Top ten reads (of 2023)
I was lucky enough to have a lot of reading time last year.
Here is a recap of my top ten:
1. You look like a thing and I love you - Janelle Shane
I cannot recommend this book enough. Get a copy you can read rather than listen to as it's wonderfully illustrated. It is a book on the weirdness of AI that can make you laugh out loud.
2. The Narrow Road Between Desires - Patrick Rothfuss
If you are Kingkiller Chronicles fan then this little revised novella by Rothfuss is a beautiful few hours of distraction from the fact that he still hasn't finished the series. I love Bast and this book as Rothfuss puts it - is to show us that you can have stories that do not have to have 'the big bad wolf' to be something worthwhile. It's a gorgeous little interlude to nothing and everything. I really hope he finishes the third Kingkiller book soon because it reminded me of how beautiful his writing is.
3. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity - David Graeber & David Wengrow
It's hard to sometimes to remember that our current social constructs were a choice. Capitalism, patriarchy, racism - it's all a choice. This book takes a look at the standard anthropological evolutionary tale of hunter gather > farmer > civilisation and shows how that linear path was not true, nor destiny. It's a great way to rethink some of the 'for granted' elements of our current society and start realising that other choices can be made.
4. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? - Frans de Waal
A book about animal behaviour? Yes. A philosophical reconsidering about how we approach problems? Also yes. de Waal romps through a history of animal behaviour studies to show that how assessing animal intelligence based on tests 'human' intelligence is not helpful. It's a good reminder that our own point of view is just one perspective and to consider other views when trying to solve problems.
5. The Remains of the Day - Kazoo Ishiguro
I had previously read Klara and the Sun by this author and thoroughly enjoyed it. I picked another one from his list and was amazed at how completely different the story was, but equally as rich. This book is a slow story of different types of love and loyalty. An odd little novel that is written beautifully and stuck with me long after I had finished it.
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6. What If? - Randall Monroe
If you are a fan of Monroe's web comic, and even if you have read his book do yourself a favour and take the Audible version for a spin. Monroe adapted it especially for audio, it is read by Will Wheaton and an absolute delight. A fun little read for those short trips that you can pick up and put down again.
7. The Great Experiment: Why Diverse Democracies Fall Apart and How They Can Endure - Yascha Mounk
This is an interesting look at democracy and why democratic societies aren't achieving equality. For those thinking about what the future of their society should be like, it is always useful to review what does and doesn't work about the current ones.
8. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism - Shoshana Zuboff
Fair warning - this is a hefty read. However, it is a cornerstone book in the arena of big-data and a good romp through how we got here and where it could be going. It will definitely make you want to put down technology and go hide in the woods for a short while afterwards; but the ostrich approach is a large part of how we got here and it's useful to take our heads out of the sand (occasionally). There are many similar books that cover the same themes as Zuboff, so if you aren't sure about picking up this tome try starting with 'Privacy is Power - Carissa Veliz' or 'Technology is not Neutral - Stephanie Hare'.
9. The Future of Geography - Tim Marshall
Tim Marshall is always a good read when it comes to geopolitics and this time he explores space. It's important to think about what resources are going to be the next big 'arenas' of political and business interplay. Not the most uplifting book - it essentially summarises all the ways our current laws are completely useless to handle space conflicts. But a good speculative futures book with a lot of solid research.
10. Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind - Peter Godfrey-Smith
I absolutely loved Other Minds so if you haven't read any of Godfrey-Smith's work, I would start there. This is a further exploration of the mind, life and consciousness in a story-like manner that helps piece it all together. I found it slightly denser than Other Minds but that is because it is packing in a LOT of content.