April 13, 2018

AF CommunityCulture

What to Read This Weekend: Recommendations From the AF Community

By: AF Editors

Last weekend, AF’s chapter leaders and board members gathered together for training and inspiration at the annual Chapter Leaders Retreat. They shared a variety of great book and commentary recommendations that we thought we’d share with the broader AF audience. We plan to tuck into some of these over Saturday morning coffee.

1. “I would recommend everyone read ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,’ a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein. It portrays a coherent vision of a loosely anarchic society that developed on Earth’s moon and their struggle to gain independence from the tyranny of Earth.” – Tyler Groenendal, AF-Grand Rapids board member and author of Sola Cepa, the definitive onion ring ranking site.

2. “‘Evicted’ by Michael Desmond–best piece of non-fiction I’ve read in years about how eviction and housing policy perpetuates poverty. It’s so sad but so thought provoking!” – Katie Modesitt, AF-San Francisco chapter leader.

3. “George Orwell’s essay, ‘Politics and the English Language.’ This is a short essay that was written in the forties but is particularly relevant still today. It challenges the reader to think about their use of language and how words are used to hide truth rather than express it, especially in political speech.” – Noelle Mandell, AF-Austin chapter leader.

4. “If you’re a fan of The Skimm, sign up for emails from Bright! It’s a similar style and tone, but it’s put together by conservative women.” – Kristine Goffos, director of marketing.

5. “‘Explaining Postmodernism.’ I got to hangout with Dr. Hicks last week–the guy is brilliant. BEYOND brilliant. His work clearly lays out the underlying philosophical principles of the progressive left, their motivations, and the intellectual history of their movement. He makes the audiobook available for FREE. I blew through it one weekend. Every freedom fighter should listen to it. WHOLE NEW LEVEL.” – Larry Gillheeney, AF-Rhode Island chapter board member.