March 2023 Reading List
Hi friends,
I managed to read a lot more than in February, which was helped by finally finishing In Europe. Even though it’s a long book, it’s a good one and I’ve got the recent follow-up, The Dream of Europe, which I hope to get to either this month or the next.
I would have liked to have read a bit more fiction last month, but that’s something I’m hoping to rectify this month. I do feel like reading a mix of fiction and non-fiction is best, especially as I have a tendency to veer too much towards non-fiction most of the time.
So here are the books I read last month!
In Europe - It took me around three weeks to read this 800-page book, but it was worth it. The mix of travelogue and historical interludes works well and does a good job of reviewing the history of Europe in the 20th century. If I have one criticism of the book it’s that the author revisits some of the same places a lot such as Paris and Berlin. Given what happened between 1914 and 1945, this is understandable, but I would have liked to read more about places in the east of Europe, which only get a slight mention towards the end of the book. Still, it’s a good book and will provide you with a good overview of European history.
Wanting - I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. So much so, that I read it in a couple of days. The primary focus of the book is the work of Rene Girard and his theory of mimetic desire. The author, Luke Burgis, explains the theory and how you can use it to recognise patterns of behaviour in yourself and others. I was sceptical about Girard and still am in some ways, but this was a really good read. It’s similar in style to Nassim Taleb’s books, so if you like them, you’ll like this one too.
Liberalism and Its Discontents - A nice short look at the political philosophy of liberalism by the renowned political scientist Francis Fukuyama. It does a good job of explaining the virtues of liberalism as well as the drawbacks, which have to the age of discontent that we are currently living through. I enjoyed reading this and came away from the book with a better understanding and appreciation for liberalism.
Chaos - I was underwhelmed by this book. Chaos theory is something that fascinates me and I was expecting a look at the theory and what it means in the real world. But this book was primarily focused on the history of the theory and how it came about. while this was interesting in places, I found it a bit stale on the whole. It didn’t help that I was expecting something completely different, which is why I’m not so enamoured by this book.
The Age of The Strongman - With ‘strongmen’ leaders seeming in fashion at the moment, this is an interesting book that looks at some of the figures behind the phenomenon. It was interesting reading about figures such as Modi, Erdogan and Orban, who I don’t know an awful lot about, and the book does a good job of explaining the background and why they came to power. If you like politics, then you’ll enjoy this book as the profiles of the leaders make for interesting reading.
I hope you get around to reading a few of these selections. Whether you read them in the next month or year, I’m not bothered. The idea of my reading lists is to encourage you, the reader, to read more.
If more of us read, and read books outside of our comfort zone, the world would be a better place. You don’t know what you don’t know. Reading is one of the best ways to fill in those gaps in your knowledge.
If you have any comments about the books, maybe you’ve read one before. Or if you have some recommendations for me, I’m all ears. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Until next time,
Tom