If you could make a fundie read a book what would it be?

[FireIsCatching89]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Katniss is a wonderfully strong teenage girl character, but also shows it's ok to not "keep sweet" all the time (in fact, as much as I love her, I find her to be a sourpuss a lot of the time). Also, huge themes of family loyalty, the fundies would dig that, right?

Harry Potter. Duh.

Feminist pop culture studies books, particularly College Girls by Lynn Peril. That book made me appreciate the generations of women who went before me fought to get college educations so I could get my education without having to fight. Very inspiring. Also, it's just really interesting and quite readable and relatable.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. My favorite book from my college lit classes. Shows what subjugation does to a woman, shows the perils of slut-shaming, and has lovely lurid descriptions of the Carribbean.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Houssini.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.

[StarrieEyedKat]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Katniss is a wonderfully strong teenage girl character, but also shows it's ok to not "keep sweet" all the time (in fact, as much as I love her, I find her to be a sourpuss a lot of the time). Also, huge themes of family loyalty, the fundies would dig that, right?

Harry Potter. Duh.

Feminist pop culture studies books, particularly College Girls by Lynn Peril. That book made me appreciate the generations of women who went before me fought to get college educations so I could get my education without having to fight. Very inspiring. Also, it's just really interesting and quite readable and relatable.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys. My favorite book from my college lit classes. Shows what subjugation does to a woman, shows the perils of slut-shaming, and has lovely lurid descriptions of the Carribbean.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Houssini.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.

The Giver by Lois Lowry.

We seem to share a library...

[twin2]

The Diary of Anne Frank so they can understand what REAL persecution is.

[Bella99]

For elementary school agers, "The Phantom Toll Booth". Her Maj is reading it right now, and has left Dictionopolis, passed the Floating Man and is headed for Digitopolis. It would show the kids how much fun there is in language. (And as soon as she finishes it and I am done with finals I plan to read again!)

I loved Mark Helprin's "A Winter's Tale", again beautiful use of words and a sense of the absurd. Not particularly anti-fundie, but none of the female characters are wimps either. Midori Snyder's "The Innamorati" is great fun and "Scotch and Holy Water" by John Tumpane about his adventures in Turkey after WWII are among my midnight insomnia favorites. Anything by Judith Merkle Riley, but especially the Margaret of Ashbury series beginning with "A Vision of Light", she has strong female characters and some good cracks about the disadvantages of hearing heavenly voices.

[ladypuglover]

I agree with Angri-La, the bible and we would focus on the NT.

[dawniecakes]

Most of my other suggestions have already been mentioned, but I thought I'd chime in with Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass).

[CelticGoddess]

How about "The Joy of Sex"?

If I were to be really cruel, I would make them listen to "Tropic of Cancer" and "Tropic of Capricorn" as a book on tape. I had a really hard time getting through "Tropic of Cancer" so I don't know that I would require them to read it but...

Another thought I had was any book they have banned or attempted to ban. If they want to ban something, they should have to read it first!

[godlytomatosoup]

Oh, so many books. I'm triaging here, and thinking about the teenagers:

1. First off, urgently: Hello Cruel World, by Kate Bornstein. Kate Bornstein is a transgender woman who used to be a Scientologist. So it's safe to say she's been through a lot. Hello Cruel World is her suicide prevention manual for teenagers and other freaks. She says that there is no one reason to live that will stop you from killing yourself, so instead she provides street smart advice for keeping yourself alive, starting with giving her readers blanket permission to do anything, anything at all short of killing themselves, as long as it isn't mean. Anything: sex, drugs, rock and roll - just don't kill yourself. If I could, I would give this book to every English-speaking teenager in the world, but I think it would be especially good for any LGBTQ teenagers stuck in fundie households and attending the SOTDRT. Reading that book would tell them that they're not alone, and that they have so many more options.

2. Arrows of the Queen, by Mercedes Lackey. This is a very light fantasy novel, the first published in her Valdemar series. Talia is Holderkin, which is Mercedes Lackey's fantasy version of a fundamentalist Mormon. AotQ is the story of how Talia's parents want to marry her off at thirteen, so she runs away and becomes a Herald (fantasy version of the liberal elite.) It's fun, escapist, and I get the strong feeling that the author has been there herself - her books all have themes of child abuse, religious pluralism vs fundamentalism, and horrible parents who censor their children's books and don't let them read fantasy. I think this book would be a very good gateway drug to modern fantasy fiction.

3. Among Others, by Jo Walton. About what it's like to live with a mother who is frankly way, way out of touch with consensus reality, and about the saving power of science fiction. Another good gateway book, but with much, much better writing than the Lackey.

4. The Song of the Lioness quartet, by Tamora Pierce. Feminist propaganda masquerading as a fun adventure novel for young girls. I was ten when I read it, and I'm giving it to my niece for her tenth birthday this January, but it'd work for a teenage girl too. I would give these books in the hopes of a chain reaction of "this has disobedient daughters and evil magic... but it's so fun... and it doesn't seem to be harming me... maybe it's not so wrong after all?" Harry Potter would work too, but these are more explicitly feminist.

[JesusFightClub]

Hmm, for fundies, it's a really tough one. Totally would depend on their level of education.

Much as I reckon everyone should read Marx ;) adults who write things like "soak and wet" and who graduated from the SOTDRT are really really going to struggle with even the Communist Manifesto (and that is not a tough read). Probably start with Paul Foot's "The Case for Socialism" and Paul Mason's "Live Working or Die Fighting". The first is somewhat dated, but if you sat and talked with them through it, it's a fair basic explanation.

If I was feeling optimistic I would add in Tommy Sheridan's "Imagine" (and then hope they never found out who he is...) and William Morris's "News from Nowhere." I do not love the latter book but it presents a society which may appeal to the fundy mindset.

The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, for sure. It's got all the drama that keeps one reading, and set in England, so the unusualness of it might draw them in.

After these, Marx for Beginners, and then Marx, Lenin and Trotsky (in that order) finishing with Trotsky's "Their Morals and Ours" my favourite essay of all time but the last thing you'd give a fundie ;)

YA fundies...I would caution against "The Giver" because like HP it has a really bad rep amongst fundies. It would be like me wandering up to a Tea Partier and trying to sell them a copy of Socialist Worker. They might need to read it, but they won't, on principle.

Also, I note fundies do not get nuance. Those who have read teh ebil Giver tend to see it as presenting these "gross things" in order to desensitise children and usher in a world order like the one in the book. I think it's a brilliant book but might be a bit strong for straight away.

I'd swap in "The Diary of Pelly D". A great SF story about discrimination and prejudice, but with nothing explicit. At first you see the contrast between the spoilt party girl and the hard working labourer who finds her diary, which may be something fundies "get". But as you are drawn into the story and see how Pelly D's life turns out, it forces you to face bigger questions. One of the best YA novels I have ever read. Author is L.J Adlington.

For all fundie women, A Handmaid's Tale, for sure.

[Jeff]

As others said, the Bible. KJV if they insist, but otherwise the NASB. I'd also hit them with the intended companion volume of the KJV, the Book of Common Prayer -- either the 1979 and/or 1928 US editions for starters, and then the old 1662 English one after that. So they can see the sort of people who authorized the Authorized Version, and how it looks a lot more like my church than theirs and ultimately gave rise to things like women bishops and Christian acceptance of condoms. Beyond that on the religion front, Joseph Ratzinger's Jesus of Nazareth. All the better if they don't realize he's the present Pope.

Finally, after all of that, a biology textbook.

[GolightlyGrrl]

Any Judy Blume book.

And we can't forget guilty pleasure reading. My picks:

"I'm With the Band" by Pamela Des Barres

"Sex Tips for Girls" by Cynthia Heimel

"I Don't Care About Your Band" by Jules Klausner

[lilwriter85]

Carrie by Stephen King

[DinnerPlateDahlia]

Along this line I'd suggest "The Way We Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap" by Stephanie Koontz and "The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible" by Otto Bettmann.

Also I'll second the recommendation for "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn.

Fully agreed! I love "The Way We Never Were". I bought it for my dad who watches way too many old movies.

To and too are different words :(

[Mais Pourquoi]

Ugh, really? That is one of the few books I can honestly say I despise. I had to read it my senior year of high school. I still haven't forgiven my English teacher for that.

Sorry you didn't like it! For me, it was about having my early (high school) thoughts about being a woman in a patriarchal society confirmed- that I wasn't alone in wanting a life of my own, that it was possible to love someone else but not want to give your sense of self up for them, that you should do what you want outside of what society expects of you if it makes you happy. I read it on my own without an English teacher forcing it down my throat so I think that helped. I will concede that the end is shit though.

Also I agree with everyone who has said Jane Eyre- one of my favorites.

[Eponine]

Sorry you didn't like it! For me, it was about having my early (high school) thoughts about being a woman in a patriarchal society confirmed- that I wasn't alone in wanting a life of my own, that it was possible to love someone else but not want to give your sense of self up for them, that you should do what you want outside of what society expects of you if it makes you happy. I read it on my own without an English teacher forcing it down my throat so I think that helped. I will concede that the end is shit though.

Also I agree with everyone who has said Jane Eyre- one of my favorites.

I also hated The Awakening. I loved the topic and themes but absolutely hated reading the thing. This from someone who gets through much denser fiction writing and poorly written academic papers every day. Ugh. I wish I could put the story in another writer's hands.

I do agree though that in terms of theme it would be a great book for fundie women to read. Though I'm sure they would just call Edna a big ol' ho who doesn't follow God. Personally though I'd push for "A Doll's House" instead of The Awakening.

[gilora]

"Letter to a Christian Nation" by Sam Harris.

"The Handmaid's Tale" -- but only for the women; I wouldn't want to give the men any ideas.

"Beloved" -- for a history lesson; and

"Out of Africa" -- just so they can experience the beauty of languge.

[Sola]

The God Delusion, for obvious reasons.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, because this shows what happens to women when you prevent education and promote religious patriarchy.

The Qu'ran, because despite Christian fundie protestations, the Qu'ran isn't that much different from the Bible.

[Olivia]

A good book about the Civil Rights movement -- I can't think of a title in particular at the moment.

But, having grown up fundie-lite, one of the big things that changed my mind from being anti-gay-marriage was reading about the Civil Rights movement, thinking about how I would have liked to have reacted if I had been alive, and then considering whether I was on the right side or not in the current gay rights movement.

[itsthatonegirl]

I am someone with fundie-ish beliefs, as many of you know, and I've read many of these books. I'm confused about The Giver... why would fundies hate that book? That's one of my favorite books. I read it out loud last year to my 5th grader. This year, to my 6th and 3rd graders, I read Number the Stars aloud.

[FireIsCatching89]

I am someone with fundie-ish beliefs, as many of you know, and I've read many of these books. I'm confused about The Giver... why would fundies hate that book? That's one of my favorite books. I read it out loud last year to my 5th grader. This year, to my 6th and 3rd graders, I read Number the Stars aloud.

How'd your 5th grader take The Giver? I read it at that age, and was in a funk for days after I read it. It's so sad, and genuinely disturbing. I don't think I was emotionally ready for it, to be honest, and probably could have waited a couple more years, but my parents never stopped me from reading whatever I got my hands on. Explains why I was reading Poe at the age of ten...

[itsthatonegirl]

She seemed to do all right with it. I definitely felt like my younger daughter, who was 2nd grade at the time, was too young. My 5th grader seemed fine though, and even seemed to enjoy the book. She would quote, "Back, and back, and back."

She is the kind of girl though, who doesn't get very emotional at parts in movies, books, etc., that make the rest of us cry.

[FJismyheadship]

Has anyone said To Kill A Mockingbird yet? Thats one of those books that had I known how amazing it was sooner, I would have read it before the 11th grade. BUT it was one of those "judged by the cover" books... so until we had to read it for 11th grade, I didn't read it. And then once I DID I loved it. Now I usually have a copy lying around the house. It's actually a book I should have read by 6th grade... but whatever.

Also, The Diary Of Anne Frank. My mother bought this for me when I was 9 or 10, and I used to disobey the shelter's lights out rule, and read by a booklight that was given to me haha. I loved this book too, and read it all the time. Another book I usually have a copy of, or read at least once a year.

And finally: Running Out Of Time by Margaret Peter Haddix. THAT was an amazing book.

[ChickeyMonkey]

"Our Bodies, Ourselves"

"The Mysterious Benedict Society" books. Even as an adult I really like reading these to my 8 year old at bedtime.

Shel Silverstein

"The Diary of Anne Frank"

"The Crucible"

"Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe"

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"

[JesusFightClub]

I am someone with fundie-ish beliefs, as many of you know, and I've read many of these books. I'm confused about The Giver... why would fundies hate that book? That's one of my favorite books. I read it out loud last year to my 5th grader. This year, to my 6th and 3rd graders, I read Number the Stars aloud.

It was seen as too strong for kids and also in a sense indoctrinating them. Like talking about disturbing things would desensitise them and they wouldn't be alarmed when the ebil gubmint puts these things into practice when they are older. It would just seem normal to them (apparently kids can't understand nuance).

Also the fact the book isn't Christian. There are no references to saving faith, Jonas doesn't say the Sinner's Prayer, the book is complex and doesn't end on a clear resolution.

And, it makes one think. Fundies aren't big on that.

[annalena]

For all of the poor fundy kids, age 15 and up or so:

Toxic Parents

This book really opened my eyes.