifesto, part homage. Poets, linguists, activists, lit nerds, anyone unsettled during this time in history, and anyone who appreciates what language has done and has the potential to do, will enjoy this book. Those interested in US history will want to read the section where she discusses the Pledge of Allegiance and its poetic power in the US education system. Read my full review here.

American War by Omar El Akkad is a novel about a second American Civil War, a devastating plague, and one family caught deep in the middle of a story that asks what might happen if America were to turn its most devastating policies and deadly weapons upon itself. I read this years ago and am still always recommending it.

Murder the Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful by David Enrich is such an important book to read right now. At first, libel laws may not sound that interesting, but truly, this is one of the most necessary nonfiction books to read this year. Enrich does a superb job ensuring that it’s easy to follow and hard to put down. I would recommend picking it up as soon as possible, especially if you value democracy and having a free press. Read my full book review here.

How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt posits that democracy no longer ends with a bang— in a revolution or military coup— but with a whimper: the slow, steady weakening of critical institutions, such as the judiciary and the press, and the gradual erosion of long-standing political norms. And its authors have spent more than twenty years studying the breakdown of democracies in Europe and Latin America, so they know what they’re talking about. The good news is that there are several exit ramps on the road to authoritarianism. The bad news is that … Well, read the book to find out.

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how our lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.

Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John Fugelsang is as thorough as it is entertaining. A perfect blend of scripture and historical context. Full of much-needed reminders of what Jesus Christ actually did, said, and represents— reminders most of us in the USA will find both useful and meaningful right now.

The Moral Basis of Democracy by Eleanor Roosevelt employs the history of human rights to establish the idea that at the core of democracy is a spiritual responsibility to other citizens. Roosevelt also calls on all Americans, especially the youth, to prioritize the well-being of others and have faith that their fellow citizens will protect them in return. She defines this trust between people as a trait of true democracy.

Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson packs a lot of history and historical context into less than three hundred pages. But luckily, it’s as engaging and eye-opening as it is easy to read. While there are a lot of dates and names and pieces of legislation to remember, you’ll never feel like you’re reading a textbook, although you will still learn a lot as if you were reading one. Even those of us who think we know everything there is to know about US history will pick up an interesting nugget or two as they read this book. Read my full review here. P.S. —This author also has a pretty popular Substack, if you want to check that out too.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead is a novel that brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for Black people in the pre-Civil War era, its narrative seamlessly weaving the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. It is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman’s ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.

Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes by Leah Litman ended up being an unexpected and timely read when I read it on Labor Day weekend last year and is as thorough and informative as it is alarming. Beware: this book is extremely depressing— and for that reason, I would recommend reading its conclusion when you are halfway through the book. Seriously, if at any point this book starts making you feel defeated and depressed, read its conclusion ASAP, or plan to read other books on voting rights and advocacy at the same time. It is still informative and worth the read, however. Read my full review here.

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt begins with the rise of anti-Semitism in central and western Europe in the 1800s and continues with an examination of European colonial imperialism from 1884 to the outbreak of World War I. Arendt explores the institutions and operations of totalitarian movements, focusing on the two genuine forms of totalitarian government that have influenced our time—Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia—which she adroitly recognizes were two sides of the same coin, rather than opposing philosophies of Right and Left. From this vantage point, she discusses the evolution of classes into masses, the role of propaganda in dealing with the nontotalitarian world, the use of terror, and the nature of isolation and loneliness as preconditions for total domination. It is as poignant now as it was when it was first published and can certainly be applied to the current socio-political climate in the USA.

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad is one of those books that will stay with you long after you read it, as it will likely prompt you to act thoughtfully and humanely as soon as you’re done reading it. Akkad does not hold back in any way in this book, as he holds powerful and traditional institutions in the West to account while simultaneously pleading for readers to tap into the most humane and honest parts of themselves. Read my full review here.

When you read [Re]Coding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better by Jennifer Pahlka, be prepared to have some of your preconceived notions about the US government and how it works challenged, especially your notions about how technology in the government and by the government works. And no, it doesn’t matter what side of the political aisle you’re on when faced with this challenge. Not really. Because in the end, as Pahlka’s book suggests, government tech works better when it is created for the people, by the people, in line with democracy itself. Read my full review here.

Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams offers a blueprint to end voter suppression, empower our citizens, and take back our country. A recognized expert on fair voting and civic engagement, Abrams chronicles a chilling account of how the right to vote and the principle of democracy have been and continue to be under attack. Seriously, read this book if you want to learn more about voting in the US, and how it can and needs to be protected.

Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz is an important book to read right now, as it highlights how stories shape what we believe, who we are, and what we do. In this book, Newitz highlights how critical it is to be aware of how certain stories have been weaponized against us for eons, especially after social media came onto the scene, though it started much earlier than that. Luckily, however, the author does also highlight what we might be able to do about it at the end of the book, so the book does end on a more positive note. Overall, the portions of the book that discussed the stories centered around US Indigenous communities and the ‘myth of the vanishing Indian’ resonated with me the most. I also appreciated the historical context provided regarding how propaganda began to surface and be understood. Read my full review here.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck creates an intimate portrait of two men facing a world marked by petty tyranny, misunderstanding, jealousy, and callousness in late 1930s America. Though the scope is narrow, however, the theme is universal: a friendship and a shared dream that makes an individual’s existence meaningful, especially in the US.

On Corruption in America: And What Is at Stake by Sarah Chayes — “If you want to save America, this might just be the most important book to read now.” –Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains Sarah Chayes

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis is a cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. It will convince you that yes, yes it can happen here.

Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.

Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman is a collection of quintessentially American poems, the seminal work of one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. Whitman wrote a lot of poetry during the Civil War and produced some of the best work of the time.

Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World by Anne Applebaum details how modern dictators, kleptocrats, oligarchs, and other non-democratic leaders run sophisticated networks relying on kleptocratic financial structures, security services, and technological experts providing surveillance, propaganda, and disinformation. And while these networks are primarily connected across autocratic countries, they’re often found in democracies too, with the aim to repress citizens’ autonomy and undermine anyone who challenges them—in short, to repress any instance of democracy anywhere it appears. Read my full review here.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas follows 16-year-old Starr Carter, who bridges two vastly different worlds: her impoverished, predominantly Black neighborhood and an affluent, mostly white prep school in the USA. Her life shatters when she becomes the sole witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed childhood best friend by a police officer.

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel is a deeply moving novel about a Colombian family torn apart by United States immigration laws and deportation. It explores the heavy burdens of the diaspora, the arbitrariness of borders, and a mixed-status family fighting to reunite across continents.

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller is a novel that takes an important, heavy, timely topic (growing book bans in the USA) and makes it highly entertaining and extremely relatable while never sacrificing deep meaning, contemplation, and human empathy. I knew the instant I read the blurb of this book that I’d love it. But I didn’t know how much of an impact it would have on me once I was done reading it, and that I will probably recommend it to everyone as required reading for years to come. Read my full review here.

Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt by Arthur C. Brooks is a rallying cry for people hoping for a new era of American progress. Most of all, it is a roadmap to arrive at the happiness that comes when we choose to love one another despite our differences. I don’t agree with all its core arguments but do think it is a helpful book to read right now, especially since the author explicitly invites you to (respectfully, of course) disagree with him. Read my full review here.

Trust by Hernan Diaz explores wealth, power, and how history is written by the privileged. Set in 1920s and 30s New York, the novel questions whether an enigmatic Wall Street tycoon is a genius or an exploiter, revealing his true motives through four interconnected accounts.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is one of those novels that will resonate with me for a long time, as it will for many others, as it simultaneously inflames reflection, curiosity, empathy, and horror. It might also prove more prescient now than it did when it was first published in 1953, as society continues to grapple with how certain people and groups in power leverage technology like AI to obfuscate reality to subdue the masses and torch the power of books (even if not the literal books themselves), reminding me how Ray Bradbury himself once said: “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” Read my full book review here.

Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein reveals the structural and psychological forces behind America’s descent into division and dysfunction. Neither a polemic nor a lament, it offers a clear framework for understanding everything from Donald Trump’s rise to the Democratic Party’s leftward shift to the politicization of everyday culture. Read my full review here.

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall is told through stories from a remarkable career and fascinating research, touching on vital questions including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? Filled with engaging dialogue and pictures from Jane’s storied career, this book is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in today’s world. And it will indeed make you feel more hopeful.

Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney offers a behind-the-scenes account of what happened leading up to, during, and after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Cheney’s no-nonsense, smart, diligent, and civic-minded fortitude comes across in this book in waves and allows her to offer a clear account of what matters to her above all else: the Oath of Office each public servant and official takes to defend and protect the US Constitution. Read my full review here.

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah forces readers to look in the mirror and candidly ask questions like: Who is exploited or suffering due to what we consume (especially when it comes to entertainment)? How are bodies, minds, and hearts controlled in our society? How far away are we from having gladiator games again? Or are we already there in a way? What are the ways we can recognize and change the New Jim Crow environments and institutions we’ve created? Who is ultimately responsible? What should and can we do now to preserve and maintain our humanity? When is someone no longer redeemable or worthy of love, if ever? Etc. There are so many important questions this book raises that need to be discussed ASAP!! Read my full review here.

Beloved is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1987 novel by Toni Morrison. Set in 1873, it follows Sethe, an escaped enslaved woman living in Cincinnati. Haunted by the traumatic memories of slavery and the ghost of her own infant daughter—whom she killed to save her from enslavement—Sethe must confront her past when a mysterious young woman arrives.

Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao is a well-researched account of how Sam Altman has vied to create an empire of AI via OpenAI from its inception, often affording him more altruistic credit at the dawn of his pursuits and endeavors than he’s probably due. It also ultimately serves as a rallying cry for the careful, intentional stewardship we need to amass when using and developing AI now and in the near future (in the US and worldwide) if we truly want it to ‘benefit humanity.’ Read my full review here.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones is a contemporary novel exploring the devastating impact of wrongful incarceration on a young Black couple in Atlanta. When Roy is wrongfully convicted of a rape he did not commit and sentenced to prison, he and his wife Celestial are forced to navigate a testing separation.

The Dead Zone by Stephen King is a classic 1979 science-fiction thriller novel that follows Johnny Smith, a teacher who awakens from a five-year coma with precognitive powers after physical contact. After having a terrifying vision that a rising populist politician named Greg Stillson will become a tyrannical U.S. President and trigger a global nuclear holocaust, Johnny sacrifices his life to stop him.

Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of Democracy by US Representative Jamie Raskin mostly reads like a love letter to his now deceased son, Tommy. Through his recollections of Tommy’s life, which tragically ended by suicide one week before the January sixth insurrection at the US Capitol in 2021, Raskin shares his personal experience during those times. Raskin also mentions that he decided to write this book in response to the thousands of letters he had received after both his son’s death and the insurrection at the US Capitol. Read my full review here.

Mỹ Documents by Kevin Nguyen is a book that has rich, complex characters who bring the nature of unconstitutional detention to life in a profoundly meaningful way. It also excels at resisting the many narratives out there full of outdated one-sided tropes regarding the oppressor-oppressed relationship by giving real multi-faceted voices to those characters in the novel who are directly and indirectly affected by unconstitutional detention. This novel’s power lies in its nuance and humor and candor. Read my full review here.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith follows the bright and resilient Francie Nolan as she navigates grinding poverty, family dysfunction, and the immigrant experience, ultimately rising above her circumstances through the transformative power of education and writing in the US.

Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by US Representative Adam Schiff is a 2021 memoir detailing the threats to American democracy during the first Donald Trump administration. It blends personal background with a behind-the-scenes account of the Russia investigations and the first impeachment trial he led.

The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami is for literary nerds, those who enjoy retellings of lost or ignored histories, and those who want to learn more about Spanish conquests in the Americas in the sixteenth century. Read my full review here.

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman is a remarkable new collection that reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry and includes “The Hill We Climb,” the stirring poem she read at the inauguration of the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden.

1984 by George Orwell is a masterpiece of rebellion and imprisonment where war is peace, freedom is slavery, and Big Brother is watching. Thought Police, Big Brother, Orwellian — these terms have entered our vocabulary because of this novel. This story of one man’s Nightmare Odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory is a prophetic and haunting tale that is more relevant than ever before, exposing the worst crimes imaginable: the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality. And many readers in the US are relating to it right now.

Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane is one of those books I’ll never forget, with its vivid characters who are based on real people who resisted and opposed chattel slavery in the US, and inspired others to fight against a system that was built on the subjugation of Black and Brown bodies. It will make you feel uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. It might even make you mad. And it will certainly make you sad. But hopefully, so does the mere concept of chattel slavery, as well as the centuries of horror it unleashed, and continues to unleash. Read my full review here.

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn examines the collapse of the American working class. Through intimate stories and data, they argue that compounding policy failures have created a ‘social depression’ of poverty, addiction, and despair, while offering systemic solutions to rebuild the safety net.

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due is a chilling historical fiction and horror novel set in 1950s Jim Crow Florida. It follows 12-year-old Robert ‘Robbie’ Stephens, who is unjustly sentenced to six months at the brutal Gracetown School for Boys for defending his sister, and his family’s fight to free him from the systemic horrors of the segregationist reform school. It is based on real places and events. Read my full review here.

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang is a moving memoir that recounts her childhood as an undocumented Chinese immigrant in 1990s New York City. Through the innocent lens of a young girl, the book details the extreme poverty, racism, and constant fear of deportation her family faced while living in the shadows. It contrasts the Chinese name for America—Mei Guo, translating to ‘Beautiful Country’—with the gritty reality of poverty and sweatshops.

In A Terrible Thing to Waste: Environmental Racism and Its Assault on the American Mind, award-winning bioethicist Harriet A. Washington exposes how environmental racism inflicts lasting cognitive and physical damage on marginalized communities. She dismantles racist myths about inherited intelligence, arguing instead that disparities in cognitive metrics are driven by toxic exposure and institutional inequity.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark is a dark fantasy historical novella that reimagines 1920s Georgia. In this alternate history, the Ku Klux Klan are not just human bigots, but literal, shape-shifting demons called “Ku Kluxes” that feed on racial hatred. The story follows a small resistance group hunting these monsters to prevent them from bringing Hell to Earth. It is a visceral novel and I am always recommending it.

A Fighting Chance and Persist by US Senator Elizabeth Warren cover how and why she has chosen to fight tooth and nail for the lower and middle class, and demonstrates why she has become a hero to all those who believe that America’s government can and must do better for working families. She not only tells us what’s broken but details the work she’s doing to fix it and how we can join in those efforts.

The Memory Palace: True Short Stories of the Past by Nate DiMeo is such a beautiful collection, but also difficult to summarize, as each story in the collection is so unique and interesting in its own right. This book of short stories will show readers from all sorts of backgrounds how history should be told: via narrative and storytelling. It will also prove that history can be engaging and based on thorough research without being boring, if it also includes key human elements and emotions when it’s being told. Read my full review here.

Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness by Jamil Zaki is an important book to read right now. Quote from the book: “Exploring decades of research, I discovered that cynicism is not just harmful, but often naive. Hope and trust, by contrast, are wiser than most people realize. They are also skills we can build through habits of mind and action.” Read my full review here.

Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell is a book about language, the Cultish language. And most readers will likely find it incredibly engaging. And what a relief that is, as more people need to pay attention to and learn about the language they use that surrounds them every day, which this book will help them start thinking about. Read my full review here.

A Century of Tomorrows: How Imagining the Future Shapes the Present by Glenn Adamson is packed full of facts and information on the movers and shakers of futurology. The book starts with detailing how the turn from spiritual and religious beliefs to come to terms with the future shifts to a more secular and modern understanding of the future during the first quarter of the 1900s, then ends with an open-ended but surprisingly upbeat message: “We owe the future all the enthusiasm and imagination we can summon in ourselves.” Read my full review here.

Who Gets Believed?: When the Truth Isn’t Enough is a thought-provoking book by Iranian-American author Dina Nayeri that examines how society determines credibility. Blending memoir, reportage, and criticism, the book argues that being believed often relies on privilege, class, and the ability to perform trauma in a way that gatekeepers expect.

Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener offers nuanced insight into what it was like to work for a startup in Silicon Valley in the 2010s, and how it was so easy to become entrenched in a borderline cult-like world of CEOs with zero experience leading teams let alone growing companies, mandatory ‘fun’ and team ‘vacations,’ ‘actualization’ and ‘biohacking’ and usernames as real names, inane and diverse chat feeds, a skewed view of how reality looks outside tech bubbles, relaxed yet oddly intense office cultures and business networks, and weird cliquey language that surpassed and usurped programming languages and typical business jargon and everyday speech. Read my full review here.

The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource by Christopher L. Hayes is a book that will have you reflecting on what you pay attention to (especially online, and on social media), why you pay attention to what you pay attention to, and why it’s so important you reflect on what you pay attention to on a regular basis. It’s a book for anyone wondering how and why we got to where we are right now as humans— perpetually reaching for our devices eager to learn something, be entertained, or forge human connections, yet inevitably feeling unsatisfied, anxious, and alone when we do. Read my full review here.

Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism is a 2025 memoir by former Facebook Director of Global Public Policy Sarah Wynn-Williams. The book chronicles her journey from an idealistic diplomat to a disillusioned insider, exposing the USA-based company’s ‘growth at any cost’ culture, unethical corporate behavior, and the immense, reckless power wielded by its billionaire leadership. Read my full review here.

No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris is a book that will open your eyes to the routine and outright duplicitous practices of one of the best-known, frequently trusted, and largest pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the USA known today. It will shock you and make you rage and cry and scoff, and then some. By the time you’re done reading it, you will want to tell everyone all about it, as you will feel deeply and ethically obligated to do so. Read my full review here.

Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age by Vauhini Vara is a unique book I highly recommend reading at the dawn of AI innovation. It’s been a while since I’ve read a piece of nonfiction as poignant and creative as this, as it is as informative and interesting as it is vulnerable and inspiring. Read my full review here.

In High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out, journalist Amanda Ripley investigates the toxic, intractable feuds that hijack our minds. She distinguishes between healthy conflict—which pushes society forward—and ‘high conflict,’ a good-versus-evil trap where the conflict itself becomes the destination.

In Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life, anthropologist Kristen R. Ghodsee argues that the traditional nuclear family and private property model are failing modern society. She draws on 2,000 years of communal experiments—from Pythagoras to modern ecovillages—to offer a hopeful, actionable guide to reimagining domestic life, co-parenting, and community.

The Power of Language: How the Codes We Use to Think, Speak, and Live Transform Our Minds by psycholinguist Viorica Marian explores how multilingualism and linguistic codes rewire our brains. It reveals that speaking multiple languages enhances cognitive control, fosters creativity, protects against dementia, and alters how we perceive reality and make decisions.

John Milton’s Paradise Lost is one of the greatest epic poems in the English language. It tells the story of the Fall of Man, a tale of immense drama and excitement, of rebellion and treachery, of innocence pitted against corruption, in which God and Satan fight a bitter battle for control of mankind’s destiny. The struggle rages across three worlds— heaven, hell, and earth— as Satan and his band of rebel angels plot their revenge against God. At the center of the conflict are Adam and Eve, who are motivated by all too human temptations, whose ultimate downfall is unyielding love.

Long Walk to Freedom is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela. It traces his journey from a rural childhood in South Africa to becoming the nation’s first Black president. The memoir details his anti-apartheid activism, 27 years of imprisonment, and his pivotal role in negotiating the end of institutionalized racial segregation. All nations and politicians can learn from his example and the lessons he shares in this book.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian novel set in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy that overthrew the US government. Facing an environmental fertility crisis, the regime forces fertile women, known as ‘Handmaids,’ to bear children for elite, infertile couples.

The Trial by Franz Kafka is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, this novel has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.

Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower (1993) is a speculative fiction novel set in a dystopian 2020s where climate change and severe economic inequality have caused societal collapse. The story follows 15-year-old Lauren Olamina, who escapes her destroyed neighborhood to build a new community based on her hopeful, foundational philosophy, Earthseed.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins is a dystopian saga set in Panem, a post-apocalyptic nation comprised of a wealthy Capitol and 12 impoverished districts. To exert control, the Capitol forces each district to send one boy and one girl to fight to the death in the televised Hunger Games each year. There have been two other books added to the trilogy in recent years: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Sunrise on the Reaping. Here is my full review of Sunrise on the Reaping.