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!

Someone just recommended this one to me. I just bought it. I will decide whether I will let my teenage son read it after I read it.

The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education

"Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed" by Mo Willems
"The Big Orange Splot" by Daniel Pinkwater

Not really sure of a good book on Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis but he (correctly) pushed for washing of hands between handling corpses and delivering babies which was not really accepted at the time.

The author, Grace Llewellyn, is synonymous with unschooling, an educational alternative which is related to homeschooling and is identifiable by self-directed, learner-chosen activities.

There is good and bad in everything. Done well, children can far exceed grade-level standards and norms through unschooling. Done poorly, unschooling can be an excuse for indolence.

Evidently the camp which Grace Llewellyn founded for unschoolers is still operating, and celebrating its 21st year.

Some may say that it is not enough to criticize societal norms; Rather than being "against" something, one must find (or create) something which s/he is "for". Grace Llewellyn has done this.

1) Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
2) Sewing Circles of Herat, Christina Lamb
3) Atlas Shrugged, Ayan Rand
4) Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
5) Animal Farm, George Orwell
6) Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
7) The Giver, Lois Lowry
8) Confucius Never Said, Helen Raliegh
9) The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

Raevyn, I'm impressed with the insights and questions you post on far-ranging subjects.

BTW, this happens often IRL - Governments (and individuals) routinely exaggerate small or nonexistent issues to distract from the real issues. When you read or watch the news you may find yourself keeping a mental list of these red herrings. Reading/watching the news from other countries can be very informative and the fresh perspective may also serve as an antidote to myopic vision (much like reading these books which question the status quo and/or the direction in which society may be headed). It is often beneficial to practice seeing several sides of an issue.

Thanks to every new poster. @indigo, The Giver is my favorite book, thanks for suggesting it. You make some great points about the news.

Although this is not a directly related topic, I really like this book a lot and it touches on the conflicts in a culture people often overlook:
Train Go Sorry: Inside a Deaf World by Leah Hager Cohen