There is nothing like a good book. I rarely go travelling without a book in my bag, my go-to’s in the past while travelling around London, Paris and Amsterdam were George Orwell classics, Animal Farm and Down and Out in Paris and London.
Due to the current climate and where we’re at politically, a large majority of my interest has been allocated to political events, the impeding of legal rights, the failure of democracy (because that’s all we see and hear about). If like me, you prefer truth exposing, non-fiction, ‘once in a lifetime’ autobiographies, whistle-blowing books, or basically anything that informs and educates, please see my below recommendations. There are two categories, Autobiographies and ESCANDALO! If you don’t speak Spanish, the second category means scandal – including all things political, legal, financial.
ESCANDALO!
This category covers everything from whistleblowers, government cover-ups, surveillance, political and legal issues, to financial crisis. All are true stories.
This is a true-story written by American environmental attorney, Robert Bilott. The book follows Bilott’s twenty-year battle against DuPont, with the main focus of the story shining a spotlight on the worst case of environmental contamination in modern history. The book details corporate greed via pollution, omission of key medical studies of PFOA, cover-ups and the dedication of one man to keep fighting against large industry. This is one of my favourite books, this man is a legend – dare I say the female Erin Brockovich?Edward Snowden, to me, is one of the most influential people of our time for exposing US government secrets of excessive surveillance within the NSA. He explores his personal experiences about global surveillance, national security, social media and general principles whilst working for the US Government. The movie is also great and definitely a recommended watch!Michel Barnier was the European Union’s chief negotiator for four years during the UK Brexit vote to leave the EU in 2016. The book details insights into the attitudes and actions of the British Government during treaty negotiations. Considering how little was known or shared to us, the British public, I consider this book to be a democratic right into government oversight. I am glad there was somebody at the table making notes, because I sure as hell know that the British counterparts turned up with empty hands, alongside empty promises. The Big Short basically tells you everything you need to know about the lead up to the 2008 global financial crisis and the few people who predicted the collapse before anybody else. This book is absolutely astonishing and honestly left me open mouthed, not being able to believe what I was reading. You’ll hear a lot about Wall Street, the banks, the stock market, mortgages and loans, that kinda thing. Considering the complex topics discussed, it’s extremely well written in a way that’s perfectly clear and digestible, so don’t think you need a degree in Finance or Accounting to enjoy or understand this book. The movie is also great, Christian Bale plays one of the guys who predicts the fall of the market when nobody else did – worth a watch! It gives kind of The Wolf of Wall Street vibes.Just in case you didn’t already know, Christopher Wylie is a data consultant who previously worked at Cambridge Analytica. Netflix produced a documentary about this that Christopher Wylie appears in, it’s called The Great Hack and was released in 2019. Cambridge Analytica was a ‘political consulting firm’ which misused millions of people’s data to manipulate the 2016 U.K. Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. This book tells you what went on behind the scenes of disinformation/smear campaigns, Facebook’s involvement and political interference. I found Christopher’s story to be that interesting I watched his testimonies to UK Parliament and to US Congress regarding Cambridge Analytica and voting schemes (they’re on YouTube).Brittany Kaiser, political consultant turned whistleblower, offers insight into how Cambridge Analytica assisted to elect Trump in 2016 via online manipulation involving Facebook and influence the Brexit campaign during the 2016 Brexit Vote. Brittany Kaiser also testified in UK Parliament and before the US Congess regarding regulation and oversight. The book is great to pair alongside Mindf*ck by Christopher Wylie, both were involved in Cambridge Analytica, however both books provide different insights and information that offers a greater understanding of what happened to our elections in 2016 and what that means for future elections.
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES/MEMOIRS
Britney’s story is truly one that sticks with you. My main takeaway is, this is a story about a persistent fighter in the face of perseverance, a story about someone who never gives up – she is truly inspiring. I think this book is especially meaningful considering that Britney was unable to speak about her situation or the conservatorship according to Californian Courts in 2008-2021, because Britney Spears was not legally considered ‘capable’ of even voting, deciding her own health care, controlling her own finances… her own father checked the box for Dementia as reason for a conservatorship over his then 26-year-old daughter and mother of two. Britney details how she was restricted from removing an IUD, having children, getting married, drinking coffee, eating certain foods, spending the money that she earned… With the exception of Animal Farm by George Orwell, no book has ever stayed with me like The Woman In Me has. Behind the scenes of Britney’s life, she was having her rights and freedoms taken away from her in a court room and in her own home- a situation no human should be forced to experience. I read this book in one day, I couldn’t put it down. The audiobook for The Woman In Me is also amazing, with Michelle Williams narrating with a Britney-like twang. Alan Rickman’s diaries span 22 years, starting in 1993 and ending in 2015. It is everything you expect from a diary; thoughts and conclusions, gossip, memories, irritations. I don’t think I have read a book before that has curated years worth of scribbles, thoughts and self reflection that aren’t always contextualised, into one book and find it an enjoyable read, but it works. He details his time as Professor Snape on set of the Harry Potter movies, travelling, experiences and observations in a way that could be considered classily British. The writing style of the Madly, Deeply, reminds me of the same used in The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. This book is dedicated to confronting issues such as structural racism, race and class, politics, history and our every day. This is beautifully written and one of the best books I’ve read by a British author exploring how class and race intersect in British society. I watched an interview on Youtube of a talk with Akala at Oxford University and it inspired me to buy this book, the book is eloquent, but in a way that is not difficult to understand.What I love about this book is that you come away having explored conversations concerning acceptance, inner confidence and love. How loving yourself doesn’t have to be so literal as to love your appearance (although that is a contributing factor to loving the who you are) but to love the person you are on the inside. Every single page screams Jonathan Van Ness, if you’ve ever seen how amazing JVN is on Queer Eye, you’ll know exactly what I mean. I finished this book feeling positive and with a greater appreciation for JVN’s experience.
VOICE 