Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Books That Criticize Societal Norms

We have to read books like that for my book club. Do any of you have suggestions? So far I've read:
Ender's Game (racism/xenophobia, placing extremely high expectations on children)
Civil Disobedience (political and social apathy)


And I've started, but not finished, these two:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (criticizes governments that exaggerate small or nonexistent issues to distract from the real issues)
Alien in a Bottle (criticizes overprotectiveness and not letting kids at least try something they're passionate about)

Crime and Punishment
The Custom of the Country

Thanks. I don't really have time to start any new books, since we're meeting this afternoon, but I definitely want to read Crime and Punishment; I'll have to look up the second book you mentioned.

How about Bowling Alone (the deterioration of social connectedness), Fast Food Nation (destructive impact of the fast food industry), Affluenza (problems of overconsumption) or Amusing Ourselves to Death ("television industry and its effects on intellectual discourse").

Each of these addresses different aspects of our accepted/adopted lifestyles and their negative effects on each of us as individuals and on society as a whole.

I could discuss books all day, every day. I should have been a librarian!

They all sound cool! I want to buy Fast Food Nation someday...I have way too many books on my list.

Me too! I will never be able to read all of the books on my list. I'd have to read 24/7.

On the subject of consumerism, I was also fascinated by The Walmart Effect and The Paradox of Choice.

The Walmart Effect was particularly fascinating to me - how one man's noble goal (to make quality products accessible to all consumers) inadvertently led to the growth of an empire that has essentially dictated the poor-quality of countless numbers of products that are now all but disposable.

Wow. I'll have to look that one up....I don't read much nonfiction, but that does seem like an exception.

Oh! I just remembered one that I read several times, it's not fiction, but was fascinating for the perspective on how societal norms in the US affect girls.

It's called "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls"

I've heard of that one, but I never got around to reading it. *looks it up*

Okay, now that I've looked it up I really want to read it. Thanks for the suggestion!