Books tagged "philosophical"

My Work - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 27, 2023
by Olga Ravn, Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell

Really an exceptional piece of writing. A friend bought this for me, and at the time I didn't realise I had already read another of her books. This one is of a totally different character; basically telling the story of a woman's engagement with pregnancy, and the way society encourages it be handled. Being myself now a partner and a witness to this, I found it a very interesting perspective and helped me relate to the birth parent more. It's a stressful read, but an amazing one I think. Highly recommended!

parenting, personal, philosophical, poetry, quirky, traumatic
Banzeiro Òkòtó - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 14, 2023
by Eliane Brum, Diane Grosklaus Whitty

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!

activism, climate, economics, feminism, informative, language, long-read, non-fiction, personal, philosophical, poetry, politics, quirky, racism, traumatic, travel
Feminism, Interrupted - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
April 3, 2023
by Lola Olufemi

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!

activism, feminism, philosophical
How To Blow Up A Pipeline - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
January 15, 2023
by Andreas Malm

I quite liked this. It's a nice discussion of climate activism and the general connection between activism and resistance. It leaves a lot of food for thought about what is necessary in order to make people change their behaviours. A great, short, thoughtful, and inspiring read.

climate, philosophical, politics
Still Born - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
October 16, 2022
by Guadalupe Nettel, Rosalind Harvey

Picked this up after listening to the author talk about it during the a book festival in Edinburgh. I loved it. I'm excited also to try and read the Spanish version in Spanish; but that will probably be a bit of a challenge. In any case, a nice read about parenting, how to relate to people, and what our relationships could be like. It also almost made me cry on the first page, which I thought was impressive.

personal, philosophical
Natives - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
October 2, 2022
by Akala

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.

activism, history, informative, non-fiction, personal, philosophical, politics, racism
The Production of Houses - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
September 4, 2022
by Christopher W. Alexander, Howard Davis, Julio Martinez, Don Corner

(A special holiday-edition of the book photo from sunny Italy). This is one in a long list of book written by Alexander and collaborators about building and architecture. This book is essentially a case study in his building process adopted by a community in Mexico. Ultimately I think it's fair to say the project failed; in part due to the government. The thing I liked about this book is it showed "real-world" issues with the adoption of his process; insofar as not everyone engaged in the patterns and building process as he expected.

One interesting thing it has is a discussion of how to achieve his particular kind of building in a decentralised way; and it's quite practical and interesting. I think it's fun to see this kind of discussion, which is topical now, in a work that is quite old. That said, this book is probably not for you unless you happen to be particularly obsessed with Christopher Alexander and community-focused building.

architecture, philosophical, urban-planning
Against Borders - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 14, 2022
by Gracie Mae Bradley, Luke de Noronha

This is an nice introduction to the topic of abolition of borders. Maybe you're already familiar with the idea of defunding the police, or similar, but this work extends that to the idea of borders themselves. It's quite interesting to see this idea brought there; and moreover it's quite nice to see a challenging discussion about the damaging impact of deporting or otherwise removing citizenship of people on visas; i.e. how can we care about people even when they do something bad. Lots of good ideas in this book!

economics, history, informative, non-fiction, philosophical, politics
The Employees - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 7, 2022
by Olga Ravn, Martin Aitken

I've been trying to read more translated books recently, and this was one I picked up in Hay-on-Wye. I loved it; it's quite quirky and funny, but it's an interesting take on what work might ultimately mean, and at what cost we would pursue it. It's a quick read, but nevertheless is certainly worth picking up :)

economics, philosophical, quirky
Speaking and Being - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
June 19, 2022
by Kübra Gümüşay, Gesche Ipsen

A pretty good book. I love the idea that language informs our thoughts and feelings, and this book explored that topic well. Probably the most interesting thing I found in this book was the thought of the author that they can take ownership of a language by adding words to it, as a way to feel at home. Worth a read, if you enjoy the intersection of language, identity, and politics!

language, personal, philosophical
On Dialogue - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
June 12, 2022
by David Bohm

Extremely relevant and interesting reading. It's a discussion of the very present problem of polarisation; i.e. how we can easily paint ourselves into corners from which we can't escape, or deem certain people irredeemable, and just generally avoid difficult conversations. I like Bohm a lot because of his connection to quantum physics, and Buddhism; so I'm very partial to this kind of topic. But this is a really great book, full of nice bits of insight; and it's short! I read it slowly, just to try and absorb as much as I could. Highly recommended!

philosophical
Post Growth - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 29, 2022
by Tim Jackson

Not bad. This book attempts to give some arguments about why we might want to consider a "post growth" world; i.e. one not ruled by standard capitalism; by driving for more business growth, more money, etc, etc. I think, sadly, it lacked a bit of detail and technical arguments. Perhaps as an entry point into the post growth literature it's pretty good; but you don't come away with lots of good arguments, or even many practical tips. I certainly don't regret reading it; and I'm sure I've got something out of it, but I wouldn't suggest you drop everything and read it now.

climate, economics, philosophical
The Art of Patience - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 8, 2022
by Sylvain Tesson, Frank Wynne

Yet another book in a genre close to my heart: books featuring snow leopards in a poetic way. Naturally, I enjoyed this one. It has the feeling of a light and soft journey, filled with nice poetic titbits. One particular part of the book will, probably, blow your mind, just like it did mine. Recommended if you're into these poetic travel books.

non-fiction, personal, philosophical, poetry
The Invisible Actor - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
May 1, 2022
by Yoshi Oida

This was a fun read. It's targeted at actors, but is in fact a fascinating insight into a totally different cultural experience, at least for me. I really enjoyed the bits of wisdom; the most memorable being the idea that, if you are watching an actor and think "wow, this is great acting", then that's bad; the actor should be invisible. In any case, I really valued this book for the insight into what an actor thinks about, and the various ways the prepare their bodies and minds for the work.

non-fiction, personal, philosophical
I May Be Wrong - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
April 17, 2022
by Björn Natthiko Lindeblad, Caroline Bankeler, Navid Modiiri, Agnes Bromme

An interesting perspective on Buddhism and life. I'm not completely sure I agree with everything in it, but nevertheless I did find it thoughtful and emotional in some points, and overall I enjoyed reading it :)

buddhism, non-fiction, philosophical
Skating to Antarctica - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
April 3, 2022
by Jenny Diski

This was picked out for me by my partner, and I absolutely loved it! It's very funny and personal and interesting. I really enjoyed the way she writes, and while it didn't have a great deal of content about Antarctica itself, it was a very interesting and engaging personal story. It is just nice to read about how she experiences life. Well worth the read!

personal, philosophical, quirky, traumatic, travel
Bullshit Jobs - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
March 6, 2022
by David Graeber

I don't quite know why it took me so long to pick this book up, but I regret not doing it earlier. I love David Graeber's books; having read and really enjoyed Debt a few years ago. This is really a very thoughtful discussion about jobs and the point of work; and in particular the kinds of busywork we can end up doing and participating in. It made me be a bit more thoughtful about the things that I do, and what might be the reason that I do it. I really enjoyed it; but it's not the worlds most motivating book.

economics, informative, non-fiction, philosophical
Osebol - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
February 6, 2022
by Marit Kapla

I loved this. Don't be put off by the number of pages; almost all of them only contain a few lines per page. It's a collection of stories told be the residents of a small town in Sweden. It's a real slice of life and culture; mostly quite relatable. For me I found it very interesting to "listen" to these stories that I would find hard to listen to in real life. It made me reflect a bit on why I would find listening to these conversations in real life a bit hard. In any case, I really enjoyed reading this; it's a real gem.

history, personal, philosophical, quirky, short-read
The Cat Who Saved Books - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
December 26, 2021
by Sōsuke Natsukawa, Louise Heal Kawai

I really loved this. It's a nice simple story about books, and how different people interact with them. I enjoyed the style, and how the different stories were introduced and resolved; it made me want to see more topics explored in this way! Just a great read :)

fiction, fun, philosophical, short-read
Basic Income - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
November 28, 2021
by Philippe van Parijs, Yannick Vanderborght

This is the first book I've read on basic income, so I learned some quite interesting things. The most interesting, to my mind, was the history, and present, philosophical justification for a universal basic income. The justification they give is at first a Christian one; i.e. God gave the land to us all, so we should profit from it. I found this rough justification quite problematic really. I did find most of the way they presented their argument mostly pretty good; but I certainly found other parts of the book moderately problematic, especially some parts discussing immigration. Overall, I think it's a nice entrypoint into the theory and field; but I think we have a long way to go yet.

economics, non-fiction, philosophical
Becoming Bodhisattvas - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
October 10, 2021
by Pema Chödrön

Just an amazing book. Basically, it's about how to apply Buddhist-style thoughts to your life and actions more generally, with a particular view to trying to "reduce suffering" of those around you. Pema Chödrön is really just a great writer, and has a really accessible interpretation of "The Way of the Boddhisattvas". I personally got a lot of inspiration and encouragement from this book; and while I might not agree with absolutely everything, there's plenty in here to like and explore.

buddhism, philosophical
I Am a Strange Loop - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
September 26, 2021
by Douglas R. Hofstadter

For me there's really no better book on what it means to be conscious and how to think about consciousness. As always, I like books that connect back to Buddhism in some what, and I found that this one really does; even though I don't think the author makes that connection explicitly. In any case, if you're interested in quite a different perspective on how to think of personhood and what makes you you, I really recommend this book!

philosophical
Diary of a Young Naturalist - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 29, 2021
by Dara McAnulty

I really loved this book. I think it's interesting for a few reasons. One is that I haven't read many books where an autistic person is describing their feelings and experiences. It's really interesting to learn. Another part that really impacted me was his discussion of how young people are being forced to be more active and outspoken, but, ultimately, are excluded from important decision making, and that adults praise them, but inevitably continue doing whatever they were doing before. That comment hit me quite strongly, and I'm not sure what to do about it yet. Overall, an exceptional read, and will help you appreciate nature!

adventurous, climate, informative, personal, philosophical, short-read
Feminist Antifascism - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
August 22, 2021
by Ewa Majewska

I found this book very interesting. One concept it introduced to me was the idea of "solidarity" instead of "support", in social causes. She makes the argument that it's better to stand in "solidarity" with one other, and for "me" to "support" you. Her argument, in part, is because relationships don't work strictly one-directionally. This spoke to me a lot. The bulk of the book is concerned with looking at how "counter-publics" - places where the public can be involved politically, but not necessarily supported by the government - work, examples of them, and how we can and should embrace them. I really like it; but it might be a bit "theory"-dense for some. Recommended reading, though, if you're interested in how people are being politically-active and how feminism should sit at the center of anti-fascism; also particularly interesting to get a Polish perspective on this idea; as it's not one I've heard before.

feminism, informative, non-fiction, philosophical
My Name Is Red - Cover Find on Bookshop.org
June 27, 2021
by Orhan Pamuk, Erdağ M. Göknar

This was a bit of a long read that took me a while to get into, but I did get their eventually. I certainly found it had some nice thoughts, but I found parts of the book to be oddly unnecessary. As a murder-mystery I can't say I enjoyed it (maybe because I didn't guess who the killer would be...) because I found all the voices to be a bit same-y; but maybe that was poor reading on my part. I think I'd probably recommend this book, and do agree with the essence of the assessments on the front. Worth reading just for the quirky telling.

history, philosophical, quirky

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activism adventurous architecture art books buddhism climate compassion democracy economics empathy ethics fantasy feminism fiction fun history informative language long-read music non-fiction parenting personal philanthropy philosophical poetry politics quirky racism short-read technology traumatic travel urban-planning