Books, Books, Books! Can't live without them, can't live without them!
Here are six books that I highly recommend for this Christmas season.
Even if you don't like Christmas, this is a good occasion to receive and give Books! These are my suggestions:
Non-Fiction
- The Book of Hope
by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams
How to hold on to hope, in a world so troubled?
Jane Goodall, renowned for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees, teams up with Douglas Abrams to explore the essence of hope in the face of overwhelming challenges. Jane's hopefulness is focused around four main reasons: the amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of youth and the indomitable human spirit.
Is there still hope?
I am feeling wonder and awe about this incredible world we live in. And the truth is, we're destroying it before we've even finished learning about it.We think we are smarter than nature, but we are not. Our human intellect is amazing, but we must be humble and recognize that there is even a greater intelligence in nature.
— Jane Goodall
- Careless People - A story of where I used to work
by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Careless People is a deeply personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong in the past decade told in a sharp, candid and utterly disarming voice. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, Careless People reveals the truth about the leaders of Facebook: how the more power they grasp, the less responsible they become and the consequences this has for all of us.
When you have so many other people doing things for you professionally and personally, you stop taking responsibility for any of it.
— Sarah Wynn-Williams
- Moral Ambition
by Rutger Bregman
In "Moral Ambition," Rutger Bregman explores the intersection of ethics and ambition, arguing that moral considerations should be at the forefront of our aspirations. This book challenges readers to rethink their understanding of success, urging a shift from self-interest to a broader ethical perspective.
Of all things wasted in our throwaway times, the greatest is wasted talent. There are millions of people around the world who could help make the world a better place, but don't. Why is that?
— Rutger Bregman
- As If Human
by Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson
In "As If Human," Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson embark on a compelling exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound implications for humanity. The book delves into the transformative power of AI, examining how it is reshaping industries, societies, and our very understanding of what it means to be human. Through insightful analysis and real-world examples, the authors illuminate both the promises and challenges posed by this rapidly evolving technology.
At this moment in the development of artificial intelligence, we remain at a moral frontier, unsure of humanity's next best steps in the face of great changes to come. This uncertainty will ease as positive, adaptive behaviors and virtues continue to emerge in us. We must urgently start to build those virtues into machines themselves, to insist that they behave, morally, as if they were human.
— Nigel Shadbolt and Roger Hampson
Fiction
- The Morning Star
by Karl Ove Knausgaard
During a summer weekend in southern Norway, families and lovers are mesmerised by the arrival of a blazing, mysterious star. What darkness is made visible by this sudden star? And where will it end?
I suppose all of us have yearned for freedom at some stage in life. That yearning is like a spring, pressed tigther and tighter together, packed ever harder, until it reaches the point where its compacted force can be compacted no more, and the spring releases.
— Karl Ove Knausgaard
- Moby-Dick or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is centered on the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the maniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for vengeance against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg on the ship's previous voyage.
So powerfully did the whole grin aspect of Ahab affect me, and the livid brand which streaked it, that for the first few moments I hardly noted that not a little of this overbearing grimness was owing to the barbaric white leg upon which he partly stood.
— Herman Melville
Want to buy the books? Avoid Amazon. Support local bookshops.