Along with shimmery slip dresses, sparkling glasses of something covered up by emojis in Instagram photos, metallic kisses, and pseudo-luxurious faux-fur coats, New Year’s Eve will mark the beginning of what is sure to be another sun revolution of violence and pain. With daily life becoming increasingly politically influenced it is imperative to personal and global success for our generation to be the most educated and active the world has ever seen. Not to be melodramatic or anything. Reading books is the absolute best way not only finally understand what people are talking about in AP Gov Pol Comp, but also inspires people to become creative, radical, and discover new things. Just personally, reading books takes away my stress, purifies my heart, and has me on a intellectually-fueled high for days.
Here are twelve books for the twelve months of the year, most of them have PDFs uploaded online.
January – Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur
If you forget about this article before the year is over and only get to read one book from this list, this one would be a good one to pick. I have massive respect for her work as a former member of the Black Panther Party and just individually as a sociological genius.
February – Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A parody-utopian book set in 2540 written in 1931 has to be good. Encompassing science, especially psychology, in a book about a strict morally corrupt society makes for a captivating novel.
March – The Lucifer Effect by Dr. Philip Zimbardo
Very thought-provoking and fascinating. It includes an in-depth dissertation on the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment and honestly is life-changing, and refers to things I should know but didn’t because of the eurocentric and American Exceptionalist upbringing I experienced.
April – Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
I have such a crush on this book I blushed typing. Makes no sense (it isn’t in chronological order) but also is the most logical and sane book ever written, a humorous critique of war that is unique and captivating.
May – Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman
Sums up the counterculture of the 1960s pretty well. A literal how-to on destroying the government.
June – How Europe Underdeveloped Africa by Walter Rodney
Title says it all! Enormously influential and controversial.
July – Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
I read this in one sitting. A poignant memoir on mental illness and hospitalization.
August – The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Muck-raking at its height; an informative, serious book regarding the history of capitalism in the United States.
September- Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis
A classic book that should be on every high school’s curriculum, and the fact that it isn’t makes it even more necessary to understand.
October – The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Haunting and thoroughly amazingly written, set in the years after the Great Depression.
November – Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
This is the kind of story that I put down and spend the next 24 hours not sure what time it is questioning my life and wanting to clean my room and start a bullet journal and thank my parents for everything they’ve done for me…
December – All About Love by bell hooks
If we get this far, we’ll need it….
