Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion

Here is a thread to discuss books you’re considering or suggesting for Task 17: Read a book about media literacy.

This could be a twofer for Task 18 as well... Begin Transmission: The Trans Allegories of The Matrix by Tilly Bridges. Turns out a set of movies about someone rejecting the identity society insists upon and embracing their true self? Pretty trans.

My brother recommended I check out Audience of One: Television, Donald Trump, and the Fracturing of America by New York Times TV critic James Poniewozik for this. It's about the cultural implications of a fractured TV landscape and the ascendance of reality TV. He said it was thought-provoking and gave him new ways to think about the utter mess of contemporary politics and how it functions in pop culture (and vice versa), so I think it works for this category.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business or Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV might be a good choice here.

Dress Coded Kids make a podcast to protest unfair school dress codes. Fiction.

I personally recommend An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments and An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language: Learn to Hear What's Left Unsaid, both of which are great books for increasing media literacy. They're a little academic in the text, but they're short, illustrated, and informative.

I'm considering a few different ones for this (although I'm really not set on anything, and I want to see what the recommendations for this one are). I'm thinking about doing Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, The Death Of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Thomas M. Nichols, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil, and Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism by Safiya Umoja Noble.

I highly recommend Verified: How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online by Mike Caulfield. I teach media literacy, and his method for fact checking is the one I use with my students.

Any thoughts on whether Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein would fit this prompt? I've listened to interviews with the author that suggest there may be some overlapping themes, but curious to hear a perspective from someone who has read it.

Since information/news literacy is something I taught to students in my Teen Service Librarian role, I have two that have been on my TBR What the Fact?: Finding the Truth in All the Noise and, one that may be helpful if you want to try to share skills with a young person in your life, Developing Digital Detectives: Essential Lessons for Discerning Fact from Fiction in the ‘Fake News’ Era

Happy reading in 2024!

Given the way the last few years have gone Conspirituality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat may be my pick for this.

My mom (who used to work in radio and cares very deeply about media literacy) recommended Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man

I borrowed You Are What You Watch before I saw this challenge. I think it’s spot-on!

If you're looking for something a bit more light-hearted, there's the kids' book Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories.

After my eight year old read it, he started demanding, "What was the source?" when he heard outlandish things. So I guess it worked!

I'm reading Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism for this one.

Jessica wrote: "If you're looking for something a bit more light-hearted, there's the kids' book Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories. After my eight year old read it, he started demanding, "What was the source?" when he heard outlandish things. So I guess it worked!"

Love hearing that! Just put this on hold at the library so I can read and recommend to other young people, teachers, and caregivers.

I'm going to try Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men because it's been on Mount TBR for a while and see if it fits.

If not, "Killer Underwear Invasion" sounds great! Reminds me of when our local newspaper ran a story about "Dangerous Alien Invasion!!" and it turned out to be about an invasive plant.

I had been thinking of Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language for this, but I'm not sure my personal definition of media literacy is broad enough to encompass it. I did enjoy Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think quite a bit when it came out. Still pondering this one. . .

Does this category have to be nonfiction? I was thinking Yellowface by RF Kuang as a narrative side door into the discussion of media literacy.

Katie wrote: "Does this category have to be nonfiction? I was thinking Yellowface by RF Kuang as a narrative side door into the discussion of media literacy."

Ooh, I think that would definitely work. It definitely caused me to re-evaluate the role of social in sparking and building up controversies

I love this suggestion! I have two kids and was hoping to read something that could also be used with them in mind!

Jessica wrote: "If you're looking for something a bit more light-hearted, there's the kids' book Killer Underwear Invasion!: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories.

After my e..."

I read “Killer Underwear Invasion: How to Spot Fake News, Disinformation & Conspiracy Theories” for this task. Even though it is a picture book, it’s actually very good in sending a message. I know a few adults that would benefit from its concise explanation.

I'm in the middle of Come Together: The Science (and Art!) of Creating Lasting Sexual Connections (not for the challenge) and the author mentioned this: Mediated Intimacy: Sex Advice in Media Culture which might be a good option for people who are into the topic.

Jia Tolentino – The Trick Mirror

I've had this one on my TBR shelf for a while, and needed the excuse to read it. The book contains various essays related to the manufactured 'reality' of reality TV, how women are pushed to 'optimize' their image online and IRL, the way women get portrayed in literature, critiques of social media, a case study of how the media treats sexual assault, scammer culture (especially online), and more.

On my list:
The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World by Max Fisher
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power by Shoshana Zuboff
The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick
Begin Transmission: The trans allegories of The Matrix by Tilly Bridges

I read On The Internet by (Dr) Jillian Roberts, for children, about safety and boundaries online.

I’m probably going to use Sway: Unravelling Unconscious Bias by Pragya Agarwal for this task. According to the blurb “the book encourages readers to think, understand and evaluate their own biases in a scientific and non-judgmental way”, and among the questions it addresses are how bias has affected technology, and if we can ever get rid of unconscious bias.

I will likely read Behind Their Screens: What Teens Are Facing as it is a well-researched, science-based book in the realm of social media literacy as it pertains to better understanding teens' experiences with social media.

I'm actually reading Yellowface for this prompt.

I read the Chaos Machine by Max Fisher. It was terrifying and the social media companies have a lot of actual blood on their hands

I read Yellowface. I liked it but thought it was long.