I quite enjoyed this book; but it's probably not for everyone. Losada has an engaging and friendly style; extremely readable and enjoyable. The way she engages with the topic is pretty generous I think; perhaps the main criticism is that it's occasionally a bit too optimistic; but after all, that's basically what it promises on the cover! Overall, if you're looking for a bit of optimism and happiness, then take a glance! I'll definitely be trying to read more of her books :)

Absolutely extraordinary book. Extremely informative, powerful, emotional, inspiring, and poetic. I was struck at first by the amazing writing (which comes across really well in translation, I think, not that I've read the original ...), but stayed for the amazing story-telling and information about various illegal practices in Brazil.

It's really an impressive piece of work, I can highly recommend it, but do note that it is also, in parts, quite traumatic. Still; one of those books that you feel sad when it ends; well worth reading!

Really a brilliant collection of insights and strong thoughts around feminism and it's connections to all aspects of society and life. The book is short but somehow packed with some much knowledge and beautiful connections to other works and writers/thinkers. Lola is a genius, really, of explaining practical ways to engage with feminism, and what it means for how we can engage it to bring about change. If you're ever at a loss for words when someone asks you "What is feminism?" then this book is for you!

Loved this. Akala is a extremely knowledgable about history and politics, so this is an important and interesting read. Not being someone who has that much perspective on the UK, I also really valued learning more about how colonialism and racism have had an impact.

I absolutely loved this book! It's an awesome collection of poetry and writings around capitalism, history, feminism, and other topics. In particular I really enjoyed the thoughts around how fictional histories can be a form of history; i.e. all we have is stories in any case, and lots of stories have been lost over the years; but what remains? Can things be learned, even if there is no "true" historical preservation?

Overall just a brilliant book, and I'm grateful to have been able to read it :)

This is a very interesting book. In part it's a discussion about gentrification, and what that looks like in a certain community; but it's also a discussion of racism, and the experiences of the black families.

One thing that hit me particularly hard was the observation that must participation in the local neighbourhood revolves around consumption. What I found challenging was to imagine how else it could be. And in particular, made me thoughtful of how, if I were to open a physical bookshop (as is my dream), I could make space for participation that doesn't require consumption.

In any case, I appreciated reading this for some interesting perspectives on how to think about urban planning and gentrification.

This is a stressful book. Overall I'm glad I read it; but I wasn't left feeling as motivated or excited as other books in this space. I'm not totally convinced in everything the author says, and I think occasionally it lacks a bit of tact, but I do think it's full of very valuable and useful information, and I think his attitudes and feelings are totally understandable. It does contain nice advice for what to do personally; but it's probably not the best book to read if you're feeling a bit anxious.

Just exceptional. I've not read another book that does so well at explaining different timescales and ways to communicate the impact of the climate crisis. Done in a very engaging poetic style; this book really motivated me to learn much more details and start to make a change. Overall a very enjoyable, rewarding, and inspiring reading experience!

This gives a good selection of arguments and positions about why, naturally, it's not simply enough for policy makers and activists to focus on "net-zero" policies for carbon, but in fact we need to totally abolish fossil fuels. It makes a very strong argument, and is really quite good reading. Highly recommended!

Another amazing book, this one was written by a refugee who was imprisoned at the time. It is about his experience in the prison; something that had been totally covered up by the Australian government. At the time the book was published he was still in prison! It's exceptionally readable, interesting and engaging, but it does have some quite traumatic sections. It's has a beautifully written style interspersed with sections of poetry. You will certainly leave with very strong feelings for what people like this have been put through by our governments. I really gained a lot from reading it.

This is a very legitimate and intense book, with a strong American focus. It argues that the police are actively harmful, and points out all sorts of issues with "improvement" programs, and more generally the structure that supports the policing apparatus. I went in to this book probably being open-minded; I would've argued, before reading it, that police are generally good and useful, but of course that comes from my perspective as a white man. I see now the other perspective, and while I'm not fully convinced by all the examples in this book; I do think that in general, the message of using communities and local-supporting systems over the state-managed "violence workers", is certainly attractive. While this book does have *some* practical ideas for how communities can self-organise in this way, I would've liked to see more. But I suppose this idea is just developing, and this was my first entrypoint into this kind of thinking. Overall, I do recommend this book; I think it's very passionately written and contains a lot of good arguments. But it's also quite confronting, so be prepared!