World-Weary Reading List (In Construction)
Is reading good for your brain?
Obviously, yes; if you’re on Substack, you’re likely a reader. Probably a writer, too. Of course you know the beauty and value of the written word.
Reading is a powerful tool for expanding your worldview, learning new things and increasing your ability to navigate difficult times. Even just reading novels for fun is an excellent passtime, helping to build your vocabulary and practice empathy for others.
I love to read. I have no idea how much time I’ve spent flipping pages in coffee shops throughout my life, and frankly, I’d rather not know. I’m sure it’s a lot.
I don’t know if it rivals the hours I’ve put into playing Skyrim — few things do — but it’s a lot.
With my interests being what they are, it should come as no surprise that a fair number of the books I enjoy are political or historical in nature. I read books about the rise of fascism in Europe, the history of white nationalism in the United States, and how countries fall to dictatorship.
Why yes, I am fun at parties. Thank you for asking!
So, since I have a little collection of similar books going and you lot seem to enjoy my writing on those topics, I had a thought. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a book club?
An informal one, mind you. Maybe someday I’ll have the time for a proper book club with monthly meetings or something — if you like the sound of that, please let me know! — but for right now, I figure I’ll at least create a little virtual bookshop for your perusal.
Welcome to the World-Weary Reading List.
Knowledge is Power
I will begin the list with a promise; I will only include books that I own.
Every book on this list is a book I have on my shelf in real life. A book I’ve held in my hands, a book I have either completed or started to read and found to be valuable in furthering my self-imposed education.
There will be political books, history books, and books about corporate abuses of power. They will be books that expose flaws in our society and make you think.
It’s not going to be a super fun list, but I believe that these books are worth reading and the questions they raise are worth exploring, even if only in your own mind.
Without further ado, let’s begin.
How Fascism Works and How Propaganda Works
Ah, Jason Stanley. What a fantastic writer with very relevant expertise for the current moment in the United States — both personal experience, being the child of Holocaust survivors, and also professional expertise as a Professor of Philosphy.
Previously, he taught at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Now he is moving to the University of Toronto, citing his very understandable concerns about the situation in the United States.
His books are old favourites of mine. How Fascism Works and How Propaganda Works are two excellent reads, and well worth your time!
In How Fascism Works, Professor Stanley takes us through the basics of understanding fascist ideologies through the history of how such authoritarian governments rise and fall.
In How Propaganda Works, he teaches us how those governments leverage fear, sympathy and ‘patriotism’ — more like blind nationalism — to sell their ideas and win followers.
I picked up my copies at Chapters here in Canada, but my American readers might find them at Barnes and Noble.