100 Books Like The Parade

I was spending all day on my laptop for work, and evenings scrolling (or doom-scrolling) through social media on my phone. This book nudged me into re-thinking my social media habits and things that were sucking up my time and energy. With practical ideas on not only how to unsubscribe from useless emails but also on how to create an in-real-life community around me, this book reminded me to live my life outside my devices.

This memoir, with vivid portraits of Facebook personalities and company policies, hits on a visceral level. It starts with a shark attack that almost killed the author as a teenager in New Zealand; then tells of her work on global problems at the U.N. She’s struck by Facebook’s ability to connect people when it becomes the go-to for information after an earthquake in Christchurch. The company hires her to deal with governments. But Facebook makes massive demands on her and imperils her health, while she learns the quirks and privileges the higher-ups take for granted. The company keeps expanding in spite of evidence that it’s spreading misinformation and enabling bad actors. This is a thought-provoking and very personal look at an enterprise that has embedded itself in many people's lives.

I read this while on vacation, and though it was a wonderful trip, I kept thinking how much I was looking forward to getting back to the hotel room to continue reading.

The protagonist’s all-consuming job working for a tech company made me realize how much I wished I had used social media less. I loved how the book made us see how Mae’s job, at first exciting, took her to places she didn’t want to go.

In today’s online world, the completely interconnected one of this book is a cautionary tale.

A “fictional autobiography” that has really stuck with me, What is the What is based on the real-life experiences of Valentino Achak Deng, who survived the brutality and terror of Sudan’s second civil war.

At six or seven years old, he was separated from his parents when his village, Mariel Bai, was virtually wiped out by militia. Against all odds, he ultimately made it all the way to the United States, only to experience injustice, violence, and cruelty again.

Incredibly, the real story told in What is the What is one of hope and resilience, and it’s a powerful reminder that chance and circumstances are the only differences between us and anyone else on this planet. Gee, I don’t know… maybe we should all act accordingly? 

P.S. Somewhat controversial for its “autobiographical” claim despite being novelized—some say appropriated—by another person, What is the What was required reading at numerous US… show more.

Humans can be brave, and humans can be stubborn. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is both.

Refusing to leave New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina built strength out at sea in 2005, he stays and finds himself stranded in an eerily flooded city, seemingly alone and without help. He paddles the watery “streets” in an old kayak and finds others who could not or did not leave, offering help, and for his efforts, is arrested as a suspected terrorist and looter.

This book is not a simple tale of an everyday hero. We meet a character that downplays the dangers of a brewing storm but, despite his stubbornness, is also capable of great selflessness and bravery. The negligence of the institutions we expect to protect us is an insidious theme that runs throughout.

Published just two days after World War II was declared in Europe in 1939, and two years before the United States would enter the conflict, Dalton Trumbo’s powerfully emotional story centering on horribly wounded American World War I soldier Joe Bonham sparked controversy for its anti-war stance, while also winning the 1939 National Book Award for Most Original Book.

Apparently inspired by an article Trumbo had read about the Prince of Wales paying an emotional visit to Curley Christian, a Canadian soldier who’d survived the loss of all four limbs at the 1917 Battle of Vimy Ridge. Johnny Got His Gun is simply a gut-wrenching read that took me to places no one should really go.

Let’s just say I was a different 14-year-old the day I closed its covers and sat thinking for a very, very long time.

I absolutely flew through this novel. It isn't my usual go-to, but after persistent nagging from my beloved siblings I finally gave it a try. What a delight! I laughed out loud. I cried. I was simultaneously pulled into a dilapidated America set in the near-future, and the past world of the 1980's and enjoyed every second of it. The MC, Wade Watts, is immediately endearing. The nostalgia and world-building is SO fascinating. Absolutely excellent read! I will say, I listened to the audiobook (fantastically done) and there is a fair amount of swearing. Don't listen if little kids are around!

The concept of this story is amazing, especially at a time when they are “bringing back” different species. I am often amazed at what scientists have been able to accomplish in real life, and it’s even more fun to read about it in fiction. 

Another thing that I loved about this story is how it shows that nature cannot be contained. We can manipulate it, but we’d better not make too many assumptions about how things will progress because nature has its own way of doing things.

The characters were also great in both the book and the movie.

I love camping out in the wild, so for me reading this novel was a vicarious extended vacation.

The novel centers on a woman who escapes to Alaska with her two children and makes her way across the state in a beat-up rented recreational vehicle they call the Chateau. The fantastically flawed and appealing Josie and her two children are all wonderfully drawn. Anyone who has ever gone camping will get a kick out of all the details of life in this wreck on wheels.

The novel is not just laugh-out-loud funny; it’s also profound and deeply felt. I also wouldn’t have expected a novel that makes a compelling argument that we need to address climate change to be set in Alaska, where there’s so much untrammeled wilderness. But this novel taught me that in fact, the effects of climate change are actually more harsh closer to the poles.

Heroes… show more.

What an utterly charming book. It's written beautifully, has characters I cared for, and was literary while still being easy to digest and understand. It often delves into the brutality of war but the chapters are so short that you're in the darkness for a brief time before taking a breather. I enjoyed it immensely.