4 Stars

Best for:
Anyone who has every worked in an office.

In a nutshell:
Due to slumping sales figures, Management have decided to slowly flood the sales floor.

Worth quoting:
“She had always secretly suspected that her work at MoneyTownCashGrowth was meaningless. She had her clients and she sold them things, but none of it actually meant anything.”

“‘I’m sure that’s not allowed, to mock your employees like that.’ Hanna, and her lack of experience with the Evans of this world! Rose blushed with how much she wished that she, too, still led such a sheltered life.”

Why I chose it:
It looked clever.

Review:
This is an absurd book in the best ways. It’s a novella, so a quick read, but author Neuwirth still manages to fit quite a few highly relevant observations into just under 130 pages.

Rose works in finance, and one week receives an email that the floor where she and her colleagues in sales have office will be slowly flooded with saltwater until productivity turns around. Management (who does not work on the floor and so will not be subject to this slowly increasing discomfort and indignity) seems to operate under the philosophy that the best way to get workers to do something is to harm them.

Throughout the book, the water continues to rise. Staff at first think it’s a bit fun, but as it impacts their lives in and outside of work (what will they tell their friends, how can they go out in public at the end of the day when soaking wet), Rose and others get more desperate.

The book is a decent metaphor not just for the toxicity of workplaces — and how upper and middle management contributes to it — but also for how individual workers choose to react.

What’s next for this book:
Keep and recommend

5 Stars

Best for:
Those who love a meaty philosophical explorations about the meaning of life and the decisions we make.

In a nutshell:
One morning, everyone age 22 and older in the entire world receives a box that says ‘The measure of your life lies within.’ Society quickly learns the strings inside correlate with how long each person will live.

Worth quoting:
“Since the strings arrived, so many of our conversations are about such big, heavy ideas, literally life and death. And I miss talking about the little things, especially in a city filled with so many wonderful little things.”

“Living long is not the same is living well.”

Why I chose it:
My sister-in-law recommended it and I’m so thankful because I found it to be so thought-provoking and so, so good.

Review:
You wake up one morning and find a box on your doorstep. Inside is a string. You quickly learn that everyone other adult in the world has received the same thing, and soon you all discover that the strings are, in fact, truthful. If your string is short, you will die before someone with a longer string.

This book looks at how eight adults handle the receipt of these strings. Do they look at them? What if their partner has a shorter or longer string? What if the string is so short that they know they will die within the year? What if it’s longer but not long enough – like they’ll die in their mid-40s and they’re currently in their early 30s?

Through the eyes of these individuals we learn about all sorts of things that one could predict might happen. Some people with short strings become distraught; other don’t trust the people with the short strings because those people appear to have nothing to lose. Couples break up. Parents fight to get custody from exes who have shorter strings. Insurance companies consider canceling coverage. Politicians and CEOs look for ways to exploit this knowledge for power.

I absolutely loved this book. I think despite following eight characters, each one was developed well enough for the reader to care (or perhaps not care) about them, and to generally understand their feelings about their particular situations. I appreciated the issues that were raised by the author as background national and international issues, but also the interpersonal concerns. The strings impacted everyone, whether they chose to look at them or not.

I could go on and on about this book, but if it sounds even remotely interesting to you, I recommend you check it out.

This is a 350 page book that I read in one day. I only put it down because I was on holiday and had other things I wanted to do.

What’s next for this book:
Recommend to everyone

Three Stars

Best for:
New fans of Formula 1 who are interested in learning about the specifics of a race season and a race weekend.

In a nutshell:
Former F1 strategist for Aston Martin Bernie Collins shares her experience in F1 and gives a detailed behind-the-scenes look a Formula 1.

Worth quoting:
N/A – lots of interesting items but nothing I would choose to revisit.

Why I chose it:
My partner and I have recently started watching F1 and he spotting this book in an airport bookshop. We’ve enjoyed the author’s commentary on Sky F1 coverage so thought the book would be an interesting read.

Review:
A few years back I started watching Drive to Survive on Netflix. Never before did I think I would be interested in cars driving around for a few hours – I didn’t get why it would be interesting, or really understand any of it. I now find myself building weekend activities around when qualifying and races start. I check in on the F1 sub-reddit regularly. Part of my TikTok algorithm is F1 news. And over time I’ve learned things about how F1 works, but not to the level where I understand the choices or the work going on behind the scenes.

This book provides a detailed look at how Formula 1 works. Bernie Collins went to university for engineering and ended up working in F1 for the first part of career in various roles, ending up as a strategist before moving over to the broadcast side. She worked primarily for teams that weren’t vying for championships, but as I learned from Drive to Survive, it’s not just about coming in first – there’s a lot going on throughout the grid.

The first part of the book focuses on Bernie’s background and then moves to looking at F1 overall. I found this section a bit tough to get through as the writing was detailed but felt more like technical writing than a book. The second half was more what I was looking for – each chapter follows each part of the weekend, from free practice one through to debriefing and ending the race weekend.

Overall I think the book could have benefited from a bit more beefing up of the descriptions as it is quite technical, but I did learn a lot I didn’t know before, so on that front it definitely got the job done.

What’s next for this book:
Donate

4 Stars

Best for:
Anyone who is interested in the ways capitalism is bad for individuals and society; how it is propped up by the state; and crucially, what alternatives exist that we can fight for.

In a nutshell:
Author Blakeley shares her thesis that capitalism is an inherently undemocratic system with illustrations of corporations and states acting poorly while adhering to the very essence of capitalism.

Worth quoting:
“Most people are denied autonomy over their lives, yet we are told we are free to choose how we live.”

Why I chose it:
Capitalism is not a system I support or want to live under, but I struggle with alternatives. I lack imagination, partly because I want my alternatives based in reality. I’m not a ‘blue sky’ thinker; I’m a former emergency response planner so … yeah. Anyway, this book looked like it might offer not just an analysis of why capitalism is a failure, but also alternatives. And spoiler alert: it did!

Review:
This is a dense but accessible book that explores all manner of ways capitalism is actually one of the largest barriers of democracy. Which is hilarious, given how so many ardent capitalists also claim to be strong supporters of democracy, and given how so many people suggest that alternative approaches to managing society are anti-democratic.

Each chapter looks at a different way capitalism is failing the vast majority of individuals and communities in the world, and starts with a story to illustrate that. She covers Boeing and the changes that came in when it merged with another aerospace company; Ford; the villainous McKinsey consulting company; WeWork (side note – I’m two episodes into the AppleTV serious about it and YIKES); and Blackrock, among others.

Her main points are that capitalism is not about free markets – it is actually an intensely planned system that requires constant state intervention. Capitalism is about power over individuals and the amalgamation of money and power by a small number at the top. And it isn’t failing; it is working exactly as it says on the tin. And that’s the problem.

She provides loads of examples of the features of capitalism that cause harm, some of which are familiar and some of which are new – like in the chapter illustrated by WeWork, she talks about how banks control time by buying or loaning money to the companies they see worthy, allowing them the time and space to fix whatever is wrong. Crucially, the banks aren’t making decisions about what might be best for society or communities; they’re deciding what will make the most money.

The chapter on imperialism and how it isn’t just about taking land – but about controlling what is done on that land, even if one isn’t technically the governing power – was intense and a pretty damning indictment of the USA.

The book isn’t just chapters reiterating how much capitalism really does suck; there’s a chapter full of eleven examples of communities taking actions outside of capitalism’s rules to improve their communities. It’s inspiring and evidence that another way is possible.

Getting back to my lack of imagination – in the final chapter, Blakeley offers some suggestions of things we can do to move society away from capitalism. At one point she says she isn’t really a fan of universal basic income, and my first thought was ‘ugh, what? Why not? Why can’t people be happy?’ Her reasoning is she thinks that contributes to consumerism and individualism. I don’t really agree with that, but she follows that up with a short discussion on universal basic services, arguing that instead of giving people the money to buy the services, we make the services themselves free. Free housing, health care, public transportation. Which would be pretty freaking cool, isn’t something I even really thought people were considering.

I listened the audio book, but would instead recommend buying a physical copy if you’re interested in reading it.

What’s next for this book:
Keep – maybe pick up a physical copy so I can refer back to it easily.

4 Stars

Best for:
People who enjoy mysteries set in one place; people who enjoy the cold case style mystery.

In a nutshell:
Journalist Jenna Halliday is in town investigating the disappearance of three teens from twenty years ago. The surviving teen is now in her late 30s. Will she be willing to talk to Halliday for her podcast?

Worth quoting:
N/A

Why I chose it:
Needed something to read while traveling on the day of the huge Crowdstrike IT outage.

Review:
Olivia Rutherford was 18 when she was in a car accident. When she woke up, the three girlfriends she was with in the car had disappeared. Twenty years later they’ve not been found, but Halliday is putting together her first podcast after 15 years of working as journalist, and she wants answers.

The book is told from both Rutherford and Halliday’s perspectives. Halliday is going through her own issues – possibly a divorce, and being away from her son for the first time. Meanwhile Halliday is preparing for the anniversary of the accident, and still living at home with her mother and dating the same guy she was dating at the time of the accident 20 years ago.

The story unfolds over the week that Halliday is in town, with the help of a local detective who is looking into the disappearance again as a cold case. There are some twists, some misdirection, and some surprises along the way. Additionally, there is a seemingly unrelated story being told between chapters that adds to the mystery.

I don’t think I’ve read anything by Douglas before but I’ll pick up another if I come across it.

What’s next for this book:
Donate to a little library nearby.

Four Stars

Best for:
Fans of Ian Karmel’s work, people interested in hearing from siblings who have been fat most of their lives, people interested in learning more about how anti-fat bias impacts the lives of fat people.

In a nutshell:
In this clever set-up, comedian, comedy writer and podcast host Ian Karmel shares what is essentially a memoir, told through the eyes of his life as a fat child, fat teen, and fat adult. His sister Alisa Karmel, who has a doctorate and is a nutritionist, appends each chapter with her own thoughts (and lots of statistics and studies), addressing some of the issues Ian raised in that chapter.

Worth quoting:
I laughed out loud a lot during Ian’s section, and found Alisa’s section interesting, but it was an audio book and I was mostly doing chores and such while listening so didn’t end up taking any down.

Why I chose it:
I listen to All Fantasy Everything, a podcast where Ian and two of his friends / fellow comedians (plus guests) fantasy draft items from pop culture. Nearly every episode is a banger, even though they draft things as wildly different as after school snacks and Disney movie songs. When I heard he had a book out, I knew I wanted to check it out.

Review:
I’ve read a few books about fatness – Aubrey Gordon’s two books. Roxane Gay’s works, Sophie Hagen’s happy fat – but all have been written by people who at the time identified as women. This is the first one that has at least part of it focused on the perspective of a fat man, and it’s interesting to hear the issues he has had, and how they are a bit different from what I have heard fat women discuss.

He’s a comedy writer, and he’s funny. His jokes flow with the storytelling, and he paints a picture of a childhood that was both full of love and joy but also full of pain from being a fat kid. And he doesn’t suggest that life would be perfect if he hadn’t been a fat kid, but he talks about the ways society has harmed him and people like him because of how it chooses to treat fat people.

He definitely talks about health impacts for him, and for some people, but he doesn’t, at least not that I caught, suggest that one must be thin to be healthy, or that one must be unhealthy if they are fat.

A lot of his story stuck with me, but the part that I recall the most is when he talks about being a high school football player and how adults finally accepted his fat because it helped him cause pain to others. Just — ooof. That level of insight.

Alisa’s section is full of so much empathy and also practical advice. She’s willing to disagree with her brother on some areas, but she mostly is focused on talking about health and creating children and young people who understand their bodies and feel comfortable talking about them. If I were a parent I would definitely be bookmarking and consulting this section repeatedly.

I’m not sure if this would have worked better if each chapter had Ian’s bit then Alisa’s (as opposed to all of Ian’s and then all of Alisa’s), but this is probably just as good as that would have been. Really that’s my only gripe.

What’s next for this book:
Keep (it’s an audio book)

Five Stars

Best for:
Those interested in Victorian architecture. Those who live in or want to learn more about Glasgow.

In a nutshell:
Author Menon explores the various 19th century architecture in Glasgow, splitting thorough text with gorgeous photos.

Worth quoting:
“… repurposing these historic buildings is an inherently sustainable option.”

Why I chose it:
We purchased moved to Glasgow last year and live in a tenement flat. I’ve become fascinated with the architecture in this city.

Review:
I love Victorian architecture. I love stone buildings that aren’t more than five or six stories tall at most, with detailed stonework and ironwork. I get that its often not possible to build in the same way now, especially if stone quarries or spent, but man, I love the way it looks. I find mid-20th-century and Brutalist architecture to both be deeply depressing to look at, so its fun to live in a city that has so much of the building style I like.

This book looks at a variety of types of building in Glasgow and divides it into industry, retail, office, finance, places of worship, parks and public, housing, civic building, education, cultural, social spaces, and transport. It starts with a discussion of architecture, materials, construction, and reuse, so there is a base set before Menon jumps into looking at the details and history of loads of individual locations. There are over 125 full color photos in the book, along with an index of addresses so one could go to the places to view them.

It was fun to look over as I recognized quite a few of the highlighted buildings, but others were ones I’d not seen before and will make an effort to go check out.

What’s next for this book:
Keep and flip through regularly.

Three Stars

Best for:
Your foul-mouthed friends.

In a nutshell:
This gift book looks at the usage and origination of common – and uncommon – swears.

Worth quoting:
“If you swear all the time it loses all impact and if you repeat the same curse ad nauseam swearing loses its joy.”

Why I chose it:
Our friends gave it to us as apart of a housewarming gift.

Review:
The idea of the book is pretty fun. It is broken into four chapters: classic profanity, contemporary swearing, crude swearing, and compulsive swearing. Within each chapter, Croft describes the definition(s) of the word, shares some examples and, in some cases, provides alternatives in other languages. That part is pretty fun.

For a novelty book it mostly gets the job done. My main issue is that it includes the r word and while it mentions that it is offensive, I think there’s a difference between profanity and slurs, and its weird to include a slur in this collection. There are a couple of other borderline swears that just seem out of place.

Also they say that ‘bloody’ is really offensive in the US. Is it? That’s not how I recall it…

What’s next for this book:
Probably can’t donate it, so might hang on to it.

Three Stars

Best for:
Those interested in stories that explore questions of media ethics, morality, how to determine who to believe.

In a nutshell:
Ola (a journalist partly known for here work on #MeToo-esque stories) and Michael (a media presenter) are two people living in London. They are set to get married in a month, with friends and family coming into town. They are Instagram famous, and held up as an example of #BlackLove. Then The List is posted to Twitter, which accuses 40 men of various crimes, from harassment to rape. Michael is on the list.

Worth quoting:
“She refused for love to be something that she endured.”

Why I chose it:
I was at the airport and it looked interesting.

Review:
I usually don’t check reviews before writing my own, but when I looked on Goodreads I see that this book is quite divisive. Some folks love it, and many really, really hate it. And I get that. I am ambivalent, as I did enjoy reading it and think author Adegoke explored some interesting questions, but I think it could have been a stronger story with perhaps a slightly less twisty ending.

The concept of the book is solid in my opinion: what happens to the people accused by anonymous complaints, and what happens to their families? Obviously the focus should be on the victims of crime, but they aren’t the only people impacted. What happens to the people who love the people who may have abused others? And if someone is accused anonymously but publicly, what should happen? What makes sense?

Ola works for a website and is tasked by her boss with investigating the List, as the boss doesn’t know Michael is on the list, accused of harassment and abuse. Michael has started a new job that day, but soon ends up on leave.

The book gives us point of view chapters from both Ola and Michael. We quickly learn that Michael is not a good partner, but to what extent that aligns with the allegations against him remains a mystery for a good while. Ola is focused on trying to figure out if she should believe her fiancé, and if she chooses to, what that means for the career she’s built, calling out accused abusers and demanding their accusers be believed.

As the book goes on, we learn some more about others on the list, and it is clear that some of the allegations are definitely true, or at least based in some confirmed actions. And some may not be – and it has an impact on the accused. Now, does that mean there’s no value in bringing forward allegations? Of course not. Truth is important, and just because something maybe can’t be brought to a court doesn’t, to me, mean it shouldn’t be shared or believed. But there is an impact on so many people, and it’s not just about whose fault that is.

What’s next for this book:
Donate

Four Stars

Best for:
Anyone curious about Buddhism and looking for some thoughts from someone who came to the practice a bit later in life.

In a nutshell:
Manuel, a priest in the Zen tradition and a Black woman from the US raised in the Christian church, shares short but thoughtful responses to common questions about Buddhism.

Worth quoting:
Shared a quote from Eihei Dogen: “If you see death as something over there, then you are viewing your life from outside of it.”

Why I chose it:
I am in fact a curious beginner!

Review:
I learned about this book when it was mentioned in a daily newsletter I get related to Buddhism. It seems to be mostly out of print, so it took awhile for it to arrive, but I am happy to sought it out, because it is a lovely beginner book. It’s just over 100 pages long, and easy enough to read in little chunks if one doesn’t have the time to just sit and read it all at once.

The book covers basics of Buddhism that I’ve read about in other books, such as the Eightfold path. But it also talks about things people may have heard in passing about Buddhism that they aren’t sure about.

I think something that makes this book especially interesting is the perspective that Manuel brings, as a Black woman from the US. Many books that I’ve read are (understandably) written by great wise Buddhists from eastern nations such Thich Nhat Hanh, and I obviously their perspectives are important. But Manuel speaks specifically about coming to Buddhism from another spiritual practice (the Christian church), and about being a Black woman in spaces where she was often the only Black person there. She speaks specifically about a multicultural community of practice, and how to navigate the fact that just because you have a bunch of folks following the path of Buddha in one place doesn’t mean you want have conflict.

I think what stuck out to me the most is that if I am going to continue this exploration, I do need to find a community and a teacher, because Buddhism isn’t about reading things in books, it’s about experiencing things myself.

What’s next for this book:
Keep and refer back to.