8 Book Recommendations from My Recent Reads

Friday, 26 July 2024

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2024 has been such a joyful reading year for me so far. I’ve read so many fun books but also some masterful ones. For some reason I read more than usual in June and had a great time with all the books I read. So, I thought I’d take some time to discuss them all here! I would love to hear your thoughts on these books if you’ve read them, and if you haven’t, some books you think I might like based on my thoughts on these. I've also added where I got these books to show the range of how you can access books. 



Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons – Borrowed from my local library


I saw Fair Rosaline on a library shelf while I was returning another book. At first, I thought it was the book that inspired the film Rosaline, a comedy which tells Romeo and Juliet from the perspective of Rosaline Capulet, Romeo’s first love and Juliet’s cousin. That turned out to be a different book, but Fair Rosaline follows a similar premise. However, instead of following a light-hearted romantic comedy route, Natasha Solomons highlights the darker side of the classic story that is often undiscussed by putting the predatory behaviour of men in the spotlight.

 

Having lost her mother to the plague and about to be sent to spend the rest of her days in a nunnery by her father, Rosaline is desperate and vulnerable. Looking for a taste of freedom, she attends a Montague party under cover and is quickly swept up by the charms of the older Romeo. After her honour is ‘ruined’, she discovers his ulterior motives and meets previous women he has harmed. She begins a quest to save her child cousin Juliet from him.

 

I became so quickly engrossed in Fair Rosaline. Solomons flips characters we all know so well on their head and prompts us to ask questions both of our society and the fictional ones we know from classic literature. I love retellings of classic tales, whether they be Shakespearean, Greek or Roman myths, or other historical tales. I think they’re so important for reclaiming marginalised stories through history and I think #MeToo and works like Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad has done a huge amount in this trend of classic story retellings. 



Neon Roses by Rachel Dawson – Borrowed from a friend.


I was staying at a friend’s house after coming back from Hay Festival so of course we had a bookish catch up. She told me about Neon Roses, which she had just bought but hadn’t read yet. As soon as she told me it was Welsh and gay I was desperate to read it. Beginning in the Dulais Valley at the centre of the 1984-5 Miners’ Strike, Neon Roses follows Eluned as she meets members of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) as they visit her small town from London. During their visit Eluned realises a few things about herself…

 

Neon Roses was joyous, sexy, angry, and so loudly Welsh. I absolutely adored it. I’ve never read any queer Welsh fiction before, and as a queer Welsh young woman this novel felt so special. I cannot wait to see what Rachel Dawson does next.

 

(And Ems you will get your book back soon, I promise!)



Percy Jackson and the Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan – 1b Books, Newcastle-upon-Tyne


If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I recently re-read the Percy Jackson series while on holiday at Hay Festival. I love this series and have since I was a kid. I remember reading the books with my brother and mum and still adore them now. Rick Riordan is a master of his craft and ignited a love of Ancient Greek and Roman mythology in a whole generation (including me!).

 

I was walking past my local bookshop when I saw this new Percy Jackson book in the window and did a double take. A NEW PERCY JACKSON BOOK?! Turns out I was pretty late to the party as it has already been out for a year. But better late than never! I read this so quickly. It was so fun to revisit characters I was first introduced to as a kid and hold a huge amount of affection for. The stakes were incredibly low in this book, but it was a joyous, nostalgic ride with old friends.



Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa – Waterstones, Newcastle-upon-Tyne


Mornings in Jenin took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Susan Abulhawa’s story follows one Palestinian family from before the Nakba to the 2000s across four generations. It is harrowing and shocking, do not get me wrong, but it is also so full of joy and love. The characters are beautifully written and fleshed out so that you feel you know them so well. You feel their pain, they joy, their determination and confusion. I had a little cry at several points and any book that makes me cry immediately gets bumped up the recommendations list.

 

I’m trying to read more Palestinian literature and although Mornings in Jenin is very different to books like Palestine+100 (which I have spoken about extensively both on this blog and on social media), I think together they demonstrate how impactful literature can be. As the events of this novel follow from pre-Nakba Palestine to the years when I was a child, it follows the turmoil of decades of displacement, occupation and apartheid enforced on Palestinians and I felt like I understood the events of recent Palestinian history so much better. These weren’t just dates on a timeline anymore, they felt personal.



The Breaks by Julietta Singh – Queer Lit, Manchester


I won’t lie, I was first drawn to The Breaks by its gorgeous cover. I’m an aesthetic and superficial gal, what I can I say. The book itself has a lovely feel to it, and while that’s not the most important part of a book, it definitely enhances the reading experience. I love a well-made book so props to Daunt Books for that! 

 

The Breaks is written as a letter from Julietta Singh to her six-year-old daughter. Singh is a beautiful writer. At times her words feel lyrical and there is a sense rawness and honesty throughout, at her own confusion and internal struggles while grappling with the adult capitalist world, her relationship to her heritage as a both Jewish and Punjabi living in North America, queer family-making and the climate crisis. This is a fascinating look at how we live our lives both on a broader scale but also on a smaller, domestic level, and the connections between generations. 

 

There was one aspect of the book I wish Singh had unpacked more: the topic of overpopulation. It’s something she mentions a few times in relation to the climate crisis and expresses her previous intense anxiety over. However, as many climate campaigners, scientists and academics have pointed out, overpopulation as a cause of the climate crisis is a racist myth. Many people better equipped than me have written and talked on this issue, so please do your own research, but we know that the cause of the climate crisis is largely down to overconsumption of the rich, people with resources. The impact of a single person on the climate various greatly often depending on their wealth, with resources unequally distributed across global populations. As an academic who looks into capitalism, colonialism and the climate crisis (and are all extensively discussed in this book), I was surprised at how little that idea was challenged by Singh.



The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell – Richard Booth’s Bookshop, Hay-on-Wye


Having read and adored Hamnet, I have been very excited to read more of Maggie O’Farrell’s work. While at Hay Festival, I wandered into Richard Booth’s the largest and oldest bookshop in Hay-on-Wye and found a huge array of her books. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox caught my eye. 

 

In Edinburgh in the 1930s, the Lennox family have a troublesome daughter called Esme. Decades letter, Iris Lockhart receives a letter informing her that her great-aunt she didn’t know existed is about to be released from a psychiatric unit. The premise hooked me in straight away. It includes so many things I love in a book – complex women characters, mystery, intrigue and questions about wider systems like patriarchy and the state. If I was still doing my Master’s, this is the kind of book I would have loved to have written about and fits in with the kind of texts I was researching.

 

I was not disappointed when I read this. I absolutely adored it. It had brilliant characters, was shocking, and took twists that I didn’t expect. Maggie O’Farrell, I love you!  



The Shadow of Perseus by Claire Heywood - Borrowed from my local library


Another retelling, this time from the notorious hero Perseus (the namesake of Percy Jackson) to the women in his story: Danaë, Medusa, and Andromeda. Claire Heywood retells the story of Perseus – from the origins of his birth to his return to his mother’s homeland – except removes the lens of glory through which we are used to viewing these ‘heroes’. 

 

I didn’t know much about Danaë and Andromeda before reading this book. But I’m keen to find out more about them now. Perseus’ character became repulsive as we see how the pressure of patriarchal masculinity twists him into something his mother was striving to prevent. He’s not the only character we see affected by such pressure. Throughout there are male characters who are driven by their power and station and the idea that the women around are there property – and it often becomes their demise. 



All the Violet Tiaras by Jean Menzies – Gay on Wye, Hay-on-Wye


I have followed Jean Menzies’ work on social media and YouTube for years, but before All The Violet Tiaras I hadn’t read any of her writing. I saw a signed copy of this book in Gay on Wye, Hay’s newest bookshop, and straight away knew it was coming home with me. I couldn’t attend Jean’s talk at Hay so I was excited to still read her book, especially as a lover of Greek myths and queer stories. 

 

Part of the 404 Inklings series, All the Violet Tiaras is pretty short, at only 82 pages, but there is a lot packed in there. The three main chapters look at how new stories have used ancient storytelling forms, how Greek myths are still relevant to us today and how those myths are being re-queered. Menzies draws on a wide variety of ancient and contemporary texts to demonstrate this and introduced me to some texts I’d never heard of before but am now so excited to read. She highlights queer characters in mythology, such as Tireisus and Achilles and Patroclus as well as historical figures like Sappho, but also emphasises the importance of the narrator – who is telling this tale? Is the villainous women really as bad as she’s made out or the hero really so great? 

 

A joyful read I would so recommend of mythology and I now can’t to read more 404 Inklings! 


If you liked this post you might like: My Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2023


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5 Books to Read Instead of Watching Eurovision 2024 🇵🇸

Friday, 3 May 2024

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I love Eurovision - I normally watch it either with family or friends. But this year, like thousands (if not millions) of others, I will not be tuning in due to the hypocrisy of Eurovision refusing the ban Israel from participating despite their continued bombardment of and genocide in Gaza while rightfully banning Russia days after they invaded Ukraine. 

My friend Anna-Marie made a YouTube video discussing 5 books you could read instead of watching Eurovision, and as a booknerd myself this got me thinking about some other books that could be relevant. So, if you think you’re going to be bored while Eurovision is on and need some distraction for solidarity, here are 5 books I recommend that you could read instead. 


There is still time for Eurovision to boycott Israel. I have put together a resource list with information about how you can contact performers, country representatives, hosts, sponsors and show-organisers about the boycott, petitions and other campaigns such as Queers for Palestine who are taking action. You can access that here.


Palestine +100 edited by Basma Ghalayini


I read this book as part of Shado Mag’s book club and I’m so happy I joined this year. This is a short story collection written entirely by Palestinian writers imagining life in Palestine 100 years after the first Nakba, so 2048. These stories are all science fiction, and vary a huge amount - from alternate realities and different dimensions for different states to inhospitable environments and haunting noises. Palestine +100 ultimately asks, will Palestine ever truly be free?



Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y Davis


Angela Davis is one of my favourite writers and this is the first book that really made me understand the connection between Israel's apartheid regime and police oppression and brutality across the world. This is a collection of Angela Davis’ speeches, interviews, and essays from throughout the years all focusing on the theme of freedom and state violence - from the legacies of previous liberation struggles and movements to the ones we fight now and their interconnectedness.  



Border Nation by Leah Cowan


In Border Nation, Leah Cowan looks at borders – how we interact with them on a daily basis, how they impact our movements, how they are monetized through the prison industrial complex and the colonial history of their formation. This is mostly from a UK perspective, which I think is really valuable as often a lot of these conversations can be US-centric, making it seem like Britain is innocent when we really are not. This book expertly breaks down so many myths around immigration, borders and freedom of movement. A must read. Leah Cowan has a new book coming out soon called Why Would Feminists Trust the Police? and I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy.



Your Silence Will Not Protect You by Audre Lorde


Audre Lorde’s work is unbeatable. This collection encompasses some of her poetry and essays, all of which are beautifully crafted. While this whole collection is valuable and should be read, I would like to highlight two essays in particular that I think are especially relevant to liberation in Palestine: Poetry is Not a Luxury and The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House. Poetry is Not a Luxury looks at how art is essential for survival and now makes me think of the poetry of Gazans and Palestinians fighting for survival over the decades such as ‘If I Must Die’ by Refaat Alareer and ‘Fuck Your Lecture on Craft, My People Are Dying’ by Noor Hindi. 



Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Okay, major trigger warnings for this book. Sexual assault, violence, racist violence, murder, slavery, suicide and suicidal ideations. It’s a lot. But this book is also one of the best I’ve read recently. Octavia Butler is a mastermind, her writing is just incredible. Another science fiction story, Kindred is set in the 1970s and focuses on Dana, a young black woman who gets pulled back in time to save the life of a white boy in 1815. Turns out this white boy is her ancestor. Kindred is a fascinating look at hierarchies, dehumanisation, power, freedom, struggle and joy, as well as how those unjust systems are maintained. The characters have such complicated relationships and it’s fascinating to see how those change. Octavia Butler is such an incredible writer.



If you liked this post you might like: My Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2023


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5 Great Introductory Books to Intersectional Feminism

Friday, 29 March 2024

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Feminism is a big topic. There’s so much more to it than ‘women should be equal to men’. That’s simply because inequality and injustice manifests in a huge variety of different ways. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years reading, researching, and listening to feminists from all kinds of different backgrounds sharing what feminism means to them or what it should be. To make it easier for you to know where to start, I’ve picked out some of the books that have had the biggest impact on my feminist journey and that I think help you understand the key tenets of intersectional feminism. I would love to hear about more texts I may not have included and may not have read! Our feminist learning journey is never over.

Each of these texts should also be available as audiobooks. If you don’t know about it already, you can borrow audiobooks through your local library service (in the UK) using the app BorrowBox. Support your local libraries and learn more about feminism for free?! Pretty great. 


1. Feminism, Interrupted by Lola Olufemi


I have talked about this book so much already, but I will never shut up about it because frankly I need everyone to read it. When it was first published in 2020, a friend and I have a joke that we should be paid for doing publicity for Feminism, Interrupted as we were talking about it all the time. But there’s a reason for that. 
 
In Feminism, Interrupted Lola Olufemi expertly challenges the narratives of mainstream feminism and reveals how much these narratives are reliant on capitalism and white supremacy. Once you’ve read Feminism, Interrupted you can’t see the state the same ever again. This book is short – only 145 pages – but contains so much and is so easy to read. Lola does not use over-complicated or academic language, simply discussing a range of feminist issues in plain language. And she provides a brilliant resource list at the end to continue your learning too.  


2. Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis


Another short one, Are Prisons Obsolete? By Angela Davis may be slim but it is mighty. Published in 2003, some of its stats may be outdated but the principles and analysis still very much the same and are still astonishingly relevant. In this book, Angela Davis expertly breaks down the oppressive prison-industrial complex and how the prison system functions as an arm of white supremacy and patriarchy. Quite frankly all of Angela’s work could have been included on this list. She brilliantly connects so many issues together in all her work – from the prison system and police brutality to feminism and Palestinian liberation. I continue to learn so much from Angela Davis.  

The copy of Are Prisons Obsolete? I read was a library book. So here's a picture of another of Davis' books! I recommend them all. 


3.  Feminism is for Everybody by bell hooks


I remember reading this while doing my A Levels, aged 17 or 18. bell hooks became a huge part of my early formation as a feminist, and I am ever thankful for her presence on this earth and her work. hooks sets forward a feminism that is accessible to all regardless of gender, sexuality or race – something that seems basic but is rarely a reality. She highlights that there is no love without justice and that both love and justice should be the founding principles of any kind of effective feminism. As feminism is for everybody, hooks is for everybody. 

4. “No Offence But…” by Gina Martin and others


The most recent [publication on this list. Gina Martin has been a powerful gender equality campaigner for years, and I know I have certainly seen her as someone who sets a great example as a campaigner who is willing to admit their mistakes, learn and grow.  Gina is best known for her campaign to criminalise upskirting – the act of secretly photographing underneath someone’s clothes without their permission. This campaign was successful, but Gina has since moved away from legal campaigns and focusing on cultural changes. 
 
In “No Offence But…” Gina tackles common sayings or rebukes to certain issues – such as “not all men”, “boys will be boys”, and “I don’t do politics” – and invites an incredible group of guest writers to look at other phrases such as “men aren’t doing anything to help feminism”, “I don’t see colour” and “we need fast fashion for poor people”. This book picks apart so many issues so brilliantly and equips us as readers to effectively challenge them in real life. 


5. The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye

Shon Faye’s The Transgender Issue is the fundamental text to understanding trans rights as they currently stand in the UK. It should be required reading. Attacks on trans rights is a crisis we as feminist should not ignore and should challenge those who attack trans people in the name of feminism or women’s ‘safety’. As a cis woman, I have never felt threatened by trans people. I have, however, felt threatened by those who attempt to define me by my reproductive capabilities or my biology (something feminist movements have previously fought against) and by male violence. None of these things have anything to do with trans people or their place in society. 
 
Shon Faye has done her research. She has so much evidence and so many horrifying stats that any reader cannot deny the danger trans people are placed under every day in the UK. This book makes me angry but it also makes me motivated. I hope it motivates you too. 



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I have so many ideas for blog posts I would love to share with you and I hope to post more regularly in 2024. To help me have more time to spend on this blog, it would be amazing if you could buy me a cuppa or two to keep me going! It would mean the world to have your support and would also help keep my cat warm. 


If you liked this post you might like: Book Review: Burnt - Fighting for Climate Justice by Chris Saltmarsh


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Why We Can’t Have a Green Economy Without Well-Paid Bus Drivers

Friday, 15 March 2024

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This article was first written in November 2023, commissioned by a publication to discuss the connection between the Go North East bus strike and a sustainable economy. In the end it wasn’t published due to the strike ending earlier than expected (which is a win!). Although the strike ended some issues resolved – including and importantly a backdated pay rise for bus drivers – there are still larger systemic issues existing. For this piece I went down to my local picket line and talked with some amazing workers. They were so open to discussion, sharing their experiences, hearing mine and sharing ideas for change. It’s those guys who know how to make transport work for everyone, not the people at the top.

 

All names have been changed for anonymity.


Workers in this image gave their permission to be photographed. They are not the workers quoted in this piece.
 

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We all know the feeling of waiting on the side of the road in the freezing cold for a bus that should have turned up 20 minutes ago. Checking your watch, late for work, late to meet a friend. It would have been so much easier if we’d driven, got a lift, or even walked. But that’s not possible for so many of us. Maybe we can’t afford a car, can’t drive, or have disabilities that mean public transport is our only option.

 

Our public transport system - whether bus, rail, tube or local metro networks– is crumbling. You only have to look at the extortionate prices of train tickets, unreliable and cancelled services, and seemingly constant strikes to see that. This is not only damaging to the day-to-day lives of ordinary people, but is also a huge barrier to a truly sustainable economy.

 

From October to early December 2023, more than 1,300 bus drivers operating Go North East routes have been on indefinite strike over pay and working conditions. The strike has brought the North East to a standstill and prompted questions over the state of our public services and the treatment of the North East in comparison to other areas of the country. I live in Gateshead and work at a pub in the East End of Newcastle. Since I moved to Gateshead, I’ve been reliant on the buses getting me to and from work, often leaving much earlier than should be necessary to compensate for late or missing buses to make sure I get to work on time. During the strike, I cycled as much as I could, walked, or used the metro and taxis when that’s not possible. It was frustrating but is manageable. However, for many people further away from the city and in more rural areas, the lack of buses left them isolated.

 

If anything, the level of disruption caused by this strike proves how important bus drivers and other public transport workers are to our daily lives. During lockdown, bus drivers were classed as ‘key workers’ and now, according to Andrew, a striking driver, “many are reliant on food banks.” From being viewed as vital to our society, bus drivers have now come to be seen as dispensable. Thom Campion, councillor for Castle in Newcastle City Council and Transport Spokesperson for Newcastle Liberal Democrats, says that “almost a third of [his] ward is solely reliant on one Great North East service, [and the strike] has occupied a lot of [his] work as a local councillor.” He tells me that “residents in Newcastle Great Park only have one bus service and that was a Great North East service. [The strike] completely cut them off and has a huge impact.” However, Campion emphasises his support for the workers, highlighting how “public transport workers are the lifeblood of our network across both [Newcastle] and the country.” According to Campion, the immense disruption caused by this bus driver strike has led to residents having “a greater understanding of why the bus drivers are so important and why they should be supported.”

 

In order to achieve a truly green economy, we need a shift of focus from the individual to the collective. That means drastically reducing the number of cars on the road in favour of public transport that can carry large groups of people at a time. In other words, we need effective, reliable and cheap buses, trains, trams and metros. Simple, right? Barry, another striking bus driver, told me how, across the sector, the problems all come back to the same root cause: “It’s all the same, it’s all about the profit. We need a massive restructure of all public transport. It’s not just us, that’s why the train drivers are upset [too].” Chris, a colleague of Andrew and Barry, told me how the pursuit of profit has decimated bus services in the North East – “they have stripped all the meat from the bone.”


 

One of the reasons why Go North East bus drivers were striking was over pay. The striking drivers were paid £12.83 an hour, while bus drivers at Go North West are paid £15.53 an hour for the same job. Andrew said “it’s only a couple of pound here and there but a couple of pound on 40 hours a week is a substantial amount.” However, as much as the he would “like a decent pay rise”, for Andrew “money isn’t everything, it’s about the conditions” too. The end deal of the strike results in a rise to £14.27 per hour from January to July, rising to £14.84 from July and a 10.5% pay rise backdated from July 2023.

 

One of the most pressing issues bus drivers face is toilet breaks. Barry recalls that they “used to have a sitting time every time we got to a terminus, where you could get out and stretch your legs and [go to the toilet]” but these have been cut to reduce the time between bus stops, create a quicker service and increase profit. Additionally, to save money more bus stations have been closed or reduced and bus stops without facilities prioritised. This lack of ability to take toilet breaks is tougher on the increasing number of women drivers. The drivers I spoke to were all men, and said they “could nip behind the bus” to relieve themselves if they needed. This in itself is degrading and something they shouldn’t have to do. However, for people with periods and who can’t stand up to go to the toilet, even this option is not available – and it only gets worse if the workers are already disabled or have bowel issues. The drivers briefly suggested the lack of breaks or sitting time causes water infections and bowel problems.

 

After hours and hours on the road, with little breaks in the cold and often in the dark, bus drivers only have a minimum 8.5 hours between shifts, compared to the usual mandatory 11 hours. So, according to Cheis, “you could finish at midnight and be back in at 8:45am and that doesn’t include your travelling time.” If you live 30 minutes’ drive from the depot, you could have closer to 7.5 hours of so-called rest. In that time, you need to eat, sleep, check in with or take care of family and friends, do housework and allow for relaxation. As Chris put it: “I cannot go home, take my coat off and go to bed. I’ve got to unwind. There’s not time for that.” Sleep-deprived and burned out drivers ultimately leads to less safe journeys, at no fault of the drivers themselves. The combination of low pay and damaging working conditions has led to an exodus of bus drivers from the sector and meant difficulty recruiting. The shortage of drivers adds further to pressures with fewer buses on the roads.

 

Increased pressure is being added to drivers as the time between stops is being shortened and is taking a great mental toll on the drivers. This shortening of timetables means there is no time to wait for stragglers (remember that time the bus pulled away while you were running), there’s no time for regular safety checks of the bus, and there’s little time to assist disabled or elderly passengers, all because, as Andrew says, “there’s always the panic in [the driver’s] head of ‘I’m going to get wrong if I’m late, I don’t like to be late’.”

 

Time pressures also reduce the drivers’ capacity for another crucial part of their job: community care. Each of the drivers I spoke to had attended the funeral of a passenger. They share stories of regular passengers who use the buses “like clockwork” to go get a pint of milk from the shop. Bus drivers are sometimes the only other person that passenger might speak to that day. Drivers look out for school kids and young women making sure they get off safely. Drivers are the first port of call for those in danger or with medical issues. That’s “the other side of the job, the actual side of the job that we all do as drivers is looking after people,” Andrew tells me - “it’s never reflected by the hierarchy of the businesses cause all they want is the money. It’s more than just driving a bus.” A crucial part of bus drivers’ jobs is keeping us safe.

 

While some people may say that the strike is environmentally damaging by forcing more people to drive or use taxis (what about those of us who are cycling too?), however, strikes like these are necessary if we are going to achieve a sustainable public transport system in the long-term. People drive because there is no other option. Because buses are few and far between, because they don’t know when the buses will arrive. To make the sustainable economy we all know is desperately needed, we need more than just a few electric buses. We need, as Barry said, “a massive restructure of all public transport.” It’s striking bus drivers who are “trying to fight back by having people back on the [public] transport.”

 

If we had functioning public transport in all areas, including and especially in rural areas, cars could become obsolete. Bus drivers know this better than anyone else. “Even in Gateshead,” Chris shares, “if you live somewhere like Chopwell, where it’s pretty rural, there’s next to no bus services because it’s not bringing in profit.” Similarly, in places like Jarrow and Hebburn elsewhere in South Tyneside, there used to be “nine bus services [but] now has only got two because the heavy industry isn’t there [anymore] but people are still there. They close the shipyards down and build houses, surely [the residents] need to be travelling [to work]. It’s been a knock on effect from quite a few years.” As Andrew says, “if you want people to travel on public transport you need to have that link working properly.” These transport links in the North East have been taken away with the shutdown of the region’s heavy industry. The needs of the people left behind have been forgotten. These areas deprived of public transport also have high levels of poverty. For instance, in Jarrow 34.3 per cent of children are living in poverty. The reason rural communities are struggling as a result of the strike is not because of the bus drivers, but because private transport companies like Go North East don’t see them as profitable enough to bother with – as a consequence, communities are left isolated.

 

The drivers tell me how Go North East “under-estimates how much support the public have for [the strike]. Because they’ve realised we’re fed up with the way [the bus network’s] being run [too]. They know how bad it is when that bus doesn’t turn up, the reason the bus doesn’t turn up is because they can’t get drivers because they’re not paying a good enough wage to keep drivers.” Andrew believes that “the travelling public are on [their] side because they don’t want change. People don’t like change. They want a bus that comes every day at that [same] time.” Ben, 24 from Sunderland, echoes those sentiments. He says “most of the people [he’s] spoken to feel similarly in terms of siding with the drivers on this. We interact with them in our daily lives and can relate to them more than Go North East as a faceless company in charge. The frustration [of late and cancelled bus services] is definitely directed at the company.”

 

Ultimately, we need a public transport system that is sustainable for both our communities and our planet. Regular, reliable bus services that we can count on to get us safely where we need to go without requiring a car. A world with few cars, cheap and reliable buses driven by people who are well-rested, happy and are able to chat and even wait for you when you’re running late is not a fanciful dream. It’s a reality that is entirely within our reach. However, it’s only possible when workers have decent pay and working conditions. Without the worker, there is no public transport system at all.


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This blog has been neglected somewhat while I completed my Master’s, but now I have so many ideas for blog posts I would love to share with you and I hope to post more regularly in 2024. To help me have more time to spend on this blog, it would be amazing if you could buy me a cuppa or two to keep me going! It would mean the world to have your support and would also help keep my cat warm. 


If you liked this post you might like: AD | Is Hemp a Sustainable Fabric?







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My Top 10 Non-Fiction Reads of 2023

Friday, 19 January 2024

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A new year is upon us and you know what that means?! MORE BOOKS! Okay I should calm down. I’ve already shared my top 10 fiction books of 2023, and you can see what those were here. However, I also love a good non-fiction read. Whether that’s a book on climate justice, a personal story or memoir, or a deep dive into a particular topic, I love getting stuck in. Here are some of my favourites from this year! I’d love to know your recommendation too. 



An Extra Pair of Hands: A story of caring and everyday acts of love by Kate Mosse


Kate Mosse’s portrayal of care and love is deeply touching. My heart ached when I finished this book, it was beautiful. Mosse shares her experiences living with and caring for her parents and her mother-in-law in their elderly years and of losing both her mother and father. In some ways this is a sad book, and I did get teary every now and again, but wow it’s so full of hope and joy. I especially loved when Mosse discussed the close friendship between her mother and mother-in-law developed particularly after her father died, and of the companionship her and her mother-in-law found in each other in lockdown. It’s a truly gorgeous look at love and connection. But Mosse doesn’t view her experiences in isolation. The Covid-19 pandemic looms large in the background of this book, as it still does in many if not all of our lives. When looking at the concept of caring, Mosse highlights the systemic inequalities that face paid and unpaid carers in the UK, including working conditions and exposure to disease. 



“No Offence But…”: How to have difficult conversations for meaningful change by Gina Martin & co.


“No Offence But…” is one of the most useful books I’ve read this year. Gina Martin highlights the importance of individual conversations in social change and equips us as readers in how to undertake them in an impactful way. Each chapter begins with a problematic phrase such as “Boys Will Be Boys”, “To Play Devil’s Advocate”, “Men Aren’t Doing Anything to Help Feminism”, “I Don’t See Colour” and “It Was a Different Time”, which are subsequently unpicked and debunked it such as a way that you can never see them as valid ever again. Gina and her guest writers are incredible at doing this. In Martin’s chapters, she shares experiences from her own life, such as her first memory of experiencing misogyny as a child or a friend’s sexist behaviour. The situations described by Martin (and her guest contributors) are so every day and really share the frustrations of regular and normalized discrimination. However each chapter highlights the exact arguments that can be used to counter this kind of behaviour, certain key facts to remember and tips on how to challenge these situations. “No Offence But…” is a crucial read for anyone wanting to make the world a better place.


 

Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

 

This copy of Strong Female has gone through many different hands as it has been passed around a friendship group and beyond. Strong Female Character has many reviews saying that it’s incredibly funny and has been marketed in that way too, which makes sense as Brady is a well-known comedian. However, (and I know friends of mine who’ve also read the book agree with me) that is not the word I would use to describe this book. Of course there are moments of humour, but oh my god this book is heartbreaking and intense and stressful. There is so much trauma in this book I don’t think it’s really fair to call it funny. It is, though, a brilliant portrayal of undiagnosed neurodivergence, poverty, mental illness, addiction, and harmful relationships. It’s a lot and I would through a ton of trigger warnings in there. But it’s so incredibly raw and honest – perhaps one of the most open memoirs I’ve ever read.   


 

A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar by Harry Nicholas


A Trans Man Walks Into a Gay Bar is a beautifully written story of self (and sexual) discovery. Harry Nicholas charts his experiences figuring out his gender and sexuality (or as he puts it ‘The Lesbian to Straight Man to Gay Man Timeline’), navigating Grindr and the gay dating scene as a trans man as well as figuring out the rest of life. Nicholas states at the beginning that this is not in any way a guidebook or ‘how-to’ of being trans or gay (not that there is any one way of being either those things anyway) but that he wanted his story to be out there as he had only seen memoirs or accounts of being either gay or trans, very rarely being both gay and trans. This book is intimate and tender, with Nicholas showing amazing vulnerability and openness. It shows the duality of the difficulties that come with being trans in a transphobic society and trans joy. I loved it. 


 

Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon


As I’ve been trying to understand my own brain and mental illness, I’ve been trying to read more stories about OCD and people’s experiences with living with it. Bryony Gordon’s experiences with OCD are intense. It’s a lot. But it also felt like she was not holding back and was being very raw in bearing her all – the good, the bad and the ugly. I want to widen my perspective and read the experiences of other people with OCD and also those with other mental illnesses. A good and interesting read, but a lot. 

 

Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit


This is potentially my favourite non-fiction books of the year. It’s one of those books where I feel like I grunt with enthusiasm when I try to describe it rather than using my words. However, that’s not really helpful when I’m trying to describe it to you using the written word. But rest assured if I’ve already made some strange noises trying to figure out how to tell you how much I loved this book.

 

In a sentence, this book is a biography of George Orwell, centring on his relationship to nature. But it’s so much more than that.  Solnit uses Orwell as a springboard to discuss a whole range of topics including beauty, joy, aestheticism, workers’ rights, the rise to fascism, our connection to nature, Stalin’s lemons, colonialism, slavery and gender inequality. There’s so much in this book it feels like it spills from the pages. I read this as I was studying nature and power in Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier for my Master’s dissertation, and although she focusses on a completely different author, so much of Solnit’s writing here felt relevant. Orwell’s Roses heavily influenced my dissertation and brilliantly highlights the connection to human action, nature and systemic power structures. To say I adored it would be an understatement. 



Radical Intimacy by Sophie K. Rosa


This book was everywhere on my social media at the beginning of the year, and it looked fascinating so of course I crumbled to the inevitability of advertising. It was worth it though. Radical Intimacy looks at the relationship between capitalism and well, our relationships, of all kinds, our physical and mental health and our outlook on social connections. I have made notes, underlines and scribbles all over this book, which is always a good sign. Sophie K. Rosa covers all sorts of relationships in this book - from friendships, romantic and sexual relationships, family, and even our relationships with strangers, all of our interactions are impacted by capitalist ideology, which separates and isolates us from each other. Rosa breaks this down brilliantly. I’m looking forward to reading more of her work.


 

Tell Me the Truth About Love: 13 Tales from the Therapist’s Couch by Susanna Abse


I love books about love, relationships and human connection. I also love books that analyse the way our brains work and how we think. Tell Me the Truth About Love is a combination of all of those things. Abse’s laid back writing style draws you in and the compelling stories keep you there. Each chapter plays on a fairy tale and shares a different story of a couple Abse has worked with (with names changed and other identifying characteristics removed). Let’s admit it, it’s entertaining reading about other people’s struggles, but it’s also fascinating delving into understanding behaviour.  

 


Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit


Rebecca Solnit is a theme on this list. I absolutely adore her work. It really resonates with me and gets my mind whirring. 

 

Hope in the Dark should be mandatory reading for anyone involved with climate activism, anyone who deals with eco-anxiety or climate doomism – basically anyone who is worried about the climate crisis and wants to make the world better. So much of this book also applies to so many other social justice movements too – basically anywhere that we need hope. Solnit characterises hope not as a passive feeling that happens to us but an active one which needs effort and action to sustain it. This book helped me feel so much better about the world, about climate activism and really informs a lot of what I do. Where there is no action, there is no hope. 


 

Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing by Clayton Thomas-Müller


I read Life in the City of Dirty Water at the beginning of the year as part of Shado Mag’s Book Club. Thomas-Müller came to speak to us as part of our book club and it was amazing to hear him speak. His words and his story is beautiful and touching and I’m so grateful that he took the time to speak to us.

 

A Life in the City of Dirty Water is Clayton’s memoir, following him throughout his childhood in Winnpeg and the systemic discrimination facing indigenous people in the land colonially known as Canada. At times, this book is difficult to read as we look back at Clayton’s experiences. He covers incidents of sexual assault and rape, domestic abuse, intimate partner violence, drug use, gang violence, suicide and suicidal ideation and environmental racism. Heavy as the subject matter might be, it is also profound and raw, yet inspirational and comforting. It is a warning against burnout and hustle culture as is so prevalent in activist spaces. It is a lesson that we are all part of one ecosystem. It is a reminder to reconnect to the earth, to ourselves, and our heritage, in whatever that may mean to us. It is also reminder that if we are fuelled purely by anger we will burn up ourselves and those around us - that when hatred drives your work, you eventually turn into the thing you’re fighting against. 


 


This blog has been neglected somewhat while I completed my Master’s, but now I have so many ideas for blog posts I would love to share with you and I hope to post more regularly in 2024. To help me have more time to spend on this blog, it would be amazing if you could buy me a cuppa or two to keep me going! It would mean the world to have your support and would also help keep my cat warm. 

 

See you soon,

Jemima

If you liked this post you might like: My Top 10 Non-Fiction Books of 2022


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