User Profile

Martin

martinsettle@bookwyrm.social

Joined 1 year, 4 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

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Antony Loewenstein: Disaster Capitalism (Paperback, 2015, Verso, imusti) 2 stars

How Capitalism makes a fortune from disaster, poverty and catastrophe

Disaster has become big business. …

Mediocre presentation of an important subject

2 stars

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) 2 stars

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.

finished reading Mindful Year by Alice Boyes

Aria Campbell-Danesh, Seth J. Gillihan, Alice Boyes: Mindful Year (2020, Blackstone Audio, Incorporated, Blackstone Publishing) 5 stars

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) 5 stars

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

There to be found

5 stars

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) 4 stars

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.

Sandra Newman: Julia: A Novel (Paperback, 2023, Granta Books) 4 stars

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

I had to re-read 1984 before starting this one, which I bought on recommendation of City Doctorow. It had been over 30 years, and my understanding of what I was reading had certainly shifted. It will be interesting to see how this other voice and perspective also shifts my understandings.