Here are 100 books that Hypercapitalism fans have personally recommended if you like Hypercapitalism. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Stumbling on Happiness

Afia Khalid Author Of Rising Consumer Materialism: A Threat to Sustainable Happiness

From my list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been the ‘observing individual’ and deeply interested in knowing the connection between mind and soul. This always led me to the question what are the roots of happiness and content? Since materialism has a strong, complex, and intricate impact on our lifestyle and choices, my observation led me to conclude that despite unparalleled access to wealth, people still struggle with concepts of serenity, peace, happiness, and contentment. This disconnect prompted me to explore the various socio-psychological dimensions of materialism. While writing this book my objective was to highlight subtle yet profound materialistic omnipresence on our life choices, often at the expense of genuine well-being. 

Afia's book list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living

Afia Khalid Why Afia loves this book

Any book written with an imaginative undertone gets to be amongst my favorites. In this brilliant book, the foibles of imagination and illusions of foresight are discussed, which cause each of us to misconceive our tomorrows and misestimate our satisfactions.

What I really like is the penetrating insight and sparkling prose that the author has used. Moreover, the very interesting take on why we seem to know so little about the hearts and minds of the people we are about to become has a flavor of its own. Mature readers will definitely love it!

By Daniel Gilbert ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Stumbling on Happiness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bringing to life scientific research in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, and behavioral economics, this bestselling book reveals what scientists have discovered about the uniquely human ability to imagine the future, and about our capacity to predict how much we will like it when we get there. 

• Why are lovers quicker to forgive their partners for infidelity than for leaving dirty dishes in the sink?

• Why will sighted people pay more to avoid going blind than blind people will pay to regain their sight?

• Why do dining companions insist on ordering different meals instead of getting what they…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The High Price of Materialism

Afia Khalid Author Of Rising Consumer Materialism: A Threat to Sustainable Happiness

From my list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been the ‘observing individual’ and deeply interested in knowing the connection between mind and soul. This always led me to the question what are the roots of happiness and content? Since materialism has a strong, complex, and intricate impact on our lifestyle and choices, my observation led me to conclude that despite unparalleled access to wealth, people still struggle with concepts of serenity, peace, happiness, and contentment. This disconnect prompted me to explore the various socio-psychological dimensions of materialism. While writing this book my objective was to highlight subtle yet profound materialistic omnipresence on our life choices, often at the expense of genuine well-being. 

Afia's book list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living

Afia Khalid Why Afia loves this book

I read this book while I was writing an article about what we have done to ourselves. It was the first time I was reading in detail about materialism and it immediately sparked interest in the topic.

I particularly liked it because it was not just a general observation or mastery of words but rather a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. I would recommend this book because it explains in very simple ways how materialism and consumerism undermine our quality of life. 

By Tim Kasser ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The High Price of Materialism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A study of how materialism and consumerism undermine our quality of life.

In The High Price of Materialism, Tim Kasser offers a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. Other writers have shown that once we have sufficient food, shelter, and clothing, further material gains do little to improve our well-being. Kasser goes beyond these findings to investigate how people's materialistic desires relate to their well-being. He shows that people whose values center on the accumulation of wealth or material possessions face a greater risk of unhappiness, including anxiety,…


Book cover of The Materialistic World: How to Escape Materialism, Theory of Materialism, Mindful Living, Living with True Happiness

Afia Khalid Author Of Rising Consumer Materialism: A Threat to Sustainable Happiness

From my list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been the ‘observing individual’ and deeply interested in knowing the connection between mind and soul. This always led me to the question what are the roots of happiness and content? Since materialism has a strong, complex, and intricate impact on our lifestyle and choices, my observation led me to conclude that despite unparalleled access to wealth, people still struggle with concepts of serenity, peace, happiness, and contentment. This disconnect prompted me to explore the various socio-psychological dimensions of materialism. While writing this book my objective was to highlight subtle yet profound materialistic omnipresence on our life choices, often at the expense of genuine well-being. 

Afia's book list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living

Afia Khalid Why Afia loves this book

I read this book on a friend’s recommendation and loved the way it is presented. In very relevant examples, the book establishes the way materialism has taken over us. It is a matter of time that we realize "Money can't buy happiness", and a lot of us are under the control of the media and advertising industry.

The obsession with having fancy clothes, nice cars, or bigger houses has distracted many people from being kind, friendly and respectful to each other and I have several observed this fact around in my personal and professional settings. 

By Grace Scott ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Materialistic World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What's The Next Thing You Want to Buy? We all have heard of the phrase "Money can't buy happiness", but what we don't realize is a lot of us are under the control of the media and advertising industry, and have been fed by the idea that having more materialistic possessions can help you experience a much happier and a more fulfilling life. This obsession with having fancy clothes, nice cars, or bigger houses has distracted many people from being kind, friendly and respectful to each other. The materialistic mindset has also caused a large number of people to get…


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Pure Simplicity: The Art of Minimalism

Afia Khalid Author Of Rising Consumer Materialism: A Threat to Sustainable Happiness

From my list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been the ‘observing individual’ and deeply interested in knowing the connection between mind and soul. This always led me to the question what are the roots of happiness and content? Since materialism has a strong, complex, and intricate impact on our lifestyle and choices, my observation led me to conclude that despite unparalleled access to wealth, people still struggle with concepts of serenity, peace, happiness, and contentment. This disconnect prompted me to explore the various socio-psychological dimensions of materialism. While writing this book my objective was to highlight subtle yet profound materialistic omnipresence on our life choices, often at the expense of genuine well-being. 

Afia's book list on materialism, simplicity, and sustainable living

Afia Khalid Why Afia loves this book

I found the book while searching online. Anything that has ‘simplicity’ in its title attracts me. I particularly feel that finding joy in simplicity is an art worth mastering in a world filled with never-ending distractions. This book does exactly the same by inviting you to embark on a journey of decluttering, both physically and mentally.

I love the concept of creating space for more with less, and the book helps me understand the principles that can help me do so. 

By Heidi Wren ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pure Simplicity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Are you ready to clear away your clutter and make space for what really matters? Learn how to transform your life with the power of minimalism.

Are you overwhelmed by the chaos and clutter in your life?

Do you find yourself unsure as to where and how to begin decluttering your life?

Do you desire more control over your life?

If you answered “yes” to the following, Heidi Wren’s Pure Simplicity: Mastering the Art of Minimalism is the book for you.

Finding joy in simplicity is an art worth mastering in a world filled with never-ending distractions. Pure Simplicity invites…


Book cover of Anomaly Flats

Will Hartzell-Baird Author Of The Taste of Cashews

From my list on science fiction for people who enjoy comedy.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my teenage years, it was sci-fi (and later fantasy) comedies that made me fall in love with reading. There was just something about exploring worlds where anything could happen mixed with the joy of laughter that kept drawing me back in. Naturally, in the many...many...years that followed, I've read countless novels from a wide variety of genres, but sci-fi comedy will always hold a special place in my heart.

Will's book list on science fiction for people who enjoy comedy

Will Hartzell-Baird Why Will loves this book

Tired of spaceships and A.I.? Then how about a humorous take on sci-fi horror? If Twin Peaks were a comedy…and also a book…it would’ve been Anomaly Flats. Weird, disturbing events abound in this quaint Midwestern town where an ancient evil lurks behind the canned goods at the local Walmart, and–since they weren’t trying to kill me personally–many of them were hilarious. Or at least the way the characters reacted to them were hilarious. And in the end, isn’t that close enough?

By Clayton Smith ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anomaly Flats as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sci-fi gets wickedly fun in Anomaly Flats, the deliciously dark comedy from the author of Apocalypticon!

What readers are saying:

"Clayton Smith's work is imaginative, unique, and ridiculously entertaining. I didn't think anything could top Apocalypticon, but I was SO wrong."

"Its ongoing charm is hypnotic."

"Shove over, Christopher Moore…Weird Fun has a new author king!"

Somewhere just off the interstate, in the heart of the American Midwest, there’s a quaint, quirky town where the stars in the sky circle a hypnotic void….where magnetic fields play havoc with time and perception…where metallic rain and plasma rivers and tentacles in the…


Book cover of Leaning Into The Wind: A Memoir Of Midwest Weather

Janet Hulstrand Author Of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France

From my list on literary memoirs from the Midwest.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Minnesota, and although I have not lived there for most of my adult life, it will always be home for me. I miss the prairie, the lakes, and the wide open skies; I even miss the winters. So I love reading good books set in the Midwest. To me these five books exemplify all that is best about Midwesterners: their honesty, their modesty, their connection to the land; their belief in themselves, and in the interesting and good people in this part of the country. Each of these writers shows that sometimes you can go home again: and that it can be worth it to do so. 

Janet's book list on literary memoirs from the Midwest

Janet Hulstrand Why Janet loves this book

I love the very idea of a whole book devoted to poetic writing about the weather.

Weather in the Midwest tends to be particularly dramatic, and to have a particularly marked influence on daily life. Susan Allen Toth is a wonderful writer; with humor and insight, she leads the reader on a thought-provoking exploration of how weather affects our lives, our memories, and even our character. 

By Susan Allen Toth ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Leaning Into The Wind as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Midwesterners love to talk about the weather, approaching the vagaries and challenges of extreme temperatures, deep snow, and oppressive humidity with good-natured complaining, peculiar pride, and communal spirit. Such a temperamental climate can at once terrify and disturb, yet offer unparalleled solace and peace.Leaning into the Wind is a series of ten intimate essays in which Susan Allen Toth, who has spent most of her life in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, reveals the ways in which weather has challenged and changed her perceptions about herself and the world around her. She describes her ever-growing awareness of and appreciation for how…


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Jesus' Son

Frank Bures Author Of Under Purple Skies

From my list on about the Midwest.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a writer who grew up in the Midwest, moved away for a while, and has now raised my own kids here. I love reading other writers' takes on what kinds of stories they see unfolding here. As I get older, I realize that great stories can grow out of the ground anywhere, with the right amount of sunshine, darkness, and water. 

Frank's book list on about the Midwest

Frank Bures Why Frank loves this book

This is one of the seminal works of American literature, which happens to be set in the Midwest.

The characters' lives are filled with pointless rebellion and recreational drugs. For those of us who grew up in small-town Midwest in the 1980s, this dredges up a lot of nostalgia. We may not have been quite as debauched, but we all knew someone like Shithead, the main character, and remember them fondly.

By Denis Johnson ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Jesus' Son as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jesus' Son is a visionary chronicle of dreamers, addicts, and lost souls. These stories tell of spiralling grief and transcendence, of rock bottom and redemption, of getting lost and found and lost again. The narrator of these interlinked stories is a young, unnamed man, reeling from his addiction to heroin and alcohol, his mind at once clouded and made brilliantly lucid by these drugs. In the course of his adventures, he meets an assortment of people, who seem as alienated and confused as he; sinners, misfits, the lost, the damned, the desperate and the forgotten. Our of their bleak, seemingly…


Book cover of Family

Janet Hulstrand Author Of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France

From my list on literary memoirs from the Midwest.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Minnesota, and although I have not lived there for most of my adult life, it will always be home for me. I miss the prairie, the lakes, and the wide open skies; I even miss the winters. So I love reading good books set in the Midwest. To me these five books exemplify all that is best about Midwesterners: their honesty, their modesty, their connection to the land; their belief in themselves, and in the interesting and good people in this part of the country. Each of these writers shows that sometimes you can go home again: and that it can be worth it to do so. 

Janet's book list on literary memoirs from the Midwest

Janet Hulstrand Why Janet loves this book

Ian Frazier’s exploration of his own family’s history takes the reader on a fascinating deep (and broad) dive into American history.

What begins as a chance discovery of letters written between his parents as a young couple leads him inexorably back into the far-reaching branches of his family tree, and a unique perspective on American life from the eighteenth century to the twentieth.

David McCullough called this book a ”remarkable history of an unremarkable family.” The author’s keen curiosity, masterful storytelling, and elegant prose kept me spellbound. I read this book when it first came out, and it was one of those books that for a while I couldn’t stop telling everyone to read.

I’ve never forgotten it, and now I think I’m about to read it again.

By Ian Frazier ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Family as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Family tells the story of Ian Frazier's family in America from the early colonial days to the present. Using letters and other family documents, he reconstructs two hundred years of middle class life, visiting small towns his ancestors lived in, reading books they read, and discovering the larger forces of history that affected them.


Book cover of The Cannibal Galaxy

John Pistelli Author Of The Quarantine of St. Sebastian House

From my list on ideas of the last 50 years.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been fascinated by philosophical ideas, the more radical and counterintuitive the better. But as someone who’s never excelled at abstract thought, I’ve found these ideas’ expression in argumentative nonfiction both dry and unpersuasive, lacking the human context that would alone test the strength of propositions about spirituality, justice, love, education, and more. The novel of ideas brings concepts to life in the particular personalities and concrete experiences of fictional characters—a much more vivid and convincing way to explore the world of thought. Many readers will be familiar with the genre’s classics (Voltaire, Dostoevsky, Mann, Camus), so I’d like to recommend more recent instances I find personally or artistically inspiring.

John's book list on ideas of the last 50 years

John Pistelli Why John loves this book

Cynthia Ozick's 1983 novel is set in a Midwestern academy founded by a Jewish refugee from Nazi-occupied France who wants to offer students a “dual curriculum” combining traditional Jewish religious instruction with the secular liberal arts. Eventually, this principal comes into conflict with a brilliant philosopher who insists that he not judge her under-achieving daughter too quickly when she becomes a student at the school. Ozick’s richly descriptive prose recreates the horrors of 1940s Europe and the placidity of the midcentury American Midwest as she surveys the dangers of American assimilation and anti-intellectualism with all the rigor we'd expect of a novelist who doubles as one of our best essayists. As a teacher myself, I recognize the anxieties of pedagogy Ozick portrays—how do we know when and if we’re doing justice to our students?—and I would recommend it to anyone who teaches at any level. 

By Cynthia Ozick ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cannibal Galaxy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This novel is about the uneasy condition of Jewish heritage in the prevailing Gentile culture of middle America.


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Disease of Kings

Julia Wendell Author Of Daughter Days

From my list on poetry books that get at the heart of our humanity.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since I was a child and my father first pointed me to a few of his favorite poets (Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley), I have been passionate about poetry, particularly poems that speak plainly of the world in a very relatable way. I’ve found that I can learn something about myself and my humanity by reading my favorite poets who often teach me something new about the world. They are my guides and companions. 

Julia's book list on poetry books that get at the heart of our humanity

Julia Wendell Why Julia loves this book

I loved how the book transported me into a world of dumpster–diving, and train-hopping, and I cared for the plight of this unusual protagonist. The poems have a narrative pull and take us into the uneasy relationship between two friends who live on the fringes of society and teach us that from little there can be plenty, from shame there can rise fulfillment, from silence there can arise poetry.

I learned more about who I am by reading about who I am not and found poetry in the most surprising of places.

By Anders Carlson-Wee ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Disease of Kings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In poems bursting with narrative power, Disease of Kings explores the tender yet volatile friendship between two young scammers living off the fat of society. Here are stories of an odd couple who scrounge, con, hustle, and steal, alternately proud of their ability to fabricate a life at the margins and ashamed of their own laziness and greed.

Rich with a specificity of voices, these poems locate themselves in a midwestern city at once gritty with reality and achingly anonymous. Here, the central speaker and his best-only-friend, North, come together and apart, nursing a sense of freedom that is fraught…


Book cover of Stumbling on Happiness
Book cover of The High Price of Materialism
Book cover of The Materialistic World: How to Escape Materialism, Theory of Materialism, Mindful Living, Living with True Happiness

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in midwest, capitalism, and materialism?

Midwest 43 books
Capitalism 231 books
Materialism 55 books