11) Janesville by Amy Goldstein I seem to have developed something of a liking for non-fiction books examining the decline of middle America, having read Hillbilly Elegy and the masterly The Unwinding last year. Janesville is an excellent addition to the sub-genre, and well worth a read not only if you're interested in America today,… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 11: Janesville
Category: non-fiction
Year 3 / Book 9: No Is Not Enough
9) No is Not Enough by Naomi Klein For left-leaning, progressive, liberal elite types (such as myself - other cliches are available), Brexit & Trump have now settled in as realities, and it can all become fairly dispiriting and difficult to respond to with ideas and constructive responses. That's probably why I enjoyed Utopia for… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 9: No Is Not Enough
Year 3 / Book 7: Option B
7) Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant For the uninitiated, Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook, one of the world's most powerful and richest women, and also wrote the influential book Lean In, a sort of pragmatic, work-oriented feminist text (which originated from a TED talk). This isn't a follow-up to Lean… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 7: Option B
Year 3 / Book 2: If I Die In A Combat Zone
2) If I Die In A Combat Zone by Tim O'Brien Many years ago, for reasons that are unclear to me, I bought a book called In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien which I thought was great (I must have been a teenager at the time) but I don't think I really… Continue reading Year 3 / Book 2: If I Die In A Combat Zone
Year 2 / Book 43: Utopia for Realists
43) Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman In amongst a steady stream of police procedurals, I've managed to slot in this slightly more brain-expanding book by Rutger Bregman. It's incredibly inspiring, in the middle of Brexit-depression, to read someone who is so passionate and creative and optimistic about our future. And about the fact that… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 43: Utopia for Realists
Year 2 / Book 40: Dear Ijeawele
40) Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie This is a short book, written as a letter to a friend who has just given birth to a daughter and who has asked for help on how to bring her up as a feminist. It is a follow-up, I assume to… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 40: Dear Ijeawele
Year 2 / Book 36: Grit
36) Grit by Angela Duckworth So this is an interesting book. I was biased towards it from the start, having long been of the view that most of the good stuff takes perseverance, something I’ve written about a few times in different ways. This book, based on years of research, puts some evidence and substance behind… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 36: Grit
Year 2 / Book 32: The Fact of a Body
32) The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich In my search for new books to read and to expand my repertoire (left to my own devices, I might only be reading about Icelandic detectives with a drink problem), I've taken to listening to book podcasts, asking lots of friends for suggestions but also reading… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 32: The Fact of a Body
Year 2 / Book 30: White Sands
30) White Sands by Geoff Dyer Geoff Dyer is recognised for being a bit uncategorisable, which makes describing his books a little tricky to say the least. Suffice to say that he is one of my favourite writers and that he walks along the tightrope between non-fiction and fiction in his books. This collection, his… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 30: White Sands
Year 2 / Book 26: Hillbilly Elegy
26) Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir written by someone from a poor white family in the middle of America, who 'got out' and made a success of themselves (going to a prestigious university and ending up at a venture capital firm. It became a bestseller in the US and has… Continue reading Year 2 / Book 26: Hillbilly Elegy
Dog-eared Man: a book a week 