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Books I read in 2021

Books I’m currently reading

Finished

Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto

Cinzia ARRUZZA, Tithi BHATTACHARYA and Nancy FRASER (2019, Verso Books)

Very short book laying out the problems with mainstream models of feminism and why feminism must be anti-capitalist, anti-racist and eco-socialist to fight for the issues that affect the majority of women globally. Quite repetitive to read but its arguments are undoubtedly true.

The Old Is Dying and the New Cannot Be Born: From Progressive Neoliberalism to Trump and Beyond

Nancy FRASER (2019, Verso Books)

Pamphlet about the breakdown of neoliberal capitalism and the emergence of populism on the left and right. It explores the values of recognition (who deserves rights) and distribution (who deserves wealth), and argues for a progressive populism. Clear and compelling.

The Aosawa Murders

Riku ONDA (2020, Bitter Lemon Press)

Japanese mystery about a mass poisoning that kills three generations of a wealthy family. Told from the perspective of many different characters to a nameless interviewer, the story unfolds like pieces of a puzzle that the reader must put together. A prickly atmosphere of dread hangs over every new morsel of information. Wonderfully creepy and sad.

The Poe Clan vol. 1

Moto HAGIO (2019, Fantagraphics Books)

Manga originally published in the 1970s about a trio of teenage vampires. The chapters jump around different time periods, revealing key incidents in the lives of Edgar, Marybelle and Alan. Haunting and sad, with amazing evocative artwork. I can’t wait for volume 2.

Dracula, motherf**cker!

Alex DE CAMPI and Erica HENDERSON (2020, Image Comics)

Very short graphic novel set in 1970s LA about Dracula and his brides. The artwork is fabulous, with saturated colours and clever page design. It conveys a moody, nocturnal LA lit by car headlights and camera flashbulbs.

Afropean: Notes from Black Europe

Johny PITTS (2019, Penguin)

This enjoyable and necessary book explores Europe’s mixed heritage – its colonial histories that are deliberately obscured, its invisible citizens, its vibrant subcultures, and what it means to be Black and European.

Otherworld Barbara vol. 1 and 2

Moto HAGIO (2016, Fantagraphics Books)

I raced through both volumes of this mysterious metaphysical sci-fi manga about dreaming, fate, and reincarnation. Full of sadness but also incredibly compelling.

The Unburied

Charles PALLISER (1999, Weidenfeld and Nicolson)

My Dark Vanessa

Kate Elizabeth RUSSELL (2020, Harper Collins)

Betrayals

Charles PALLISER (1995, Random House)

Ninth House

Leigh BARDUGO (2019, Hachette)

Did Not Finish

Sympathy

Olivia SUDJIC (2018, ONE/Pushkin Press)

A somewhat meandering story about a young woman going through some stuff who latches onto another slightly older woman via Instagram. I got about halfway through this one before my library loan expired. I wasn’t compelled to finish it.

Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World

Leslie KERN (2020, Verso Books)

This would have been better framed as a personal memoir. The writer constantly reminds us that her experience of the city is one of relative privilege but she never actually interviews or gives a voice to the black, brown, or disabled women who are integral to her critique. It got tiresome.

The Vampire: A New History

Nick GROOM (2018, Yale University Press)

An interesting overview of the historical origins of vampires in Western culture. I kind of got distracted by other books and finally put it back on the shelf after many months languishing unread. I will go back to finish it at some point.

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