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Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country
Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country | Steve Almond
16 posts | 8 read | 15 to read
Like a lot of Americans, Steve Almond spent the weeks after the 2016 election lying awake, in a state of dread and bewilderment. The problem wasn't just the election, but the fact that nobody could explain, in any sort of coherent way, why America had elected a cruel, corrupt, and incompetent man to the Presidency. Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country is Almond's effort to make sense of our historical moment, to connect certain dots that go unconnected amid the deluge of hot takes and think pieces. Almond looks to literary voices--from Melville to Orwell, from Bradbury to Baldwin--to help explain the roots of our moral erosion as a people. The book argues that Trumpism is a bad outcome arising directly from the bad stories we tell ourselves. To understand how we got here, we have to confront our cultural delusions: our obsession with entertainment, sports, and political parody, the degeneration of our free press into a for-profit industry, our enduring pathologies of race, class, immigration, and tribalism. Bad Stories is a lamentation aimed at providing clarity. It's the book you can pass along to an anguished fellow traveler with the promise, This will help you understand what the hell happened to our country.
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JacintaMCarter
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Pickpick

#2022Book15
This book was well-written and included a lot of information that wasn't really covered throughout the 2016 election. However, as with most political books, a lot of the information is no longer as relevant several years later.

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Waynegjr
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Pickpick

Year end round up part 3: my top 10 of 2018

#10

Almond takes a look at some of the political narratives we‘ve been telling ourselves and breaks down how they‘re “Bad Stories”, and how they‘ve made 2016‘s election result seem to come out of the blue. Underneath this, though, is the story of one writer trying to come to terms with the world suddenly being very different than he thought it was. Fascinating, personal, and raw.

43 likes2 stack adds
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8little_paws
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Pickpick

Ok why am I not hearing more about this fantastic book? Almond puts together the things we're already thinking in such an eloquent and cohesive way, and takes what we're already thinking and then elaborates on it more and brings it to the next level. A- freaking- plus.

50 likes2 stack adds
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8little_paws
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🤷‍♀️

Reggie So depressing. 6y
32 likes1 stack add1 comment
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8little_paws
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Political identity as substitution for race or gender.

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SabrinaE
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I cannot believe how beautifully written this book is! Whether you follow politics or not, this book is a great read. So many wonderful references just tied everything together so perfectly!

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LizzieLou
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I can't stop. Even though it's so tragic.

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LizzieLou
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I think I'm about to give up on this one. It's really good but so difficult to read without feeling utter despair. There's no good time of day to feel that.

Ericalambbrown Life‘s too short for despair porn. (Just my two cents of nothin‘ 😊) 6y
29 likes1 comment
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LizzieLou
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Oof. Only two chapters in and I can tell this one's going to be tough. Important info and well written but so, so infuriating.

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Waynegjr
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Page 2 Of 2. This book is really incredible so far.

BarbaraTheBibliophage Stacked! Thanks for the page shots! 6y
34 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Waynegjr
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Page 1 of 2

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My_novel_obsession
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I can‘t believe I left my book on the last plane! Thankful I have my Kindle with me as well!

Smrloomis 😕😝 sorry to hear that! 6y
ReadingSusan Nooooo 6y
RaimeyGallant No!!!! 6y
See All 10 Comments
LeahBergen Nooo! 😫 6y
TommieMarie74 I‘m so sorry! That‘s awful!! 😕🤭😱 6y
Andrew65 Oh no!!!! 6y
rubyslippersreads 😱😱😱 6y
DGRachel I‘ve done that and without a Kindle back up! So sorry! 6y
CatLass007 OMG 😮 6y
54 likes10 comments
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My_novel_obsession
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Good morning all! Have my goldfish, caffeine and a book. First leg of my journey to Anchorage ✈️

MicheleinPhilly Safe travels! 6y
JoScho Wishing you a good flight 😊 6y
Tamra Enjoy! 6y
JacqMac Safe travels! 6y
58 likes4 comments
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underground_bks
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Pickpick

Drawing on history, literature, and criticism, Steve Almond of Dear Sugars parses the bad stories that led to the ultimate bad outcome in November of 2016. This book gave me a much greater understanding of the cultural forces that led to the election of Donald Trump, and I feel more informed and empowered because of it. A quick, accessible read that I‘ll be thinking about and recommending for a long time to come.

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ZoeyPeacock
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This one comes out on April 1st and so far is really good.

BookishMe Hi! Thanks for the follow ;D 6y
106 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Rhondareads
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A question I ask every day..What is going on here?
Good mail day a novel I‘ve read raves about&a book about the new generation of women in China Modern strong leaders many single not rushing in to marriage like previous generations,