Nnedi Okrafor’s Binti. Some great aliens in YA novella about Himba girl (Namibia) leaving home (in various senses) for offworld uni. A fiction about being tough enough to wage peace.
Ken MacLeod's Corporation Wars: Dissidence. Emergent sentience, exo-mining, simulated simulations, political mistrust, relatable robots; the alt-right “fancying themselves elite while… outstripped economically by the Chinese and intellectually by their own phones.” Enjoyed.
Angela Nagle's Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars From 4Chan And Tumblr To Trump And The Alt-Right. Field-guide:
‘alt-lite’ (nasties, contrarian outrage-merchants), hard ‘alt-right’ (extreme racists,
fascists), 4Chan, Pepe. Some ultra-left
trends – Situationism, Yippies, valuation of ‘transgression’ for own sake –
may’ve fed the beast.
Juliet Jacques' Trans: A Memoir. Narrates
author’s trans journey, reflecting on school, family, literature, art/ LGBT
cinema, theory, journalism, fear, violence, student debt, admin jobs, football
(Norwich supporter, “someone has to be”).
Tessa Hadley, London Train Two stories; main character in
one =incidental character in second; otherwise, links are geographical,
thematic: London, Wales, climate fear,
love affairs, passage of time, cups of coffee.
John Williams' My Son’s Not Rainman: One Man, One Autistic
Boy, A Million Adventures. Writer’s
gift for telling observations, funny lines (he does stand-up) mediates the
intimacy of this readable account of autism (son) and nervous breakdown (dad).
Myth-busting, tough, hopeful.
Daniel Siegel & Tina Payne Brayson's The Whole-Brain Child, 12 Proven Strategies
to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind.
Like Gottman, a ‘grower’ for me; the more I reflect on the hand model and other metaphors and strategies here, the more depth and applicability I
find.
