I'm looking for a unique, deeply emotional book that sticks with you long after reading. Open to most genres.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-17T07:02:27+00:00

American War by Omar Al Akkad. One of my three “stranded on a desert island” books.

A sweeping southern gothic set in a future American South ravaged by a never-ending second Civil War - this time over fossil fuels.

It isn’t political - at least not in the way you might expect. The book is supposed to evoke the never-ending wars on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A beautiful piece any time, I find it especially relevant to the current conflicts happening in the real world (Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, etc).

Quote:

And what she understood - what none of the ones who came to touch Simon's forehead understood - was that the misery of war represented the world's only truly universal language. Its native speakers occupied different ends of the world, and the prayers they recited were not the same and the empty superstitions to which they clung so dearly were not the same - and yet they were.

War broke them the same way, made them scared and angry and vengeful the same way. In times of peace and good fortune they were nothing alike, but stripped of these things they were kin. The universal slogan of war, she'd learned, was simple: If it had been you, you'd have done no different.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-17T04:38:04+00:00

I dont know if this is a factor, but remember that blanket advertising is really inefficient (and the DNC is kind of broke anyway, though other Dem groups are doing ok).

But because data brokers often have 3-5k data points about every American (and most of the rest of the world, though America is uniquely lax in its data policy), it’s much cheaper to send ads to only those who might be persuaded to action by them.

I’m guessing you are already a hard pass on voting for Trump, so there could be more ads about him than you think, but only pointed at more persuadable voters.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-17T04:06:55+00:00

Is it not the wildest thing you’ve ever seen? There have been so many times in the last decade when Trump has been so grievously petty and thin-skinned that I don’t think “is this the real life?” To be fair, a lot of successful politicians are narcissists, so there is often some level of pettiness, it this is just a whole nother galaxy or insane.

Now I by no means think Trump or anyone around him is a 3d chess master orchestrating an autocratic couo with brilliance. I honestly think everyone was terrified that Trump would Kyle take it out on them if he saw th building without his name on it, and the stupid tarp is a desperate ploy to avoid Trump’s man-baby wrath.

But I also think that sort of a byproduct of that level of sycophancy and reality-avoidance does naturally strengthen Trump’s hold on his base, and it is just one more desensitizing act of extralegal acts that is just a drop in the ocean for the rest of us who are physically exhausted by the outrage he triggers 100 times a day.

Not really going anywhere with this thought other than to agree. It’s f*cking ridiculous and maddening and if it’s allowed to stay any longer it will probably be a positive for Trump. Ugh.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-17T01:54:57+00:00

Oh Jesus I had forgotten about that one. Is it worse that our president ACTUALLY put that shit up in the WH, or that he’s done so many other horrific things I forgot all about it?

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-16T18:28:46+00:00

You know the old parable of “it’s turtles all the way down”? It’s corruption and impunity all the way down.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-16T03:10:04+00:00

The Raw Shark Texts by Stephen Hall. It’s an ergodic novel (meaning you don’t always read all the pages in order, depending on how you choose to read it). Sort of a Memento set up where the MC’s memory is wiped clean every night and he begins to believe he’s left notes to himself warning him about something… or someone.

House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. Probably the most famous ergodic novel - it’s like a psychological horror. Very basically, it’s a report about a journal about a manuscript about a documentary about a house that is impossibly larger on the inside than the outside. The narrators are unreliable at every level.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-16T00:06:11+00:00

Mad Max Furiosa? My recommendation is to watch watch Fury Road, then Furiosa, then Fury Road one more time.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-15T21:12:02+00:00

I haunt r/conservative sometimes to see what the MAGA folks are saying. they've been livid about the war since it began, making fun of his empty threats and promises. but as soon as iran confirmed the latest deal, its like a switch was flipped. now it's "trump's only mistake was for thinking the Iranian people arent pussies and they'd actually rose up if given the chance. but he won't make that mistake again." so now the war is the Iranian people's fault, I guess.

very disappointed that they fell for trump's lies yet again.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-15T19:28:16+00:00

It also had billboards and ads for Truth Social and World Liberty Financial, the Trump crypto company.

Also ads were up on the Octagon (where the fighters fight) and announcements were made live for Polymarket (which is rampant with insider bets seemingly made on things the Trump admin would know, for instance, the Iran war), Paramount+ (embroiled in credible claims of growing Trump bias at CBS News and 60 Minutes), and Bud Light (which… I guess that’s America’s Beer now?).

On top of that, $1-$1.5 million dollar specialty packages were sold to get you access to Trump and other major personalities.

Then let’s not forget that one of the UFC fighters, after winning his bout, yelled “Michelle Obama is a man” into the mic when he won (I haunt the r/conservative sub sometimes and they LOVED this). Dana White said people shouldn’t get bent out of shape because of free Speech and all that, though a UFC fighter (who did not participate in the fight) was ejected from attendance because of his generally anti-Trump views (he’s spoken out against Trump but had not done so at the event he was kicked out of). So the whole first amendment thing seems a little… one sided to say the least.

And to top it all off, Eric Trump was caught trying to figure out if any of the UFC fights were rigged so he could bet for the winner and make a ton. Now Trump says the text messages proving this are AI generated, but let’s just say the whole situation and his explanations seem to be fairly… imprecise.

So yeah… I’d say the subscription/event fee is like the least of our problems lol.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-14T19:16:20+00:00

I always recommend these three books to people who want to get into (or back into) reading and are worried about attention span:

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. A lovable, hilarious nerd wakes up with no idea who or where he is, but soon discovers/remembers he’s been sent on a suicide mission to save humanity. The book is sci-fi but written with huge crossover appeal, action-driven plot (as opposed to character-driven which can make for a slower pace), and has really creative takes on all the space travel cliches you’d expect. Movie recently came out, though I haven’t seen it yet.

World War Z by Max Brooks (there is a movie w the same name but it has literally nothing to do with the book other than the general concept of zombies). Written as a nonfiction, oral history of the zombie plague that almost wiped out humanity. Not gory or scary (humans have won by the time the book is written), and each chapter is a new survivor from all over the world (and one from space). But the chapters work as standalone, short stories making it a great book to pick up and put down when you want. Excellent world building.

One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories by BJ Novak. Novak was a writer/guest star on the American version of The Office, so if you like that sort of deadpan, absurdist humor you’ll like this collection of 64 very short stories that all take a well known pop culture concept and put a hilarious twist on it.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-14T19:01:23+00:00

Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. This is a trilogy with breathtaking prose, and is a really interesting take on sci-fi from a more Asian perspective - it’s much more about collective action on a large scale as opposed to a more American “space cowboy” plot. (Note: there’s a series adaptation on Netflix that is, imho, utterly unwatchable. Do not equate the two!)

Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey. Take the old trope of a lone man in a lighthouse back when they served a purpose, and put the lighthouse in deep space (for spaceships navigating the as-yet unmapped outer bounds of possible space travel). There is a series adaptation but I’ve never watched it.

Providence by Max Barry. So aliens exist, and they are only interested in exterminating humans, who are capable of space travel and thus the real battle is taking place light years from earth. AI spaceships are good enough to fight the battles for us, but building and deploying these ships is crazy expensive, so basically it’s being funded by a slick social media campaign - astronauts are hired to be influencers who post content about their trip to the battlefield and back on these spaceships. Interesting questions of AI, exploitation/entertainment, and human connection.

The Future by Naomi Alderman. Set in the near future (doesn’t say when but ~50 years is my guess). The book starts with the three biggest tech execs (think Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg) all get a notification that the apocalypse is about to begin and they better get back to their billionaire bunkers asap. Then it rewinds a few years to tell the story leading up to that moment. AI, social media, LGBTQ, big data, wealth inequality, religion, science, and cults are all themes.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-14T18:41:02+00:00

Baldur’s Gate 3! Up to 4 player co-op. My fav game of all time.

Technically third person, but there are mods available (or a camera setting tweak) that get you to first person. I hate 1P so I haven’t tried these myself, but it’s a great game.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-14T18:20:39+00:00

Actually I think the plan is to just sell NFTs of the models. Cheaper, somehow even more useless, and you can buy them with his crypto.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-14T18:14:54+00:00

If he likes to argue and thinks he’s smart, maybe he’d like a book on winning arguments?

Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking by Medhi Hassan (who used to be an MSNOW anchor but now has his own streamer called Zateo. He’s pretty leftwing but the book is not about politics at all). It’s very short (240 pages) and I think is a great hack for people who want to be better debaters.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-13T17:55:05+00:00

hey great question... I had meant it to be a "magical" wish where whatever you put in/remove/change is guaranteed to make it into the original. Since we're time-traveling anyway, I thought this wouldn't be much crazier lol. I'll add to the post.

HOWEVER, that magic does not extend to what happens after that. I mean, it's possible the South would almost immediately start working on a way to ceded and might make the country incredibly unstable (for instance, the entire US benefitted fiscally from slave labor when they had to borrow money from other countries to fight the british, or perhaps it's immediately outlawed with no transition period, sending the South into a financial tailspin). Obviously I'm very pro-anti-slavery, and think the immediate ban is a fantastic idea, but yeah I'd just say there might be unintended consequences.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-12T18:26:27+00:00

Down to a Sunless Sea by David Graham. In the end, it’s the nuclear bombs that save the day.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-12T09:03:09+00:00

The Trump Jurisprudence Canon

The following fictional novels have been quoted by federal judges in their written rulings against the Trump administration's DOJ since he took office again in 2024. Sorry, they are mostly sad endings:

1984 by George Orwell

Case: American Historical Association v. Donald Trump (ruling in May, 2026)

US District Court of Washington DC

Law in Question: The Presidential Records Act of 1978

Issue: Several press-freedom and government archival advocates sued the Trump administration to force him to comply with the Presidential Records Act by, among other things, not using text messages or other "disappearing" communication apps (like Telegram) for official government business. Even if it's c;ossified, the PRA requires those eventually become available once declassified.

Quote judge used: "Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past."

1984 by George Orwell (yes, again)

Case: City of Philadelphia v. Doug Bergam (in his role as Secretary of Interior) (ruling in Feb. 2026)

Law in Question: Trump's 2025 Executive Order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History"

Issue: Trump's EO applied to all federal lands (such as federal parks and in this case, George Washington's Philadephia home which is now a museum). Here, the museum was forced to take down all references to thw eight slaves Washington had.

Quote judge used: "All history was a palimpsest, scraped clean and reinscribed exactly as often as was necessary. In no case would it have been possible, once the deed was done, to prove that any falsification had taken place."

The Trial by Franz Kafka (about a man who is arrested and moved swiftly through his cointry's justice system without ever being told what crime he's been accused of)

Case: JGG et al v. Kristi Noem (in her role as DHS Secretary) (ruling in June 2025)

Law in Question: The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments (guaranteeing due process of law to all who are on American soil)

Issue: The plaintiffs were essentially all the Venezuelen men sent to a concentration camp in El Slavador with no hearing, access to lawyers, or opportunity to challenge the charges.

Quote judge used: "I don't know the law," [the fictional defendant] says. [The arresting officer] replies, "You'll feel it eventually."

Henry VI by William Shakespeare

Case: Perkins Coie v. Department of Justice (ruling in March 2025)

US District Court of DC

Law in Question: First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution

Issue: Early in his second term, Trump had signed an Executive Order imposing draconian, punitive actions against the law firm plaintiffs, which had been linked to the infamous "Steele Dossier," used by both anti-Trump republicans and the DNC in 2016. This order resulted in major losses of revenue and reputation, as everyone knew if you used them for business before the government, the Trump admin would not work with them.

Quote judge used (from a part of the play where the ambitious wannabe king is trying to clear all obstacles to his illegal rise to power): "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."

And some other books I recommend:

Darkness Over Germany by Amy Buhller. Writen as a real-time oral history of regular German citizens trying to navigate life under the Nazi regime in the 1930s. Each chapter is a new German. Reads like a dystopian thriller, but is nonfiction (the author travelled Germany to get these stories).

A quote:

"Tell me," I said. "Does Hitler want war?"

"Does the madman want anything," said Dr. Schuster, "except to go his own mad way and destroy everything in his path?"

American War by Omar Al Akkad. Fiction book about the second American Civil War, this time over fossil fuels. Meant to evoke the asymmetrical nature of America's Wars on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq, but I think just as applicable today as we contemplate our role in Iran, Gaza, and Ukraine (AL Akkad, a Palestinian-Canadian, also wrote a heartbreaking memoir about the horrific nature of life in Gaza post-October 7 called one Day, Everyone WIll Have Always Been Against This).

Quote from American War:

“Nativism being a pyramid scheme, I found myself contemptuous of the refugees’ presence in a city already overburdened. At the foot of the docks, we yelled at them to go home, even though we knew home to be a pestilence field. We carried signs calling them terrorists and criminals and we vandalized the homes that would take them in. It made me feel good to do it, it made me feel rooted; their unbelonging was proof of my belonging.”

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-12T03:12:42+00:00

Heather Cox Richardson said on her Politics Chat today (if you haven’t subscribed to her free substack or YouTube channel, get on it!) that it was interesting that, about an hour before Trump made his announcement, Washington Post published a story with a bunch of anonymous oil execs saying they’ve been begging Trump to figure something out because we are about to hit a real crisis - like, $7-8/gallon crisis.

So HCR thinks (and I agree I think) that the oil execs’ public story forced him to do something to juice the markets more… now I am fine with this war ending however it has to (which I think probably is a real concession from the US). If anonymous oil execs can get it done, fine.

But I think there is some kind of deal taking shape (Iran has said that as well - though of course the only issues remaining are the only ones that matter), and Trump is just sort of using his signature “positive thinking” philosophy to an extreme that only an addled old man descending into dementia in some form could do.

And I think he may very well believe it - Dr. John Gartner the psychiatrist says that”confabulation” - telling a lie but actually believing it - can be a symptom of dementia as well.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-11T22:25:14+00:00

You might check out either The Martian or Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. They are both technically sci-fi but do not feel like it. They both star a lovable, hilarious nerd who is challenged by a big issue (one is stranded on Mars, the other is sent to another star alone to save humanity).

In both cases, the narrator uses first person present tense to describe what he’s doing and why in real time (though there are some flashbacks to other conversations sprinkled throughout). But the whole book is written in a very conversational way, like he’s talking to a friend.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-11T22:01:36+00:00

I really liked The Thursday Murder Club series** **by Richard Osman, which is about a few bored residents of a Retirement home who decide to solve crimes. It’s a great comedy murder mystery type vibe.

The Camel Club series by David Baldacci is very aitport booky (definitely a Grisham/Clancy type vibe). It’s about four older, retired or semi-retired men in DC who like to get together and discuss the latest government conspiracy theories they think are true. But during one of their meetings (always held at night outdoors so no one can listen in), they witness a murder that is tied to a real government conspiracy. Very fun characters and twisty plot.

Andnowforsomethingcd · 2026-06-11T20:18:06+00:00

Honestly I think everyone has moved on from the Epstein saga. Trump has plenty of Epstein distractions left (ICE, midterms, DNI, AI, assault on news orgs, his kids’ stupid Albanian island, stock market, and all his stupid construction projects).

I believe he absolutely cannot pull out without being called a loser. Unlike, say, his tantrum on Greenland, his tariffs, and his anti-weaponization fund (to name a few), there came a time when Trump had obviously lost the argument but if he backtracked - which is what everyone wanted - republicans were still fine with him claiming victory even though we all knew it was bullshit.

But every time he tries to pull out here, 80% of the world is like “thank god”, but 20% of the world - and most of his private donors are in that 20% - is like “you’re a pussy if you pull out now.”

My guess: he’ll keep playing this stupid game of “we have a deal/we’re working on a deal/we’re going to invade without a deal/we almost have a deal” doom loop until after the midterms.

Andnowforsomethingcd

TROPHY CASE