This is billed as a retelling of George Orwell's 1984, with the imprimatur of approval from the Orwell estate (while the original novel is in the public domain in England, it is still under copyright in the US, and the estate has further protected both the title, the phrase "Big Brother is watching you" and the... Continue Reading →
Stop Reading the News, by Rolf Dobelli. Pub 2019. Translation by Caroline Waight, pub 2020.
The title of this book spoke to me, in light of many conversations this year about the depressing imposition the news represents, and the goal of reclaiming my attention from the whirlpool of online sites. According to Dobelli, the only way is cold turkey - as the title says, stop reading the news – and... Continue Reading →
In Covid’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us, by Stephen Macedo and Frances Lee. Pub 2025
Short version: In Covid’s Wake presents an excellent overview of the policies and actions in several regions of the world (primarily the US) during the Covid-19 pandemic, evaluating these for lessons learned for future crises. The authors do an excellent job analysing the rationales for the various approaches and the outcomes and impact on the... Continue Reading →
Changing My Mind, by Julian Barnes. Pub 2025
Upon seeing this new volume by Barnes, I instantly ordered it, raced down the bookshop when it arrived, and made it my next read. I confess to being disappointed when I got it – it is so small – 57 small pages. But it’s Barnes, so it was, to me, essential reading, even if it... Continue Reading →
The MANIAC, by Benjamín Labatut. Pub 2023
I got this book as part of a vacation bookstore binge earlier this year. After loving the previous book by Labatut (When We Cease to Understand the World), I was looking forward to this one, and saved it up for some quieter reading time. Almost double the length of Cease, The MANIAC takes its name... Continue Reading →
Melania, by Melania Trump. Pub 2024
After seeing several interviews with Melania Trump about this book, I wanted to read it for the additional details and perspectives on recent history. Melania is much maligned in the mainstream media, and often overlooked in terms of her own experiences. I wanted to give her the chance to be heard in her own voice... Continue Reading →
Liberation Day, by George Saunders. Pub 2022
This was part of the Christmas bounty from my sister in 2022. I recall starting this in early 2023, and then abandoning it for something a bit lighter. It felt like a book that needed vacation time to devote to it, and so now was the right time. This collection of nine stories is good,... Continue Reading →
Hillbilly Elegy, by JD Vance. Pub 2016, with update in 2018.
This book was an unlikely addition to my list this year. My fellow book-clubber had read and reviewed it back in 2017, and did not love it. But not long ago, the author rose to prominence in the 2024 US election, and it seemed like one way to learn more about this new face. In... Continue Reading →
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, by Wayne Johnston. Pub 1998
I recall buying this book >10 years ago at a favourite used book shop in Victoria. I had previously read The Custodian of Paradise, and while I enjoyed it, I realized too late that it would have been enhanced by having read this book first. While I made a start on Colony back then, it drifted on to... Continue Reading →
On Tyranny, by Timothy Snyder. Pub 2017. Graphic edition, with illustrations by Nora Krug. Pub 2021.
This book has popped up on reading lists and various sites over the past few years. I expected it to be a weighty slog (turns out, it’s quite short), but the graphic edition makes for an easier, if just as sobering, read. Snyder is a professor of history and human sciences. Krug is an award-winning... Continue Reading →
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