1. Fahrenheit 451: A wonderful, if not wordy, sci-fi dystopian world where reading is outlawed. Books are burned and firemen doing the lighting. There are some very interesting social conflicts that Bradbury highlights in his work. If you haven’t read it for school already, you should definitely. Works like this informed so many pieces of young adult literature and helps shape the dystopian genre we all know and love. It also encourages the readers to take a hard look at themselves and how they spend their time. Most of all, I love this book because it’s so thought-provoking for a relatively short novel.
2. Native Son: Now, this is a work more for those interested in character-driven murder-thrillers with a bit of history. It’s set in the American North at the dawn of the 1900s, a time for tacet segregation and interpersonal strife. In some ways, this novel as an interpretation of that period in American History is almost more interesting than the story, at other times the non-history buff in the readership die while hiding in the back of the room hoping the group discussion doesn’t try to rope them in too. It’s a long read, but one worth having as an awareness of our recent past is vital for future growth.
3. Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: What? I never said anything about all these books being works of fiction. Anyone who wants to create content online, be it just a social media post or a full-blown novel, should definitely read this book. It’s all about information in the Internet age, complexities of copyright law and the ways companies like Amazon lockout content creators from the media in which their content is displayed. Cory Doctorow puts most of his other ebooks up on his website for free and his writing career is still flourishing from fan support. Even for people who want to run things like Youtube channels or use Ko-fi or Patreon or any other crowdfunding subscription service, this is definitely a book for you.
4. Thrill Me: Alright, yet another book that isn’t exactly pure entertainment. Just like the above entry, Thrill Me has a specific audience in aspiring young writers. It’s an excellent resource for covering mistakes commonly made by new writers or even the old cliches that more experienced writers have just gotten in the habit of skimming over. It’s one long letter to the hopeful author that I have found very helpful for my personal growth, identifying and streamlining processes I already took to. Who knows, for those writing internet personalities that might find the previous entry helpful, this book might work just as well.
5. A Classic:… Okay, before you get all confused and try googling what I meant by it, I mean one of the many, many works deemed classics by year of readership. Who am I to dictate your tastes? If you like fantasy with religious imagery, go for a Narnia book. If you love historical fiction read To Kill a Mocking Bird or some other piece you deem enjoyable, thought-provoking, whatever you look for in a classic work, go for it. The Hobbit, Oliver Twist, Crime and Punishment, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Jekyll and Hide, Moby Dick, The Wizard of Oz, it doesn’t matter as long as you read it because you want to. Any classic book, be it a modern classic or a truly far-flung work like Charlotte Temple can expand your mind in remarkable and thoughtful ways. Or if that fails to get your interest, find a Youtuber series like “Thug Notes” or “Philosophy of” from Wisecrack or other similar channels and pick up whatever book that most interests you.