Authors Christmas Recommendations 2023 - Part III
Welcome to part III of a special series of posts in the run up to the holiday season! (Part I here & 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?
Jackie Uí Chionna
The Creativity Code: How AI is Learning to Write, Paint and Think. I've lost count of the number of meetings I have attended recently which were dominated by my fellow academics and I trying to come to grips with the challenges of AI in our teaching and research. I need a masterclass, and having read his other books, I suspect that Marcus du Sautoy is that master. I can't wait to read it!
The Creativity Code: Art and Innovation in the Age of AI
Review from Bookshop.org:
In The Creativity Code, Marcus du Sautoy examines the nature of creativity, asking how much of our emotional response to art is a product of our brains reacting to pattern and structure, and exactly what it is to be creative in mathematics, art, language and music.
Exploring how long it might be before machines compose a symphony or paint a masterpiece, and whether they might jolt us into being more imaginative in turn, The Creativity Code is a fascinating and very different exploration into the essence of what it means to be human.
Buy On:
Easons €13.99 Bookshop.org UK £9.49 Bookshop.org US $19.53 Blackwells £9.99 Waterstones £9.99 Wordery $12.81(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Queen of Codes: The Secret Life of Emily Anderson, Britain's Greatest Female Code Breaker
Description from Bookshop.org:
When the history of British codebreaking is told, the story is often a men-only preserve (for example, of the top fourteen listed actors in Bletchley Park-set The Imitation Game, only one is a woman). That perception completely ignores the fact that the vast majority of codebreakers were in fact women. And foremost among them was one who is largely unknown to the public, and whose activities were a secret even to her closest contacts - Emily Anderson.
Anderson was a leading member of British intelligence for over three decades. She played key roles in both World Wars, worked in Bletchley Park and in the Middle East, and was reckoned among the top three female codebreakers in the world. Her work coincided with her other great love - music. She is famous in musicology circles as being the first to effectively decipher the letters and diaries of Mozart and Beethoven. In 1961 Germany awarded her their highest honour, the Order of Merit First Class, completely ignorant of the fact that the interpretative skills they were honouring were the same utilised to defeat their military only a few years previously.
Secrecy was the keyword of her life, as she also had affairs with other women at a time when such was not generally accepted. That few are familiar with her name is no surprise. Even those close to her had little idea that she had such a significant role in international affairs. Now, this startling new narrative of her life, complete with new material and sources The Queen of Codes will place Emily Anderson at the forefront of great British codebreakers.
Buy On:
Easons €21.00 Bookshop.org UK £23.75 Blackwells £25.00 Waterstones £25.00 Wordery $32.05(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Animism: Respecting the Living World"
Review from Bookshop.org UK:
Animism' is now an important term for describing ways in which some people understand and engage respectfully with the larger-than-human world. Its central theme is our relationship with our other-than-human neighbours, such as animals, plants, rocks, and kettles, rooted in the understanding that the term 'person' includes more than humans. Graham Harvey explores the animist cultures of Native Americans, Maori, Aboriginal Australians and eco-Pagans, introducing their diversity and considering the linguistic, performative, ecological and activist implications of these different animisms.
Buy On:
Easons €26.59 Bookshop.org UK £18.99 Bookshop.org US $45.60 Blackwells £35.67 Waterstones £18.99 Wordery $45.86(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Reconnection: Fixing our Broken Relationship with Nature
Description from Bookshop.org:
How did our relationship with nature become broken, why does it matter and how can we fix it? From a past in which we were embedded in the natural world, revolutions in farming, science and industry have seen the human bond with nature eroded with the promise of prosperity offering happiness and meaning in life. This mindset may have delivered comfortable living for many, but there is growing recognition that the root cause of wildlife loss and the warming climate is people’s disconnection from nature, which is also an important factor in our mental health. Yet solutions focus on technical fixes to treat the symptoms of that damaged relationship, such as reducing carbon emissions and increasing habitat. What we urgently need is a whole new way of thinking.
Reconnection explores our hidden links with nature through the science of nature connectedness, setting out a way to revivify the relationship across society. Here is a route to a meaningful life that unites both human and nature’s wellbeing for a truly sustainable future. What's more, everybody has a role to play. From business leaders to conservationists, teachers to medics, from drivers to walkers, we can all reduce the damage we do and find new ways to bring nature into our lives. This timely book considers the problems scientifically, then offers simple, practical, positive steps for how we can all work towards a better world.
Buy On:
Easons €28.00 Bookshop.org UK £19.00 Bookshop.org US $28.60 Blackwells £17.27 Waterstones £20.00 Wordery $22.32(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Marieke Bigg
A book I’d love to receive for Christmas is: Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution
Review from Bookshop.org UK:
How did wet nurses drive civilization? Are women always the weaker sex? Is sexism useful for evolution? And are our bodies at war with our babies?
In Eve, Cat Bohannon answers questions scientists should have been addressing for decades. With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, she covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Eve is not only a sweeping revision of human history, it's an urgent and necessary corrective for a world that has focused primarily on the male body for far too long. Bohannon's findings, including everything from the way C-sections in the industrialized world are rearranging women's pelvic shape to the surprising similarities between pus and breast milk, will completely change what you think you know about evolution and why Homo sapiens have become such a successful and dominant species, from tool use to city building to the development of language.
Buy On:
Easons €19.04 Bookshop.org UK £23.75 Bookshop.org US $32.55 Blackwells £21.99 Waterstones £21.99 Wordery $32.05(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
This Won't Hurt: How Medicine Fails Women
Description from Bookshop.org:
The idea that medicine is gender-neutral is a myth. This isn't inflammatory rhetoric; it's simply true. From the way pain is felt, to how heart attacks are diagnosed, to the very role society plays in the health of the body, the medical landscape in place today is one that was designed for, and by, men.
This book is about all the ways medicine is not gender-neutral, from research to treatment to diagnosis. Throughout history, flawed mindsets have paved the way for sub-par treatment, and the prevailing attitudes that still exist today have had terrible repercussions for women and their bodies.
Blending fascinating examples with historical and cultural context, and reflecting on her own personal experience with healthcare, Dr Marieke Bigg explores how women's bodies have been ignored, misunderstood and misdiagnosed, whilst keeping an eye to a better future. This is a sharp and honest must-read, and an empowering tool for anyone committed to making this world safer to navigate for all.
Buy On:
Easons €18.62 Bookshop.org UK £20.92 Bookshop.org US $30.68 Waterstones £19.99 Wordery $21.52(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Simon Sharpe
Mine would be Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger. He might not be right about everything, but he has a century of experience of life, and decades of experience of working with political leaders, and he has spent a lot of time thinking about it.
Leadership : Six Studies in World Strategy
Review from Bookshop.org UK:
Are you ready to take the sales in your business to the next level?
If so Charlie Day is here to show you how. Not only that, but she will also teach you how to sell the right way with ease, confidence and integrity. In this book Charlie Day will help you; - Feel confident in your messaging - Nail your marketing - Create the perfect pitch - Teach you to close a sale - Follow up like your life depends on it - And have a compelling up-sell In this practical guide to making more sales, Charlie breaks down each step into actionable advice. Her light-hearted approach to sales and her fun and high-energy advice leaves you feeling motivated and ready to make more sales. Charlie uses her own experience to show you how to multiply the sales in your business. She is down-to-earth, honest and straight to the point, you'll finish this book with a heap of takeaways and ready to make some sales.
Buy On:
Easons €35.00 Bookshop.org UK £12.34 Bookshop.org US £26.92 Blackwells £12.99 Waterstones £12.99 Wordery $32.05(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change
Description from Bookshop.org:
We need to act five times faster to avoid dangerous climate change. As Greenland melts, Australia burns, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, we think we know who the villains are: oil companies, consumerism, weak political leaders. But what if the real blocks to progress are the ideas and institutions that are supposed to be helping us? Five Times Faster is an inside story from Simon Sharpe, who has spent ten years at the forefront of climate change policy and diplomacy.
In our fight to avoid dangerous climate change, science is pulling its punches, diplomacy is picking the wrong battles, and economics has been fighting for the other side. This provocative and engaging book sets out how we should rethink our strategies and reorganise our efforts in the fields of science, economics, and diplomacy, so that we can act fast enough to stay safe.
Buy On:
Easons €22.40 Bookshop.org UK £19.00 Bookshop.org US $23.20 Blackwells £15.00 Waterstones £20.00 Wordery $25.64(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Elaine Farrell
I have Louise Kennedy's Trespasses on my list of books to buy as presents this year. It's an incredibly engaging fictional account, set against the backdrop of the Northern Irish Troubles. I found it gripping, and was delighted (although not surprised) to see it on the shortlist for the Women's Prize 2023.
I'm hoping to find Gabriel Cooney's Death in Irish Prehistory wrapped up for me this Christmas. It might not sound like the cosy Christmas read, but the brilliant Clodagh Finn recently reviewed it in the Irish Examiner and it sounds utterly fascinating. Finn points to how glimpses of life can be revealed in a study of the dead. She writes: 'For example, the bones of a woman in an Early Bronze Age grave in Oldtown, Co Kildare, reveal she had osteoarthritis in her knees and was probably right-handed. Stress lines in her teeth enamel show that she suffered food shortages as a child. And she used her teeth as a tool, as the chip marks on her lower incisors attest.' Hopefully whoever wraps it up for me this Christmas won’t end up with marks on their teeth if they use them to cut the Sellotape!
Trespasses
Review From Bookshop.org UK:
This is a book about getting to the truth.
One by one, she undid each event, each decision, each choice. If Davy had remembered to put on a coat. If Seamie McGeown had not found himself alone on a dark street. If Michael Agnew had not walked through the door of the pub on a quiet night in February in his white shirt. There is nothing special about the day Cushla meets Michael, a married man from Belfast, in the pub owned by her family. But here, love is never far from violence, and this encounter will change both of their lives forever.
As people get up each morning and go to work, school, church or the pub, the daily news rolls in of another car bomb exploded, another man beaten, killed or left for dead. In the class Cushla teaches, the vocabulary of seven-year-old children now includes phrases like ‘petrol bomb’ and ‘rubber bullets’. And as she is forced to tread lines she never thought she would cross, tensions in the town are escalating, threatening to destroy all she is working to hold together.
Buy On:
Easons €9.49 Bookshop.org UK £8.54 Bookshop.org US $16.74 Blackwells £11.99 Waterstones £7.49 Wordery $11.53(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Death in Irish prehistory
Review From Bookshop.org UK:
This is a book about life and death over 8,500 years in Ireland. It explores the richness of the mortuary record that we have for Irish prehistory (8000 BC to AD 500) as a highlight of the archaeological record for that long period of time. Because we are dealing with how people coped with death, this rich and diverse record of mortuary practice is also relevant to understanding how we deal with death today, which is just as central a social issue as it always was.
Buy On:
Easons €9.49 Blackwells £21.99 Waterstones £26.00 Wordery $33.33(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Bad Bridget: Crime, Mayhem and the Lives of Irish Emigrant Women
Review from Blackwells:
Ireland in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was not a good place to be a woman. Among the wave of emigrants from Ireland to North America were many, many young women who travelled on their own, hoping for a better life. Some lived lives of quiet industry and piety. Others quickly found themselves in trouble - bad trouble, and on an astonishing scale.
Elaine Farrell and Leanne McCormick, creators of the celebrated 'Bad Bridget' podcast, have unearthed a world in which Irish women actually outnumbered Irish men in prison, in which you could get locked up for 'stubbornness', and in which a serial killer called Lizzie Halliday was described by the New York Times as 'the worst woman on earth'. They reveal the social forces that bred this mayhem and dysfunction, through stories that are brilliantly strange, sometimes funny, and often moving. From sex workers and thieves to kidnappers and killers, these Bridgets are young women who have gone from the frying pan of their impoverished homeland to the fire of vast North American cities.
Bad Bridget is a masterpiece of social history and true crime, showing us a fascinating and previously unexplored world.
Buy On:
Easons €15.99 Bookshop.org UK £14.24 Bookshop.org US $26.03 Blackwells £11.99 Waterstones £14.99 Wordery $19.22(All links earn commission from purchases. Prices accurate at time of writing)
Huge thanks to Jackie, Miles, Marieke, Simon, & Elaine for their great Christmas book picks!
Read Part I here and Part II here of the series with more author recommendations :-)
Daryl
Image Copyrights: HarperCollins Publishers (The Creativity Code), Headline Publishing Group (Queen of Codes), C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd (Animism), Pelagic Publishing (Reconnection), Cornerstone (Eve), Hodder & Stoughton (This Won't Hurt), Penguin Books Ltd (Leadership, Bad Bridget), Cambridge University Press (Five Times Faster), Royal Irish Academy (Death in Irish prehistory).
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