Authors Christmas Recommendations 2022 - Part III
Welcome to Part III of a special series of posts in the run up to the holiday season! (Read Part I here & Read Part II here) I asked some of the lovely authors that have previously appeared on the site about their Christmas book recommendations for this year. They graciously replied with some fantastic book picks! Hopefully these book recommendations might help you with your own Christmas shopping gift ideas too! :-)
Q. Is there a smart thinking book that you are looking forward to reading this Christmas, or one you would like to give or receive as a gift?
David Rooney
A book I read earlier this year, and which I will be recommending to all my friends, is Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement, by James Vincent. It’s a fascinating and absorbing exploration of a practice we take utterly for granted – measuring – but which has literally shaped our experience of the world. It’s beautifully written, vivid, and revealing – in equal measure.
Beyond Measure: The Hidden History of Measurement from Cubits to Quantum Constants
Review from Book Depository:
We measure rainfall and radiation, the depths of space and the emptiness of atoms, calories and steps, happiness and pain. But how did measurement become ubiquitous in modern life? When did humanity first take up scales and rulers, and why does this practice hold authority over so many aspects of our lives?
Written with vim and dazzling intelligence, James Vincent provides a fresh and original perspective on human history as he tracks our long search for dependable truths in a chaotic universe. Full of mavericks and visionaries, adventure and the unexpected, Beyond Measure shows that measurement has not only made the world we live in, it has made us too.
Buy On:
Easons €26.59 Book Depository €20.55 Waterstones £16.99 Wordery $18.99(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks
Review from Book Depository:
Since the dawn of civilisation, we have kept time. But time has always been against us.
From the city sundials of ancient Rome to the era of the smartwatch, clocks have been used throughout history to wield power, make money, govern citizens and keep control. Sometimes, also with clocks, we have fought back.
In About Time, time expert David Rooney tells the story of timekeeping, and how it continues to shape our modern world. In twelve chapters, demarcated like the hours of time, we meet the greatest inventions in horological history, from medieval water clocks to monumental sundials, and from coastal time signals to satellites in earth's orbit. We discover how clocks have helped us navigate the world, build empires and even taken us to the brink of destruction.
Over the course of this global journey Rooney demonstrates how each of these clocks has shone a spotlight onto human civilisation, and shows us the very real effects clocks continue to have on everything from capitalism, to politics, to our very identity.
This is the story of time. And the story of time is the story of us.
Buy On:
Easons €15.40 Book Depository €15.11 Waterstones £10.99 Wordery $12.70(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Nina Jankowicz
Yes, I'm hoping to receive The Fight For Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age, by Danielle Keats Citron. Citron's first book, Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, laid bare how inadequate the modern American legal system is for handling the hate espoused by millions online. In this new book, civil rights advocate Citron tackles how a lack of privacy online affects women and marginalised communities and argues that privacy ought to be a civil right underpinning our lives in the digital age. I can't wait to read it.
The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age
Review from Book Depository:
Danielle Citron takes the conversation about technology and privacy out of the boardrooms and op-eds to reach readers where we are - in our bathrooms and bedrooms; with our families and our lovers; in all the parts of our lives we assume are untouchable - and shows us that privacy, as we think we know it, is largely already gone.
The boundary that once protected our intimate lives from outside interests is an artefact of the 20th century. In the 21st, we have embraced a vast array of technology that enables constant access and surveillance of the most private aspects of our lives. From non-consensual pornography, to online extortion, to the sale of our data for profit, we are vulnerable to abuse. As Citron reveals, wherever we live, laws have failed miserably to keep up with corporate or individual violators, letting our privacy wash out with the technological tide. And the erosion of intimate privacy in particular, Citron argues, holds immense toxic power to transform our lives and our societies for the worse (and already has).
With vivid examples drawn from interviews with victims, activists and lawmakers from around the world, The Fight for Privacy reveals the threat we face and argues urgently and forcefully for a reassessment of privacy as a human right. And, as a legal scholar and expert, Danielle Citron is the perfect person to show us the way to a happier, better protected future.
Buy On:
Book Depository €18.17 Waterstones £18.99 Wordery $17.30(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
How to Be A Woman Online: Surviving Abuse and Harassment, and How to Fight Back
Review from Book Depository:
When Nina Jankowicz's first book on online disinformation was profiled in The New Yorker, she expected attention but not an avalanche of abuse and harassment, predominantly from men, online.
All women in politics, journalism and academia now face untold levels of harassment and abuse in online spaces. Together with the world's leading extremism researchers, Jankowicz wrote one of the definitive reports on this troubling phenomenon.
Drawing on rigorous research into the treatment of Kamala Harris - the first woman vice-president - and other political and public figures, Nina also uses her own experiences to provide a step-by-step plan for dealing with harassment, abuse, doxing and disinformation in online spaces.
The result is a must-read for researchers, journalists and all women with a profile in the online space.
Buy On:
Easons €15.39 Book Depository €12.78 Waterstones £10.99 Wordery $13.20(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
David Robson
In this fractious age, we often plead for people to be more empathetic and compassionate - yet the words can feel hollow and empty. What does it even mean to "be kind"? And how can we best practise what we preach, when it seems that most other people acting in bad faith? Surely we need to look out for number one in this cut-throat world?
Claudia Hammond’s The Keys to Kindness (Canongate) comes with all the answers to these questions. She shows why many of us are needlessly cynical, when kindness already surrounds us. In her words: “Humanity outweighs inhumanity - we just need to open our eyes to it, and not be misled by the negativity that inevitably predominates in the news and social media.” Hammond shows why practising kindness benefits our physical and mental health, and reveals that altruism can even be a boon in business and politics. Crucially, she also offers us strategies to build our empathy and give others the care that they need. My favourite chapter concerns self-compassion. By being kind to ourselves, Hammond convincingly argues, we are in a better psychological state to help others.
As we face an increasingly depressing news cycle, The Keys to Kindness offers a much-needed antidote to the negativity around us, with the reassuring message that we can all contribute to a better world - and I hall be returning to it many times whenever I feel pessimism and cynicism seeping into my soul. It would be an act of kindness to buy this enlightening book for yourself and anyone you care about.
The Keys to Kindness: How to be Kinder to Yourself, Others and the World
Review from Book Depository:
In The Keys to Kindness Claudia Hammond takes us on an eye-opening tour of kindness: what constitutes kindness (it's not what you think), effective strategies to build more of it into our lives and the benefits of being kind. She draws on the latest research from psychology and neuroscience, and her work in collaboration with the University of Sussex and the BBC, including the largest global survey ever undertaken into attitudes to kindness. The book is structured around the seven keys of kindness, including:
There is more kindness in the world that you might think
Being kind makes you feel good and that's OK
Kind people can be winners
Remember to be kind to yourself
You are kinder than you think, but we could all be kinder still - with enormous benefits for our personal mental health and wellbeing. The Keys to Kindness sets out a prescription for a kinder life that you can adapt to your own circumstances, and explains how to use this guidance for ourselves, others and the world.
Buy On:
Easons €23.79 Book Depository €17.78 Waterstones £16.99 Wordery $17.59(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World
Review from Book Depository:
People who believe ageing brings wisdom live longer.
Lucky charms really do improve an athlete's performance.
Taking a placebo, even when you know it is a placebo, can still improve your health.
Welcome to The Expectation Effect.
In this book David Robson takes us on a tour of the cutting-edge research happening right now that suggests our expectations shape our experience. Bringing together fascinating case studies and evidence-based science, The Expectation Effect uncovers new techniques that we can all use to improve our fitness, productivity, intelligence, health and happiness.
Of course, you can't just think yourself thinner, happier or fitter, but using this book you can reframe many different facets of your life, and in so doing start real physiological change. These easy-to-use skills will help you on your way to becoming the person you want to be, living the life you want to live.
Buy On:
Easons €21.27 Book Depository €16.61 Waterstones £18.99 Wordery $18.99(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Kathryn Harkup
The Man Who Saved Britain by Simon Winder.
I came across this book as part of my research for Superspy Science and I loved it. The blend of personal anecdote, cultural analysis and historical context that Winder uses to look back on his relationship with the world of James Bond is brilliant. Written with much affection for the franchise, it is funny, informative and will give you a whole new perspective on 007 and his cinematic shenanigans. There seems to be a Bond film on TV every Christmas and this is definitely a book to have beside you while watching it.
The Man Who Saved Britain: A Personal Journey into the Disturbing World of James Bond
Review From Book Depository:
After victory in World War II, Britain was a relieved but also a profoundly traumatized country. Simon Winder, born into this nation of uncertain identity, fell in love (as many before and since) with the man created as the antidote, a quintessentially British figure of great cultural significance: James Bond. Written with passion, wit and a great deal of personal insight and affection, this book is his wildly amusing attempt to get to grips with Bond's legacy and the difficult decades in which it really mattered.
Buy On:
Easons €15.39 Book Depository €10.48 Waterstones £10.99 Wordery $11.72(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Superspy Science: Science, Death and Tech in the World of James Bond
Review from Book Depository:
The adventures of James Bond have thrilled readers since Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale was published in 1953, and when the movie of Dr No was released in 1962, Bond quickly became the world's favourite secret agent.
Science and technology have always been central to the plots that make up the world of Bond, and in Superspy Science Kathryn Harkup explores the full range of 007's exploits and the arms, technologies, tactics and downfalls of his various foes. From the practicalities of building a volcano-based lair, to whether being covered in gold paint really will kill you, and - if your plan is to take over the world - whether it is better to use bacteria, bombs, or poison - this book has all the answers and more.
Could our favourite Bond villains actually achieve world domination? Were the huge variety of weapons and technology in Bond's arsenal from both the films and books ever actually developed in real life? And would 007 actually escape all those close shaves intact? From the plots to the gadgets to the ludicrous ways that his life is threatened, Superspy Science takes an in-depth look at the scientific world of James Bond.
Buy On:
Easons €25.19 Book Depository €22.54 Waterstones £17.99 Wordery $16.61(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Huge thanks & míle buíochas to David, Nina, David, & Kathryn for their great Christmas book picks!
Watch out next week for Part III of the series (Read Part I here & Read Part II here) with more author recommendations :-)
Daryl
Image Copyrights: Faber & Faber (Beyond Measure), Penguin Books Ltd (About Time), Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (How To Be A Woman Online), Vintage Publishing (The Fight For Privacy), Canongate Books (The Keys To Kindness), Canongate Books (The Expectation Effect), Bloomsbury Publishing PLC (Superspy Science), Pan Macmillan (The Man Who Saved Britain)
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