Nice lists. I’m not as heavy a reader as you folks looks like, but a couple from me:
Selection of Byung-Chul Han. I read Burnout Society, Psychopolitics, and Transparency Society. (they’re short, monograph length, so 3=1). Kinda hate-read since I’m averse to Heideggerian tendencies, but stimulating and provocative in an evil-twin way. Thing Knowledge by Davis Baird. Brilliant development of a “material epistemology” arguing that technical objects embody knowledge in ways comparable to texts and theories. The Story of Southeast Asia by Eric Thompson. Old classic but new to me: The Evolution of Technology by Brian Arthur On Wed, Nov 27, 2024 at 11:10 PM Ingrid Srinath via Silklist < [email protected]> wrote: > This year I was blown away by *Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead*, > published in 2022. Like David Copperfield, this is a novel that brings to > life conditions in Southern Appalachia - poverty, neglect, addiction - in > ways that neither academic nor journalistic writing could. > > *H-Pop : The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop Stars by Kunal Purohit* was > an eye-opening deep dive into the ecosystem that fosters cultural Hindutva. > > *No Presents Please : Mumbai Stories and Mithun Number Two *and* Other > Mumbai Stories by Jayant Kaikini both translated by Tejaswini Niranjana* > presented wonderfully nuanced evocations of life in Mumbai’s lower middle > class. > > Mostly, however, 2024 was a year when my To Be Read shelf expanded way > faster than I could deplete it. > > Kind regards, > > > Ingrid Srinath > > > On 25 Nov 2024, at 07:22, Thaths via Silklist <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > It is coming up on Thanksgiving week in the US. And that means it is time > for Silklist's annual tradition of sharing book recommendations. > > Please share your top reads of the year in this thread. > > Here are mine: > > *Other Rivers: A Chinese Education by Peter Hessler* > Hessler weaves many threads (His students from when he taught at a > Teachers college as a Peace Corp volunteer in the 90s, teaching at Sichuan > University in 2019-2021, his experience sending his twin daughters to > Chinese Public School, Hessler and his wife's family history of China-US > encounters) into a beautiful tapestry that describes the China of today, > and how it has changed over the 30+ years that the author has been going to > China. > > *Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu* > A novel in the style of a script for your average TV/Hollywood cop drama > that explores the Asian-American experience. The novel wields Hollywood > tropes about Asians brilliantly to great effect while getting to the truth > about the complexities of Roles we think we're playing. > > *The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane* > Using the canvas of a 6-year-old boy being lost in The Bush of Southern > Australia, and the community that is looking for him, McFarlane paints a > beautiful picture of the multi-faceted life of a small, Outback town in > Colonial Australia. There is a cacophony of characters through whose eyes > we witness the world. > > *Mina's Matchbox by Yōko Ogawa* > I loved reading this book about the years young Middle Schooler Tomoko > from Okayama spends with her Aunt's family in Ashiya. Tomoko develops a > binding friendship with her Asthmatic cousin Mina (of the book's title). > It is a coming of age story of sorts. I loved the evocative descriptions, > and the painting of the life of a rich, eccentric, and loveable household > in Ashiya. > > *James by Percival Everett* > A brilliant alternate narrative of Huckleberry Finn. > > *Fourteen Years with Boss by Ashokamitthiran* > A brisk read. Popular modernist Tamil writer's memoir about his years > working in PR for Chennai's Gemini Studios in the 50's and 60's. > > *Congo: The Epic History of a People by David Van Reybrouck* > Ever since I read King Leopold's Ghost in the early 2000s I've been > fascinated by the history of Congo. I've consumed a couple of dozen books > about the region, and dream of visiting some day. I thought I was pretty > steeped in Congolese history. This book was refreshing. The author covers > the usual stations of the cross of Congolese history (Stanley, King > Leopold, Belgium, Independence, Lumumba, Mobutu, corruption, mining, > Kabila, Hutu-Tutsi conflict, Complex wars,...), but brings fresh > perspective (and the voices of many Congolese). I really liked the last > chapter about how Congo-China trade is a ray of hope for a much abused > nation. > > *The Liberation of Sita by Volga* > A look at some incidents/characters in the Ramayana looked at through a > Feminist lens. Highlights the patriarchy that pervades the popular > narrative of the Ramayana. > > *Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shanbhag* > I loved Perur's masterful translation of Shanbhag's previous book. This > one didn't disappoint either. I like the ambiguity in the book. If I were > to only pick two books for the entire year, I would book-end the year with > Sakina’s Kiss and The Liberation of Sita. > > *The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and > Eating While Reading by Dwight Garner* > A memoir and a meditation on a life of Eating and Reading. I loved the > author's erudition about both his chosen subjects. > > *Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens by Andrea Wulf* > I watched the transit of Venus in California in 2012. It was beautiful > seeing this tiny dot (Venus) move across the face of the sun. Back then I > had not known about the importance of measuring the transit of Venus in the > 1700s. Some years later I read about Cook and Bank's voyage on the > endeavor. One of my favorite pieces of art is Lisa Reihana's In Pursuit of > Venus (Infected). This wonderful book is the story of (some of) the > scientists from around the world to measure the transit of Venus so that > the distance between the earth and the sun could be more precisely > calculated. The book covers both expeditions in the 1760s (Transits of > Venus occur in pairs separated by a few years). > > -- > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay? > Carl: Nuthin'. > Homer: D'oh! > Carl: Unless you're crooked. > Homer: Woo-hoo! > > > -- > Silklist mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman.panix.com/listinfo.cgi/silklist > > -- > Silklist mailing list > [email protected] > https://mailman.panix.com/listinfo.cgi/silklist >
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