26-ish books 2024

Im not a fan of his at all, but I think it’s reasonable of him to put forward an argument if he’s offered a book deal to do so. Lots of other people do it.

Anyway, this is a nice thread so maybe let’s leave it there?

He spends a heck of a lot of his time telling everyone else he knows what they should think. There's not a lot of difference between "hey I'm working class really" and "I'm middle class but I know what working class people should think".

13 Demon Copperhead. Very sad

He doesn’t pretend to be working class when writing it - explicitly sets out his background as being middle class

There is some truth in the critique (and I do find Owen Jones generally very annoying), but I do think the book had some decent reminders that there is more than one interpretation of the previous four decades.

Basically, it’s his take on the history and changes to the working class over time. It uses the word ‘demonization’ a lot!

I read it years ago and found it irritating then (and I'm fairly left wing). I suspect it hasn't made the slightest bit of difference to society.

🤣🤣

"My name is Owen Jones and despite being a middle class journo with a cocaine habit I am really a man of the people".

Asiatoyork
I thought about reading Chavs.
What is the main argument of the book?

I’ve nearly finished my book no
9.Rebel Rising -Rebel Wilson
Next can’t wait to read
10.Wives Like Us - Plum Sykes

I have a few preordered books coming in the next few months including the new Stephen King I’m looking forward to since only 3 left to read in my drawer …

12 Chavs

A bit late to this one, but picked it up at a second hand bookshop. Didn’t agree with it all and would be interested if anyone could recommend a good, well researched book that counters the narrative, but overall worthwhile and still very salient.

Could have made the same point more concisely however.

No 14 The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Can't remember who recommended it but it was so good.

*wasn't

11. The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig
I really love Craig's books but abandoned this one halfway through. Couldn't get to grips with the characters and I want really egging anyone on.

12. So Late in the Day by Clare Keegan
A teeny tiny book which I read in one sitting.
After finishing it, I initially felt a bit deflated as Keegan is such a revered writer.
But it kept returning to me...little incidences. For me, it's a very important and powerful commentary on misogyny.

12. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Raced through this one. Engaging and insightful story based around a circus in the 1930s. 4 stars out of 5.

16) ME Elton John.
Enjoyed this. Especially the 1st and last thirds. Very honest, brutally so.

Book 11 - Everyone Here is Lying.
I now need to read a book that doesn't involve a woman keeping a girl prisoner in a basement 🙄

I've a few to log here:
10: Wild Food by Ray Mears interesting book on food eaten by indigenous people but was looking for more of a foraging guide.
11: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist found this one quite intriguing with slight hints of Never Let Me Go.
12: The Bay of Angels by Anita Brookner not sure why I persevered with this one because it was dull and didn't really improve.
13: Wanderers - A History of Women Walking by Kerri Andrews an interesting set of essays, each focussing on one woman, some better than others. I love walking and this did make me want to explore more places.

Work got massively in the way so it took me ages to finish this one but Maps of our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer is incredible, written part prose part poetry, part traditional linear storytelling, part stream of consciousness. Loved every minute of it (#13)

17 The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. This has made me want to go on a road trip round America.

10. The Women – Kristin Hannah. 8/10. Loved this – especially the first part set in Vietnam. My only criticism would be that I would have like to have learned a little more about some of the other Women and their back stories.

11. Sorry and Bliss – Meg Mason. 7/10. More sorrow than bliss but adored the relationship between Martha and her sister Ingrid. Also was good to read about mental illness from the perspective of someone experiencing something that they don’t have a label or explanation for. Felt really sad for Martha at times, really frustrated with her at others and at other times genuinely laughed out loud.

10 Then She Was Gone, Lisa Jewell.

Read it in 3 sittings. Ms Jewell is properly messed up.

9 The Lost Man by Jane Harper, great.

7. Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy: from Ireland to India with a Bicycle. Interesting but I found what she chose to focus on a bit odd. Lots of descriptions of landscape, as you'd expect, but incidents like being attacked by wolves get hardly any detail. I can't tell if she was a not very nice person, just very frank and honest but I found some of her descriptions of the people she meets uncomfortable.

Another one to add to my list - thank you :)