May 2023 Reading List
Hi friends,
Apologies for not sending an email this Monday. I’ve been a bit under the weather so I forgot all about it and didn’t have the energy to put it together late at night or the following day. It will be back this Monday, as I’m feeling much better now.
I’ve been meaning to send out this reading list for a while now and have finally got around to it. Last month was a good one for me, as I read a lot of books. Some good, some not so good. I’ve also bought a lot of books in the past month, which is becoming a problem now as I have a backlog of around 20 or o books I’m yet to read. It’s just too tempting to add a book whenever I buy anything on Amazon and the call of my local bookshop is too tempting to resist!
Anyway, here’s my review f the books I read in May.
An Artist of The Floating World - The latest of Kazuo Ishiguro’s books I’ve read was a bit slower than the others but just as enjoyable. It’s set in postwar Japan and follows the story of an artist who supported the regime during the war but is coming to terms with the postwar generation’s disdain for them. You can see how Ishiguro developed his style when reading this book, and while I don’t think it’s as good as his later work, it’s still captivating.
The Beautiful Summer - Another in the Penguin European Writers series I read, The Beautiful Summer tells the story of a girl in Italy growing up and discovering her sexuality. It takes a while to get going but pulls you in once the story gets interesting. You can’t help but feel for the main character who comes across as a somewhat tragic figure.
Notes From The Underground - I loved Crime & Punishment when I read it years ago, so I thought I’d give another of his famous novels a try, and I have to admit, a lot of this went over my head. There were two stories in the edition I purchased and Notes From The Underground was the hardest to read. I didn’t fully understand the story and was confused about whether it was Dostoyevsky's own views on society or not. The second story, The Double was much more readable and it was fascinating following the maddening descent of the main character as his life crumbles around him
The Dream of Europe - This is the follow-up to Geert Mak’s In Europe, which charts the history of the continent in the 20th century. The Dream of Europe looks at the years since the turn of the millennium. It’s just as good, if not better than the first book. I like how Mak tells the story of Europe through big news items, with anecdotes and interviews with people around the continent. It feels like a social history of Europe and offers first-hand experience of how the various crises in Europe have affected ordinary Europeans.
Chaos: A Very Short Introduction – After being disillusioned with Chaos by James Gleick, I thought I’d try my luck at learning about chaos theory with this book from the Oxford Short Introduction series. It’s better than Gleick’s book, but I felt it was still short of what I was looking for, which is how chaos theory affects the real world. This is a good book if you’re looking for a primer on the subject, but if you want more it will disappoint you unfortunately.
Chums - A book on how students at Oxford University have come to dominate the British establishment, in particular the political establishment. I think six out of the last seven Prime Ministers have been to Oxford, Gordon Brown being the exception, which is a staggering fact. It’s written by Simon Kuper who attended the university himself and features a range of figures such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and others. If you’re British it’s an interesting read as you see how these figures just do not have the real-world experience to run the country, which isn’t a shock given how the past 13 years have panned out. You should still read it if you’re not British because it will give you an insight into the workings of the country and how class attitudes are still a prominent feature in life despite it being 2023!
Courage Is Calling - I picked this book up at a local bookstore for 50p and I probably wouldn’t have bought it if wasn’t so cheap. It’s Ryan Holiday’s latest book on Stoicism and it’s kind of a rehash of previous ones but with a focus on the theme of courage. Honestly, if you’ve read one of his books before, you’ve more or less read this one. It’s very samey with some interesting stories but a lot of platitudes. I didn’t really learn anything groundbreaking and it was tedious reading it towards the end. It’s one of a four-part series and I probably won’t bother with the others. Stick to The Obstacle Is The Way or Stillness Is The Key, they are his better books and offer more than this one.
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