To be clear, not looking for self help books. Also, please no political books. I hate politics.
I am looking for books to broaden my knowledge and help me to have a good base for conversations as right now, I feel that I am stuck as a very dry conversationalist (Hey, how are you, nice to see you and end)
by RestingBitchFace_1
5 Comments
Was gonna suggest 1984, but tis VERY polotical LMFAO.
One of my favorites is Moloka’i by Alan Brennert (I may be misspelling his last name) which I suppose dips it’s feet into political topics but only from a historical standpoint, you could argue. I love it though, it’s my absolute favorite and has so many different values and topics all throughout a brilliant story about a girl with leprosy in Hawaii and her life story. Some of the topics I actually use as examples for discussion include the themes of death, comparative religion, relationships, and one of the characters acting as a brilliant example of a casual trans character (I wish I got more of her character she was amazing).
You might try a book by Olivia Laing, maybe To the River (about rivers as sites of nature and culture) or The Lonely City (about art, solitude, and New York City). I learn about a lot of things while reading her but, thanks to her beautiful writing, it feels effortless.
Journey to the End of the Night
Death On The Installment Plan
If you like non fiction with conversation worthy info I highly recommend
Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart
Super interesting and well written. It was done field guide-esque without being too dry. The way she relays the stories attached to some of these plants and how they were discovered to be poisonous is super interesting and in some ways (morbidly) funny/tongue in cheek.
They’re about political power, but they’re history and don’t feel like you’re reading about politics, but Robert Caro’s books: The Power Broker (about Robert Moses) and his multi-volume Years of Lyndon Johnson.
These books are basically case-studies in power. What about the person drove them to desire and gain their power, how power is attained, how power is used, how power is used upon the powerless, and (in Robert Moses’ case) how power is ultimately lost. They’re not just biographies, but an account of the times in which they lived (Robert Moses early/mid 1900’s NYC, LBJ 1920’s through the 60’s).
The Power Broker is my favorite book ever.