60 books like Challenges of Ordinary Democracy

Greg Grandin is a historian's historian, a brilliant researcher, a captivating writer. It's honestly hard to pick which of his books to feature here. But since The End of the Myth won the Pultizer Prize, I'll choose it as my favorite. What I loved about this book is that it gives me a new perspective about the history of my own country—about which, frankly, I do not know that much—and the region I have reported on for most of my life, Latin America. He makes connections and does so in a compelling fashion.

The book focuses on the United States and the border, but it sheds much light on how the myth of manifest destiny has shaped the way we think of ourselves and our relationship with our southern neighbors.

The idea of citizenship is vague and can be complicated. Sometimes it refers to a person recognized as a natural-born or naturalized denizen of a nation, sometimes the right to cast a ballot, sometimes law-abiding behavior, sometimes civic engagement, and, too seldom, engaging in public work. Bellah and his associates conducted a series of interviews with ordinary citizens across the US to ascertain their understanding and values with respect to private and public (citizenly) life.

Overwhelmingly, those interviewed (mostly white, middle-class Americans) attached great value to their private lives, while acknowledging the importance of civic participation. They commonly expressed a belief that they should be publicly involved. However, when they discussed public life, they had a limited range of ideas about what that participation might look like, especially compared to the rich descriptions they offered for private life and why they valued it so. 

Among others, Habits raises the question… show more.

Putnam and his Italian colleagues studied the performance of Italy’s regional governments over a 20-year period. They asked why some democratic governments succeeded while others failed. They thought differences in success would correlate with a region’s economic vitality. Instead, they found that a strong civic community was a better indicator of success. When citizens sought information from reliable news sources, they tended to interact with one another on political matters.  Informed interaction encouraged trust in political dialogue and encouraged engagement in public affairs. 

Equally, when citizens had access to networks of secondary associations, where they interacted with strangers, they were more likely to have a greater sense of solidarity with, and trust and tolerance for their fellow citizens. When these conditions were absent and social relations were more vertical (relying on a leader) than horizontal (relying on community members), democracy didn’t work. Making Democracy Work shows how vernacular rhetoric that… show more.

I think Scott is one of the most creative social scientists working today, and this book is probably his strongest work.

Scott flips the script and focuses attention on the strategies subordinates use to navigate and deal with the power of their social superiors. He has great faith in the abilities of ordinary people to mock and hoodwink the powerful and to create for themselves little refuges from kings, bosses, and overlords.

I go back to this book all the time because it is a treasure trove of wonderful anecdotes, too.

Imagine you are a caterer who lives and breathes cooking. Now imagine yourself going undercover at a spa that doesn’t serve coffee or any of the other gourmet vittles you’re used to while you’re trying to unmask the killer of a local doctor. Protagonist Goldy Schulz is a savvy caterer, a tough cookie who escaped an abusive spouse and reinvented her life. I like that Goldy has that kind of depth which is sometimes lacking in a cozy mystery. She’s gritty and determined. As a west coast girl, I enjoy the fact that this series is set in Colorado and Goldy’s marriage to her second husband, a hunky cop, adds flavor. It’s fun to see how the acerbic Goldy handles a “Bridezilla” while trying not to offend her client. The book is fun and satisfying, like Goldy’s recipes! 

This is the series that got me hooked on culinary mysteries and Diane Mott Davidson is the GOAT. If you’re looking for a cozy winter escape filled with food and a side of delectable murder, this is the book for you. Could you pick up any of the books in this long-running series, sure, but don’t do it—resist temptation. Start at the beginning when we meet Colorado caterer Goldy Bear as she whips up delicious sweet and savory eats while solving a murder. Trust me, you’ll thank me later because once you finish this book you’ll be running to the nearest bookstore for the next installment and running to your kitchen for a midnight snack.

I read this book a few months ago. I was looking for a psychological thriller. And to an extent it was, but it is definitely a crime read that will leave you breathless. 

The story for me was just brilliant. It helps you understand the mind of a second wife to the point of obsession. How we tend to over analyse everything, scrutinize the very basis of what is real and not. 

There is a thin line between perception and misconception. I learned sometimes that the deeper you dwell on finding something that is wrong, the further away from the truth you go.

This book broke my heart. Runaway Sadie Smith is on a mission to avenge her murdered sister Mattie. West McCray is the podcaster on the trail of the missing teenager, desperate to find her before it’s too late.

Interspersing podcast episodes with Sadie’s perspective, the story is dark and the events horrifying. There’s something about Sadie that creeps inside you and stays with you long after the final page. Utterly captivating and brutal, it’s the kind of book that makes me want to be a better writer. It also made me cry!

Technically YA but I’m not sure my young teenager would cope with this yet so I’m keeping it…

Gerry Roach has climbed extensively in Colorado and has done a great job compiling his wealth of first-hand knowledge into this guidebook. This is the best resource we know of for climbing all the 14,000ft peaks in Colorado, and it was our main resource when climbing these peaks. He gives very detailed color-coded route maps, and describes a half dozen different route options for each peak. This is a must-have book if you are hiking and peak-bagging in Colorado.

Hikers stumbled upon the body of a young woman near Boulder, Colorado, in 1954. Buried in an anonymous grave, for decades she was yet another Jane Doe, abandoned and unidentified. 

Decades later, historian Silvia Pettem joined forces with law enforcement and forensic experts. Together, they exhume the Jane Doe and achieve the seemingly impossible: they identify her and her probable killer.