October 2022 Reading List
Hi friends,
A bit late in sending the reading list from last month out, apologies. While I didn’t read as many books as in September, I still managed to get through some interesting ones at that.
It’s an eclectic bunch, but they were all really enjoyable. One of the best things about the run-up to Christmas is the opportunity to read more as the nights draw in and things start to wind down. Then, you also have Christmas itself which means you get more books as presents and spend your money on even more books!
At least I do anyway! Here’s what I read during October:
What Makes Civilization? – I read this book before starting the one below. It’s written by David Wengrow, an archaeologist whose one of the co-authors of The Dawn of Everything. You can class this book as a primer for his work with Graeber. It’s a nice length and gives you an insight into the early onset of civilizations and what their development means for us today. I really enjoyed this book and it helped me to better understand The Dawn of Everything.
The Dawn of Everything – It took me a while to read through this book, but it was worth it and an enjoyable read. This is a broad sweep through human history and tries to see how humans ‘got stuck’ in the political systems of today. David Graeber was a brilliant thinker and his books are always thought-provoking. Wengrow, his co-author, is another excellent writer and combining both their fields of anthropology and archaeology makes for a fascinating read. While I can’t say whether everything they claim is true, it certainly gives you plenty of food for thought.
Doomed Love – This is a short book from the Penguin Great Loves series, and is actually an extract from the Aeneid, the Roman epic by Virgil. This was a good introduction and will probably make me read the whole thing in its entirety. Saying that it’s not as good as The Odyssey, which it’s similar to. The Odyssey flows better and is more exciting in my view than what I read. But then I haven’t read the whole of the Aeneid, so maybe that would change if I read it all.
Hunt For The Southern Continent – This is a collection of James Cook’s diary entries from when he was searching for the fabled southern continent in the 18th century. As such, it reads differently but is an interesting insight into the man himself and the lands he saw. His accounts of interactions between his crew and the inhabitants of the islands they visited are riveting. There seems to be a lot of bonhomie between Cook and the people he encounters, which makes you want to know how these islands came into possession of the British Crown and if those perceptions changed, which I assume they did.
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