2019: My year in books

A slower year, but some excellent and memorable books. I finished 16 books this year.

The City & the City - China Miéville

Miéville's mystery crime novel, following Inspector Borlú as he investigates a plot that spans the strangely connected cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma. Working as both an expansive and imaginative display of Miéville's "weird" fiction and as a gripping page-turning potboiler, The City & the City is a highly entertaining work of fiction.

I Have America Surrounded - John Higgs

Higgs colourfully charts the life and influence of 1960s psychologist, celebrity and LSD proponent Timothy Leary, a book that at times would stretch credulity beyond belief, were it not a totally factual biography. Written with humour and insight, Higgs intersperses the truly strange and shocking personal story of Leary with wider cultural context, political intrigue and selections of Leary's own personal philosophy, developed while on acid.

Britain's Europe - Brendan Simms

A readable history of British history from medieval times through to present day, with a focus on the island's relationship with the peoples and nations of the European continent and how that has changed over the years. Simms presents a compelling argument that Britain and Europe are intrinsically linked, and I found the perspective on the wider context of the European relationship somewhat calming during a year in which Brexit was threatening to shatter the continent. Only in the final chapters did Simms start to lose my interest, as his historical narrative extends into the future and concludes with a baffling rallying cry for Britain to "rebuild her navies".

Dreams from My Father - Barack Obama

Written in the mid-nineties, before his entry into the political world, this expressive personal memoir from the future President of the United States as a mesmerising read. Any doubts about Obama's intellectual capability were firmly put to rest by the clarity, insight and poetry of his writing, charting his life from childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia, his entry into the world of activism, and eventually to rediscovering the family of his father in Kenya. An astonishing read and highly recommended.

Milkman - Anna Burns

This Booker prize-winning novel by Northern Irish writer Anna Burns is a suffocating first-person narrative of an 18-year old girl being harassed by a older, paramilitary admirer, during the Troubles. Avoiding naming of specific people or places emphasises an unexpected universality to the themes of the book, particularly the powerlessness of young women in a militarised, patriarchal society, and the contradictory, doublethink-esque nature of truth in a factionalised urban setting. Not an easy read but ultimately rewarding.

No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference - Greta Thunberg

A short book collecting the speeches of young climate activist Thunberg, reading them in concert highlights the simplicity and power of her message, as well as the rising sense of alarm that builds over the year-long period during which these speeches were delivered.

Quiet - Susan Cain

Cain, an American writer and former corporate lawyer, here reinvents herself as a lobbyist for the introvert, in a well-argued and in-depth study of the overlooked skills of the quiet bookworm in a world of open-plan offices and swaggering macho boardrooms. Her thesis is that not only is the modern world stifling to introverts (a term she broadens beyond the standard psychological definition to also include shyness, introspection and other attendant traits), it is also poorer and more reactionary as a result of overlooking the power of the slower, more deliberate thinking that they typically display. An interesting read, if occasionally overly anecdotal for my tastes, I found it grist to the mill for my growing view that I should no longer regard my own introversion as a negative trait.

10:04 - Ben Lerner

Lerner's vivid and inventive traces a life in New York between hurricanes Irene and Sandy, as the unnamed narrator contemplates fatherhood, a diagnosis of Marfan syndrome and the fragmentation of city life. With a poetic writing style and wry sprinkling of meta-fiction throughout, Lerner manages to make a rather experimental text as something of a page-turner.

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

Hesse's classic work of spiritualism and enlightenment is a far easier read than its reputation would suggest. A slight and readable tome, it follows the titular young man on a journey of self-discovery through India during the lifetime of Buddha. While equally a work of philosophy and fiction, the narrative glides forward with elan and purpose, following Siddhartha through the various stages of his life towards eventual enlightenment and peace.

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat - Samin Nosrat

I would not normally include a cookery book in a list like this, but while Samin Nosrat's book eventually includes a number of recipes towards the end, the bulk of the book is made up of explorations of the four titular elements which she argues are they key to good food. Written with verve and humour, and beautifully illustrated, the text incorporates elements and pop science writing and memoir to render a genuinely insightful and readable guide to improving your cooking skills.

Narcocapitalism - Laurent de Sutter

A professor of Legal Theory in Brussels, de Sutter writes here of the politics of pharmacology and capitalism. An admittedly more academic book than I had anticipated at purchase, I nonetheless found the subject interesting, written with an admirable brevity and open tone.

The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire - Doris Lessing

The fifth and final book in Lessing's epic Canopus in Argos series, the series returns to the protagonist of the first book, in a tale of political intrigue and revolution. A gloriously expansive "space fiction" this is hard to categorise, the entire series skips over any accusations of being uneven with a dazzling array of ideas and settings. As ever with Lessing, there are layers of philosophy and political analysis lying underneath the surface narrative, which is written with her usual deft touch. No entry point into the Nobel laureate's canon, but a rewarding conclusion to the series for those who persevered.

Bad Blood - John Carreyrou

The near-unbelievable story of disgraced CEO of Thanos, Elizabeth Holmes, the tapestry of lies that made her America's youngest and wealthiest self-made billionaire, and her eventual downfall, written by the journalist who first uncovered the story. Both a gripping page turner and a powerful cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked venture capitalism in thrall to personality over facts.

The Cockroach - Ian McEwan

This sly pastiche of Kafka's Metamorphosis, by British novelist Ian McEwan, is a witty and acerbic riposte to the political circus surrounding Brexit. A quick and funny read, I would refrain from divulging plot details but say only that it was most successful in inspiring both anger and amusement when I read it.

21 Lessons for the 21st Century - Yuval Noah Harari

Harari's third book, following Sapiens and Homo Deus, which consists of 21 essays concerning big questions humanity will face this century. This compendium format means the book does lack the narrative drive that Sapiens and - to a lesser extent - Homo Deus relied on to such a great extent, but it also gives Harari more freedom address a broader range of subjects. While I can not say I agreed with everything within, it is a stimulating and readable as the other books, and certainly highly recommended.

Game Theory: A Very Short Introduction - Ken Binmore

An oddity. Game theory is an interesting subject in which I wanted to give myself a better grounding, and so purchased this book, one of an otherwise reliable "Very Short Introduction" series from Oxford University Press. Binmore is certainly a well-qualified writer on the subject, and covers large ares of the field, providing examples and historical context. However, the writing style is erratic, anecdotal, and at times seems almost entirely focused on settling scores over disputes with other academics - which is doubly baffling given that the book is clearly aimed at the uninitiated. Puzzling.