User Profile

Martin

martinsettle@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 7 months ago

I love books. I used to read voraciously. Having kids killed that. Now that they're grown, I'm getting back into books.

Born in Treaty 7 (Calgary). Living in Gatineau, on unceded Algonquin Anishnaabee land. He/him.

Find me on my personal website: bdms.ca

This link opens in a pop-up window

Cory Doctorow: The Bezzle (2024)

New York Times bestseller Cory Doctorow's The Bezzle is a high stakes thriller where the …

Too real and too good

This was my third Doctorow fiction novel. He's rapidly rising to the top of my favourite authors. While weaving a compelling story line, he sheds light on the true nature of our late-capitalist society and the systems that exacerbate disparity

Michelle Good: Truth Telling (2023, HarperCollins Publishers)

A bold, provocative examination of Canadian Indigenous issues from advocate, activist and award-winning novelist Michelle …

Strongly argued

Michelle Good's collection of seven essays, each on a distinct theme in the broad topic of reconciliation, presents a good picture of the current status of the indigenous struggle for recognition and status, and convincing rationale for a change in attitude and approach by the colonial institutions and settler community. A worthwhile read.

Antony Loewenstein: Disaster Capitalism (Paperback, 2015, Verso, imusti)

How Capitalism makes a fortune from disaster, poverty and catastrophe

Disaster has become big business. …

Mediocre presentation of an important subject

This is a good book that could have been shorter. While useful to expose the closer relationship between governments and private companies, the stories often felt repetitive and the chapters lacked a clear flow. The point was made, and made again, and made again, but the successive iterations didn't really develop a deeper analysis or enhance understanding. Overall, while an interesting read, I found it to be underwhelming.

Antony Loewenstein: Disaster Capitalism (Paperback, 2015, Verso, imusti)

How Capitalism makes a fortune from disaster, poverty and catastrophe

Disaster has become big business. …

This is a good book that could have been shorter. While useful to expose the closer relationship between governments and private companies, the stories often felt repetitive and the chapters lacked a clear flow. The point was made, and made again, and made again, but the successive iterations didn't really develop a deeper analysis or enhance understanding. Overall, while an interesting read, I found it to be underwhelming.

Aria Campbell-Danesh, Seth J. Gillihan, Alice Boyes: Mindful Year (2020, Blackstone Audio, Incorporated, Blackstone Publishing)

Reading this was a very worthwhile discipline for the year. While I didn't manage to read it every single day, each day I did I found the reflections to be thought provoking and encouraging. We've ordered a hard copy of the book to make available to my partners therapy clients while they await their appointments.

Evie Woods: The Lost Bookshop (EBook, HarperCollins Publishers)

‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life …

There to be found

A beautiful story integrating intergenerational trauma, self-discovery, and just the right amount of magic.

Can an inanimate thing be lost? Or is the seeker the one who must be found?

Sandra Newman: Julia: A Novel (Paperback, 2023, Granta Books)

An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view …

This was really well done -- retelling the events of Orwell's 1984 from the point of view of the second main character, Winston's "girlfriend" Julia. Personally, I think this is much more interesting than 1984, and provides a richer character to everyone. Unfortunately, it ends up being one of those books that is hopeful and pessimistic at the same moment. Still, it's particularly relevant for our time.