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Friends, <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m a reader. I always have been. When I was a kid, the local library had a limit of how many items you could check out per week. In those days, it was a total of 11 books. Every week, I dutifully took out the maximum. By the end of the week, I\u2019d have read them all and gone back to pick 11 more. <\/span><\/p>\n I have a dozen bookcases in my home now, and they can\u2019t contain all my books. They\u2019re stacked everywhere. I totally understood <\/span>the young man in this recent New York Times story who said, \u201cI need every one of my books.\u201d <\/a>The story focused on how he got evicted for having 10,000 books in his New York apartment. I understood how he felt, even though my bookcases aren\u2019t close to that full.<\/span><\/p>\n So it saddens me to keep seeing stories lamenting that <\/span>people are reading fewer books for pleasure these days<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n I figured maybe I could do something about that. I mean, if <\/span>Texas can insist kids read only certain classics (not to mention the Bible)<\/a>, maybe I could interest people in some other tomes. And that\u2019s how I settled on this new addition to my Substack, and why today I am launching the Michael Moore Book Club.<\/span><\/p>\n This book club isn\u2019t about what\u2019s trendy or new or even on the bestseller list. Some are familiar titles many of you may have already read. It\u2019s about books that matter, books that can help us understand how power works, how to understand the moment and the madness of the world we live in, and how history keeps trying to teach us lessons we refuse to learn. I will always include one of my favorite novels as I find sometimes the most powerful way to understand life is through great storytelling. Often, fiction often tells the best truths.<\/p>\n Not everyone has the same taste in books, and not everyone has the same time to devote to them. Hence the mix of length, subject and even genre. Some of these books are from another generation. Some are funny. Some are uncomfortable. That\u2019s the point. Books can expand our perspectives and help us think differently about the world we\u2019re in. And maybe, just maybe, that thinking leads to doing something about it. Books matter. They always have.<\/p>\n Pick one or two, or read them all. There are no hard and fast rules. I reserve the right to shift the rules of this book club if needed, since it\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve tried this. The plan is that I\u2019ll do a live chat once a month to discuss one, two or maybe all five of the titles. And, I believe in the Democratic process (!), so ahead of the discussion, we\u2019ll send out a poll to find out which of these titles the majority of you read and want to discuss the most. <\/p>\n A couple of the books on this list are available for free to download. I\u2019ve added a note when this is the case. The rest should be available in your local library. Haven\u2019t used it lately? Not sure where the closest one is located? Check <\/span>Library.org<\/a> and go check it out! These days, libraries have so much more than books. They have music, DVDs, actual films, ebooks and audio books \u2014 not to mention book-loving crazy smart librarians who have been helping people learn stuff before ChatGBT!<\/span><\/p>\n Or, you can <\/span>find a local, independent bookstore near you<\/a>. See if they have these titles in stock. Of this month\u2019s group it\u2019s very likely. If not, they\u2019ll be happy to order whatever you want and you can anticipate the forgotten joy of anticipation. You\u2019ll be supporting a local business run by your neighbors. Like librarians, booksellers are brainy rock stars who can turn you on to other books, too!<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve also provided links to order via <\/span>Bookshop.org<\/a>, a non-profit that donates a portion of all book sales to local, independent bookstores. And in a win-win, I\u2019ll donate modest commission from the Bookshop.org the affiliate program to <\/span>FirstBook.org<\/a>, a non-profit that helps get books into kids hands to help them develop the habit of reading for pleasure. <\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019m going to make a real effort to include a variety of voices into this conversation, especially those who have too often been ignored, but I\u2019m also not going to reject a good book or an important idea simply because it came from an otherwise overlooked or unknown voice. <\/p>\n Now, about this month\u2019s authors. Let\u2019s just say that none were members of the comfortable elite. <\/p>\n Thomas Paine<\/a> was a working-class immigrant, revolutionary and enemy of inherited privilege. <\/span>John Kennedy Toole<\/a> was a troubled New Orleans native and military vet whose Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was published only after his suicide at age 31. <\/span>Albert Camus<\/a> grew up in poverty in colonial Algeria and later wrote for the French Resistance. <\/span>Omar El Akkad<\/a> is an Egyptian-born immigrant who pursued journalism, focused on finding moral clarity about war, displacement and the people the powerful would prefer we forget.<\/span><\/p>\n Harryette Mullen<\/a> is an acclaimed Black American poet and English professor at UCLA. Her funny, inventive work uses wordplay to explore race, gender, consumer culture and the politics of language.<\/span><\/p>\n These authors, like all of them I hope to share with you understood a common thing. We all must read like our Democracy depends on it. Because it does.<\/p>\n I have more podcasts and stories cued up, but this is important to me, which is why I am launching it now. <\/p>\n <\/span> The World, Explained <\/strong>(Non-Fiction)<\/span> Great American Novel <\/strong>(Fiction)<\/span> Context for a Dark Time<\/strong> (Non-Fiction Essays)<\/span>
Short Attention Span Shelf<\/span>
Common Sense<\/span><\/a><\/strong> by <\/span>Thomas Paine (<\/span>free digitally via this link<\/a>)<\/span><\/em>
The fiery pamphlet that helped convince ordinary people they could challenge an empire and build something better. Still feels remarkably current.<\/span><\/p>\n
One Day, Everyone Will Have Been Against This<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>by <\/span>Omar El Akkad<\/span>
<\/em>I was moved by his devastating reckoning with the mass killing and displacement in Gaza and his take on the leaders, politicians, institutions and pundits who continue to enable or excuse it. Don\u2019t let the intensity of the subject intimidate you or keep you away. At around 200 pages, it\u2019s relatively short and written in clear, beautiful prose that will sweep you from one page to the next. You\u2019ll never regret reading Omar\u2019s words, nor will you ever forget them.<\/span><\/p>\n
A Confederacy of Dunces<\/span><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>by <\/span>John Kennedy Toole<\/em>
One of my favorite books, and arguably one of the funniest novels ever written. Beneath the absurdity is a biting satire about American culture, ego, and the people who think they\u2019re smarter than everyone else. You may also find yourself deeply craving a Lucky Dog hot dog.<\/span><\/p>\n
Resistance, Rebellion, and Death<\/span><\/a><\/strong> by <\/span>Albert Camus (<\/span>free digital version<\/a>)<\/span><\/em>
You go to a protest. You carry a sign. You speak out. But does any of it actually make a difference? Camus wrestles with the moral question of what ordinary people owe one another in the face of injustice. Essential reading for anyone wondering what resistance really means, and why it\u2019s something we still need to feel, and why we need to fight for things that are important to us in the moment we\u2019re in. It feels weightier than the other books this month, but trust me, if you give it some time, you\u2019ll feel what I did. What\u2019s the point of life, if not to care for one another?<\/span><\/p>\n