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Things I’ve been reading recently #7

It’s been a while since I last did one of these:

  • The Happiness Industry by William Davies – superb and I’m interviewing him about it next week
  • A Decent Ride by Irvine Welsh – far from his best but immensely readable nonetheless
  • Warwick University LTD by E.P. Thompson and others – I chose an eerily appropriate time to finally read this astonishing book
  • Say Everything by Scott Rosenberg – a thoughtful and interesting history of blogging by the editor of Salon
  • The Rise of Islamic State by Patrick Cockburn – impressive and brave reporting in a book that unfortunately seemingly consisted of a series of LRB essays spliced together
  • Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming – my enthusiasm for James Bond books died just as quickly as it emerged. I just can’t get past the racism & misogyny.
  • So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson – I read this out of sheer curiosity due to Luke Mason and Dan O’Hara dragging up the Weavrs affair. I actually really liked it.

Graphic Novels:

  • Alex + Ada volume 1 and volume 2 – powerful and unusual.
  • The United States of Murder Inc – great concept but the art bugged me
  • MPH – really enjoyable example of Mark Millar following a formula without being formulaic.
  • Alias – for years I thought people were talking about the old TV show when they mentioned this. It turns out it’s an incredible series by Brian Bendis following the life of Jessica Jones after she left the Avengers. Possibly the best graphic novel I’ve ever read.
  • The Pulse – a less interesting, less engaging but nonetheless worthwhile follow up to Alias.
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