August Book Club

All the books I read this month

Welcome to my August round-up of books I’ve read recently! This month, I’ve enjoyed a non-fiction book that’s given me permanent existential dread (yey), a Japanese novel that has made me crave a bowl of rice with soya sauce and butter, and an academic tome on community experiments in the early twentieth century.

BOOK OF THE MONTH
The Invisible Doctrine: The Secret History of Neoliberalism (& How It Came to Control Your Life) by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison
(Allen Lane, May 2024)

Have you ever read one of those Pandora’s Box type books that makes you change the way you see the whole world? Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert were two of those for me - books that you simply cannot unread. A revelation of truth that, for better or worse, you just can’t forget. The Invisible Doctrine is the latest in this very personal genre. You’ve probably heard of neoliberalism but, like me and everyone else I’ve spoken to since reading this book, you probably have no idea what it is. Think of it like capitalism on crack - the idea that society functions better through competition rather than cooperation, that the markets should control everything, public services should be replaced with privatisation, the government should have no regulation powers, and the idea that we are no longer citizens but consumers. Sounds horrible? It is! And this book breaks it down into lovely, understandable chunks that will leave you feeling depressed, outraged and empowered, all at the same time. I’ve thought about it several times a day since I read it and I would recommend it to everyone.

Butter by Asako Yuzuki
(HarperCollins, 2024)

I’ve entered a new realm of adulthood and started my own book club with a few of my mum friends in our local pub. The first book we’ve chosen to discuss was Butter and I’m just on the last few pages before our meeting next week. It has been brilliant and weird, sometimes hard to follow but generally one that I’ve looked forward to reading in bed each night, which is my only real standard for a ‘good’ book. A Japanese translation, on the surface it is about an alleged female serial killer who hates feminism and loves food, and the relationship she forms with a female journalist who comes to interview her.

Utopian England: Community Experiments 1900-1945 by Dennis Hardy
(Routledge, 2000)

Hardly the most gripping title, I know, but I read this book for research for my novel, and do you know what? For an academic textbook, it was great! A really fascinating insight into a period of massive change in the UK, particularly the interwar period which is what I’m mostly interested in as that’s when my book is set. So many interesting figures from history, so many creative and unconventional living experiments started up with the best and worst intentions. I also loved learning about the Garden City Movement, its early associations with the Arts & Crafts Movement and its later devolution into something a bit more beige and practical. Needless to say, I made lots of notes and it’s really pushed my narrative along.

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If you’re looking for books to read, might I suggest pre-ordering my next one?

Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living is an illustrated guide to slowing down and tuning into the rhythm of the year. I’ve poured many happy hours into it, illustrating every page and writing essays, poems, crafts, recipes and other tidbits, all designed to help you embrace each season and find peace, mindfulness and joy throughout the year. I really feel like there’s a little piece of my soul in this book!

The hardback is published with Bloomsbury on 12 September 2024, and it can be preordered anywhere you buy your books, including Bloomsbury, Bookshop, Amazon and Waterstones.