Top 5 books for a conservative deep dive this holiday season

The best books I have read during this period of enforced downtime have common threads of perseverance, rationality, and openness. They provide a contemporary understanding of what conservatism is. Here are five conservative books people should definitely read this holiday season.

1. Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage by Dan Crenshaw

I read Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage by Dan Crenshaw in April. Crenshaw is the representative for Texas' 2nd congressional district and a former Navy SEAL.

Fortitude is a book that teaches people how to combat outrage culture. Crenshaw offers lessons that will make people mentally stronger, better equipped to deal with life's challenges, and less inclined to be offended.

Crenshaw argues that outrage culture is weakness. Outrage culture is the muting of rational thinking and the triumph of emotion.

My favourite part of the book was the chapter called "No Plan B." No plan B is the philosophy that failure becomes inevitable the moment it is embraced as a possibility. Plan A goes out the window once a person has a plan B.

I loved Fortitude because it taught me how to toughen my mind. I learned people can become better if they have grit, discipline, and self-reliance.

2. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

I read "The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure" by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in November. Lukianoff is the president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, and Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University.

The Coddling of the American Mind is based off of the essay of the same name Lukianoff and Haidt wrote in the Atlantic. Their book claims safe space culture is impractical.

They wrote that safe space culture does not work because it relies on three great untruths. The three great untruths are what does not kill you makes you weaker, always trust your feelings, and life is a battle between good people and evil people.

I loved how Lukianoff and Haidt offered three criteria as to why the three untruths do not make sense. The three criteria are they contradict ancient wisdom, contradict modern psychological research on well-being, and harm individuals and communities who embrace it. The three untruths and the policies and political movements drawing on them are causing problems for young people, universities, and liberal democracies.

The Coddling of the American Mind was amazing because it encouraged me to be antifragile. Embracing antifragility lets people learn, adapt, and grow.

3. Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in the Age of Unreason by Dave Rubin

I read Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in the Age of Unreason by Dave Rubin in May. Rubin is the host of "The Rubin Report" on Blaze Podcast Network.

Don't Burn This Book advises people that if they are not open about their political beliefs, they are in the political closet. Rubin calls for people to come out of the political closet.

Don't Burn This Book gives people the intellectual tools to figure out who they are and how they identify during these crazy political times. It is a roadmap to sane, balanced thinking rooted in classical liberalism.

I enjoyed it when Rubin wrote people can survive cancel culture by never surrendering to the mob. People need to stand tough. While a mob attack might appear to be a worst-case scenario, it is an opportunity for growth and self-discovery.

His book is great because it has his typical humour sprinkled throughout it. People will laugh while reading about his political beliefs.

4. Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation by Candace Owens

I read Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation by Candace Owens in September. Owens is the host of "The Candace Owens Show" on PragerU and a co-founder of Blexit.

"Blackout" is a book that advocates for Black people to leave the Democratic Party. Owens wrote that Black people have allowed Democrats to manipulate their emotions for decades.

She said Democratic policies have led to the erosion of the Black community by fostering a persistent victim mentality. She wants Black people to blackout from the toxic agenda Democrats have been pushing, which she wrote has left them helpless.

My favourite part of the book was when she covered how the Great Society initiated by former US president Lyndon B. Johnson destroyed Black families. The Great Society incentivized Black women to raise children alone. She said welfare has contributed to 27 per cent of Black families being married.

Her book is bold, as she does not hold back with her comments. She makes it clear what she thinks, and she does not care if people disagree with her.

5. What Are the Odds?: From Crack Addict to CEO by Mike Lindell

I read What Are the Odds?: From Crack Addict to CEO by Mike Lindell in October. Lindell is the CEO of MyPillow.

What Are the Odds? is Lindell's memoir. Lindell was a crack addict, but he was able to change his fate.

Lindell said God was looking out for him when he encountered major obstacles. He covers how God watched out for him when he came close to death, including when he survived a motorcycle accident and skydiving mishap on the same day.

I was impressed when he wrote about his meeting with then-Republican nominee Donald Trump. Lindell went into the meeting wanting to know about where Trump stood on helping addicts and people living in failing inner cities. He described the conversation as detailed and down-to-earth.

His book demonstrates how God is watching out for people regardless of who they are. He shows how believing in yourself and persevering are all it takes to succeed in life.