Score

@Erica Zahn
I think this list might just need a more elaborate description, as all sorts of books seem to be on it now. Or was this your intention?

Booklovinglady wrote: "@Erica Zahn
I think this list might just need a more elaborate description, as all sorts of books seem to be on it now. Or was this your intention?"

Hi - I intended for the list to be pretty general as to criteria, but I think the main issue is that more people have read (or at least heard of) the fictional classics that are put on the list, so they end up on top while the (perhaps more pertinent) non-fiction is pushed down. When I started the list it was a mix of fiction and non-fiction, though (and there are so many facets to the Trump phenomenon that a lot of books become relevant in one sense or another, so the list ends up being a pretty mixed bag).

(From your comment, I'm not sure if this is what you're getting at, but if it is then I hope I made sense. I'm not sure what the solution would be, though - maybe another list that specifies only books for political awareness?)

@Erica
It's just that I came across another list:
The Post-Trump Big Questions Canon, which made me wonder.

I'm not American by the way, nor do I live in the States :-)

Booklovinglady wrote: "@Erica
It's just that I came across another list:
The Post-Trump Big Questions Canon, which made me wonder.

I'm not American by the way, nor do I live in the States :-)"

The other list seems more non-fiction focused, while this one is a mixture of different things, so I think they make a fine pair. I would say I'm content with the state of the lists.

I'm not American or state-side either. :)

Erica wrote: "I'm not American or state-side either. :) .."

Guessed as much :-)

I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on.

Joel wrote: "I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on."

Joel, there's nothing about the list that makes it for 'liberals' - I designed it to be neutral, and it is: if more voters favour those particular books, then so be it. The books that top the list are all famous dystopians - are you seriously saying you don't think a message that's applicable to the real world can be conveyed through fiction? And I notice there's fiction on your profile, too - why the double standard? Why read fiction at all if you think there's no relevance to reality?

I found another list, more politically driven but very interesting:
http://lithub.com/50-books-for-the-ne...

Nocturnalux wrote: "I found another list, more politically driven but very interesting:
http://lithub.com/50-books-for-the-ne..."

That's a great list! It seems more partisan and less driven by established reputation than goodreads lists (chosen by select respondents rather than popular vote), so it's good to see some books included that aren't already so widely read. Feel free to add books from that list to this one, though, if you've read them.

Erica wrote: "Nocturnalux wrote: "I found another list, more politically driven but very interesting:
http://lithub.com/50-books-for-the-ne..."

That's a great list! It seems more partisan and less dr..."

Yes, I agree that it is much more partisan and I am not all that familiar with most titles.

It is amazing how so many lists popping up, independently of one another. I suspect others will appear in the future as books are written on the actual subject of Trump's presidency. Speaking of which, this may be of interest:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

Joel wrote: "I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on."

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

Joel wrote: "I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on."

I think Joel's comment reveals more about world perception than anything else here: the pathological need to defend one's own tribe in the face of a (presumably) monolithic other. For the record, Trump isn't conservative and opposing demagoguery isn't exclusively a liberal stance. Just ask John McCain.

“Frederick Douglass,” Trump said, “is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.”



We have tons of material to pull from now for subjects to read about after only 13 days of office. xC

Terrence wrote: "“Frederick Douglass,” Trump said, “is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.”

[bookcover:Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass|3652..."

Good suggestion - I've voted it up my list too. It'll be interesting to see which books gain unexpected prevalence over the course of our new era.

I've got a new funny candidate. xD

Murder on the Bowling Green


Probably drop it back into my section of votes next to Orange Man, Small Hands, and Pig in a Wig.

Edit: Threw Brady and Belichick up to number 1 on my list for the Superbowl. Unreal ending. Trump tweeted calling them "winners" in the Trump sense of the word.



Edit 2: We got a new one folks.

Which is Better: A Strong or Weak Dollar?

I initially thought the title of the list was that these were books that Trump should read lolol. Though think that applies as well.

another booky for the list

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Ashley wrote: "How does Harry Potter #5 fit into this list?"

Ministry of Magic. The book is a satire criticizing tyrannical bureaucracies.

Joel wrote: "I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on."

Really? It shouldn't be partisan, Trump should be seen as horrible from both sides. Don't let tribalism cloud your judgement. Only 3 of the first four books are fiction, unless you're meaning the Constitution is to not be taken seriously (as Trump's administration has made a point of doing). Go read 1984, and you'll see some similarities to this administration, though it more closely relates to Stalinist Soviet Union or modern-day North Korea.

Alex wrote: "Joel wrote: "I find it revealing that the top four books on this list are fiction. Shows you what liberals' perception of the world is based on."

Only 3 of the first four books are fiction ..."

When I commented, the top four books were Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451, and Animal Farm.

I searched for a comparable list of "Books to Read Under the Obama Administration" and found none. The premise of this list (that we are "under the rule" of the 45th president) is questionable at best, as is the corollary assumption that this U.S. presidential administration is uniquely dangerous, horrible, or divisive.

nahh. the list is encouraging self help and diy project books c:

Patrick wrote: "The premise of this list (that we are "under the rule" of the 45th president) is questionable at best, as is the corollary assumption that this U.S. presidential administration is uniquely dangerous, horrible, or divisive."

Many of us believe that it is. I think that's reflected in the choice of books. You're of course welcome to pick different ones or start a "books to read under Obama" list.

Donna wrote: "Patrick wrote: "The premise of this list (that we are "under the rule" of the 45th president) is questionable at best, as is the corollary assumption that this U.S. presidential administration is u..."

I was going to say the same thing: the list isn't 'biased', it just reflects the views of the majority of Goodreads users. As conservatives are wont to say, 'the silent majority has spoken'.

Also, I'm not sure why he's complaining about the lack of an Obama list - it's a bit late.

Erica wrote: "...'the silent majority has spoken'...."

:-)

the very loud and obnoxious vocal minority

Patrick wrote: "I searched for a comparable list of "Books to Read Under the Obama Administration" and found none. The premise of this list (that we are "under the rule" of the 45th president) is questionable at b..."

Obama's not president. Hasn't been for awhile now. Yes, Trump is dangerous and divisive. I don't know why you're even questioning those aspects at this point in time. If you can't understand why there's a list in respects to the current administration, that says more about you than it does your fellow readers.

I would just guess that a book called "How to Get Rich" written by the current president would be worthwhile.. or like, The Power of Positive Thinking by his former Pastor Vincent Norman Peale, maybe something educational or more productive than what this list consist of.

This exercise is not beneficial. If you are someone with anxiety focusing on it to such an extend is not going to be relaxing or help the situation at all.

The list is fine and includes many great books, but the subject is ironic and highly derisive

Jamie wrote: "I would just guess that a book called "How to Get Rich" written by the current president would be worthwhile.. or like, The Power of Positive Thinking by his former Pastor Vincent Norman Peale, may..."

I mean, it won't be written by Trump, since he had ghost writers write his last few books, but your second choice would be good.

Let's see...

The first book on this list is Nineteen Eighty Four, about making certain things forbidden to say in order to control how the population thinks. Sounds a lot like how the left today makes certain views forbidden to express - like pro-life, anti-illegal immigraion... Trump is the one who broke these taboos and gave frustrated voters a voice. So I guess it's an appropriate choice for this list.

The second book is The Handmaid's Tale. That book is about a society governed by a totalitarian religious order that subjugates women, reducing them to reproductive organs. Sounds like a lot of countries in the Middle East. Countries from which Trump is trying to cut down on illegal immigration through his travel ban so that the dangerous ideology described in that book doesn't spread to America. I guess it's an appropriate choice too.

The third book is Fahrenheit 451, once again about government control over published media. Sort of like where we were going with redefining the internet as a utility so it can be regulated by the FCC. Good thing Trump's administration put an end to that. Good choice of a book too!

Book four: The US Constitution. Trump nominated, so far, two SCOTUS judges who think that the Constitution should be interpreted as written and not twisted in pursuit of an activist agenda, like some of the old SCOTUS judges do. Great choice too!

Five: Animal Farm, about how the ruling class which comes to power promising free things for everyone gets fat by using government to make them rich. Sort of like the Clintons. Thank god we dodged that bullet and elected Trump instead of Napoleon, erm... Hillary.

Six: About race relations and the unequal treatment of Blacks in America. You know, things like segregating them to different schools, something that doesn't really exist anymore de jure, but does exist in our current public school system de facto. Thankfully, Trump's administration is in favor of school vouchers giving minorities the ability to send their kids to better schools. Good choice of a book for this list!

And so on down the list. This list is great. It should really make people hopeful that under the Trump Administration we've slowed down the descent into totalitarianism that has been occurring since Obama and would have accelerated under Clinton. We're not where we need to be, and we aren't even heading in the right direction, but at least we've slowed down going in the wrong direction. Keep that in mind when reading the books in this list.

Joel wrote: "Let's see...

The first book on this list is Nineteen Eighty Four, about making certain things forbidden to say in order to control how the population thinks. Sounds a lot like how the left today ..."

Ignorance is bliss for you, eh? Trump's administration is corrupt, but you've long accepted that.

I voted for "The Gospel Singer" by Harry Crews to be added to this list. It's hard to find now (especially since Crews passed away in 2012) but worth it. The title character is very Trump-like. A man who's worshipped like a God by his followers, but is really a very corrupt individual who lives contrary to what he preaches. The book was released exactly 50 years ago but it's as timely as ever.

Warren wrote: "It's hard to find now (especially since Crews passed away in 2012) but worth it...."

There are several second hand copies to be found on Abebooks but unfortunately they are very expensive. New it is only to be found in a Spanish translation.

A librarian went through this list and inexplicably removed dozens of relevant books on February 24th!

Books that were removed: The Handmaid's Tale, Animal Farm, The Scarlet Letter, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, The Origin of Species, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Passage to India, Green Eggs and Ham, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, The Princess Diarist, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Death of a Salesman, Moby-Dick, or, the Whale, Les Misérables, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Watership Down, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Diary of a Young Girl, The Hunger Games

While some of these may have been of questionable relevance, not a word was spoken before this person decided to summarily delete them! I noticed because one of my top votes (A Handmaid's Tale - quite relevant!) was missing.

I've since added back The Handmaid's Tale, but the rest are still deleted unless other people decide to add them again.

Handmaid's Tale isn't relevant. It's a fiction fantasy about a world that doesn't exist. Sure - it's supposed to be a critique on religious orders that subjugate women, but that is not relevant to the Trump Administration. US law gives equal protection to both sexes. Saudi Arabi or Iran, maybe, but not the Trump Administration.

Have to disagree there. Dozens of people thought it was quite relevant to the current administration.

My point was that it is against Listopia rules for librarians to go in and delete books based on personal prejudices. If the list creator disagrees with a certain addition and would like it removed, that is another matter.

Rainbowheart wrote: "Books that were removed: The Handmaid's Tale, Animal Farm, The Scarlet Letter, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, The Origin of Species, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, A Passage to Ind..."

Thank you for alerting to this. I'm not sure what would have motivated it given that there isn't a clear pattern to the removals. I agree that the books in question are highly relevant and there is no reason to remove them. I have submitted a query, and I suggest you do too.

I've just received an email from the Goodreads Support Team about the removal problem: they said they can't restore the list to their original state, but I've pointed out to them that unnecessary tampering with lists is a potential cause for suspension according to the rules of their own site. I'm still hoping they find the person responsible, but no promises yet.

I flagged the deletions as well, Erica. You can see the person responsible by checking the librarian change log.

Unfortunately, I have first-hand experience with this. Last October, a rogue librarian deleted the entire YA Novels of 2019 list. All ~1500 voters had their votes wiped out, and since the list was empty, Goodreads software deleted it. When something like that happens, there is no way to retrieve lost votes or lost lists.

Rainbowheart wrote: "I flagged the deletions as well, Erica. You can see the person responsible by checking the librarian change log.

Unfortunately, I have first-hand experience with this. Last October, a rogue libra..."

I flagged the deletions individually already and sent the profile to the Support Team. Yes, I have no idea why people do this. It seems very random, and makes me worry about whom they're giving librarian privileges to in the first place. We can't restore the list to its former state, but hopefully something is done about the person in question.

This list will soon be needing an update, as I am getting close to releasing the definitive book on an administration of equivalent stature to the one mentioned here (though with just a slightly different name and key character) : namely, the Chump administration.

My book stands to overturn the conventions of modern political journalism, blending live on-the-spot reporting with deep analysis gleaned particularly from intensive dumpster-diving. I even provide links to some delicious political recipes.

Stay posted for my book release before 2019 is out, or follow me on Twitter in the meantime for scorching political commentary.

I will be needing to connect to readers who are intent on discovering the truth about the administration of Ronnie S. Chump, the greatest unelected civic leader since Dinsdale Piranha.

With much love,
Your dear Martha Skewermann
Investigative journalist extraordinaire
Unofficial biographer of the Chump administration

https://twitter.com/skewermann

yall crazy

Should be titled "Living Under New World Order Regime" ...time shows it wasn't Trump's fault... stop watching the damn news & read more books lol

Kevin wrote: "Should be titled "Living Under New World Order Regime" ...time shows it wasn't Trump's fault... stop watching the damn news & read more books lol"

Yep, but it's even funnier how so many of these books would be instructive under the current administration....while being far too complicated for either Joe or Kam to actually understand. #Progress

You should rename this list now to What to Read Under the Biden administration - unchecked illegal immigration and spreading them around under the cover of darkness across the land, coupled with an almost innumerable list of other devastating things this Numpty is doing to the country. Unlikely we will survive his administration let alone this decade. "Cancel Culture", "Woke", sexually confusing kids in the schools, only a particular race matters, two nation kneeling anthems at sporting events, social media controlling what people can and can't say. Orwell was right.

Bad Girl wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Should be titled "Living Under New World Order Regime" ...time shows it wasn't Trump's fault... stop watching the damn news & read more books lol"

Yep, but it's even funnier how so m..."

Exactly, the current Numpty in charge doesn't even realize he is in charge. They have to have a whole White house set as a prop for him, and hire kid actors for his cackling assistant.

You can create a new list for "Books to Read Under the Biden Administration" if you want. Anyone can create lists.

true, and it would be most of these books. But I don't even want to honor that Numpty a list. Thanks

If we did create a list for that Numpty, I think Sowell's 'Basic Economics' would have to be right at the top of it!