The Gulag Archipelago and "Aren't Those Russian Writers Scary?"

So I heartily agree with Andy that "The Jungle" would be a good book for us to read. I have tried reading it twice before, but it's a little thick for me. I need some moral support, and I think it would be a good read...once we got through the tough parts, together!

Speaking of moral support for reading books, I recieved "The Gulag Archipelago" Part 2, The Destructive Labor Camps and The Soul and Barbed Wire by Solzhenitsyn. It's a very scary large book by a Russian dude who had all that fun Soviet oppression. I read the flap and it's about life in a labor camp. Tough subject. Anyway, it might be good to read...I've never really gotten into the Russians, being a non-Humanities student. I'm afraid if no one reads it with me, it'll never get read...it's a big scary book. Besides, who wants to read social commentary if there's no...well...commentary!

So those are my two suggestions for books after "The Bell Jar", which, by the way, I'm enjoying throughly! Let me know what ya'll think...