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Not much more than in the last few years, but at least not less either! đ„ł
It's been a weird year. When I wrote my mid-year âwhat's upâ post, it was right before some turmoil happened IRL and at the same time I started a new job (already left it btw lol), and my reading habit that was going OK during the first half of the year simply ended. Still, I'm incredibly grateful of the love of my friends and family and I don't lose hope that 2023 will finally let more place to reading. OK! The books!
A book about how Vincent Bolloré, one of the most powerful French business man, is managing his empire. Among our national rich farts, Vincent shines as the one pushing his far-right view the most; he can be considered the main enabler of Zemmour through pushing him all day long on his 24-hour news TV. The book has a lot of interesting sections, e.g. details about his catholic education and various examples where he crushed some poor soul acting against his interest, business-wise or politically-wise. The prose is painful though, feels like reading a boomer's facebook wall.
A story about ranch workers, going from place to place to gather some money and get their own little place somewhere, sometime, and âtend to the rabbitsâ. What a slap in the face. It is written with such beauty, simplicity and compassion, the humanity of everyone shines so clearly that even the âbadâ characters don't really get much hate. I was feeling so much in touch with the characters even though they are from another place and another time. Probably my favourite book this year, can't wait to read more works of Steinbeck! â„
A dystopian story where our main protagonist is a firefighter whose role is to burn books to the ground because no-one should read books. It's a good book. Some stuff feel a bit galactic brain by today standards on dystopia, but the harshness of the depicted world is full of chilling details resonating all too well with our reality: ridiculously dangerous cars, the ordinariness of suicide, watching people getting wrecked on television and a lack of interest toward the war that causes the bombers to deafen people every single day.
A book about Bobigny, my city, its inhabitants and weird, impractical architecture, intertwined with photos. I liked this book and it helps a bit to understand the city for an outsider, especially what the hell is going on with the Pablo Picasso station, the « urbanisme de dalle » or why l'Abreuvoir looks so strange, but I would understand if your interest is lower than mine on this oneâŠ
(sous-titre : Comment le patriarcat sabote les relations hétérosexuelles)
This essay was released after the #MeToo movement and wants to work on improving heterosexual relationships by analyzing what cultural and socially constructed behaviours impact how we talk, what we want from each other, etc. Both women and men are invited to reflect on what our desires are and what they tell about us. It's rather soft politically, despite Mona Chollet being commonly depicted as a feminazi or whatever. It's an OK book! I really liked the part about moving away from the modern material structure of âa man, a woman, one living placeâ, UNTIL for some barely explained reasons she uncomfortably ignores the hypothesis of polyamory as one way to move forward, because it⊠doesn't feel right?? ughhh. But yeah I would recommend it for some of its heartwarming tales of love, but also the few abject, lesser-known parts of the damages due to patriarchy, like the stories of women being strangely attracted to serial killers, that are important to be aware of.
This short children's book is the story of siblings escaping from their abusive parents, to embark on an adventure towards the sea. I don't have much to say about it, it was a touching story that I read while some Debian install took forever and the book grasped my attention because I want to read another Mourlevat book for quite some time now. But yeah this confirmed me that this author is worthy of attention!
A honest and fun story about Doria, a girl growing up in the Paris poorest suburbs. I discovered the author by listening to podcasts where she was invited â I think I also saw her in a conference during the Mediapart fest â and thought she was very fun and blunt. Well, so is this book, written when she was only 19, what a queen!
Alexandra Kollontai « L'amour libre » (Les Prouesses, 2022) is four short novels translated from Russian to French that I had the occasion to (re-)discover before offering it to a lover. These novels are fictions on the theme of love, its relation to socialism and women's freedom. I discovered Kollontai a few years ago through communist friends, before learning about the polyamory world; it is amazing how avant-garde her works feel, but also a bit depressing how little has changed for women, our relationships and love as a wholeâŠ
ĂlisĂ©e Reclus « L'Anarchie » is a speech by the anarchist geographer to a bunch of freemasons in the late 19th century, defending anarchy and âpropaganda of the deedâ. It is very optimistic, so it did not age so well. I also do not like the historical materialism tone. It is still a fun little read and I love to think that speeches such as this one were so much more common back then!
Damien Dekarz - La permaculture au jardin
Damien Dekarz - La forĂȘt comestible
Markus Gastl - HÎtels à insectes, 60 projets à réaliser
Both books by Damien are good books; he shares his enthusiasm with nature and stays straight to the point, without falling in the usual boring discourses around how permaculture will save the world or occult shit. The insect hotel book is insightful and has very cute, descriptive colored-pencil-drawn illustrations đ
See you next year, bookworms!
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