Just a few years back, people were predicting the demise of
the book – at least in its “real” as distinct from “virtual” form. E-books, we
were told, would make physical books obsolete. For once, however, the neophiliacs seem to
have been proved wrong…..In 2017, for the first time
real books had positive growth but sales figures for virtual books declined…
Although publishing giants continue to gobble up other publishers – most famously in recent years my favourite, Penguin – small publishers somehow continue to grow and seduce us with their wares.
Interestingly, the books which left the biggest impression were all produced in the last 2 years. They are -
Although publishing giants continue to gobble up other publishers – most famously in recent years my favourite, Penguin – small publishers somehow continue to grow and seduce us with their wares.
There is, of course, a downside to this – that we are swamped
by the number of new titles which churn from the printing presses….
Indeed I have, half-seriously, raised in my blog the idea of rationing
at least non-fiction books to which I am most partial
On the question of real or virtual books, I feel I can be
reasonably objective since I am both a great reader of real books and writer of
E-books (at least 12 if you include the edited annual collection of posts) ….
Virtual books are functional but simply do not satisfy aesthetic
and ergonomic needs.
I heed to be able to flick the pages quickly to find the index and recommended reading; scribble comments; check pages I’ve already marked,.....I need, indeed, to smell the pages….
I heed to be able to flick the pages quickly to find the index and recommended reading; scribble comments; check pages I’ve already marked,.....I need, indeed, to smell the pages….
The E-book published at the beginning of the month - To Whom it May Concern
– the 2019 posts – has several annexes,
including my list of favourite blogs and of non-fiction classics of the past
century.
I realise it would have been useful have added an indication
of the books which most impacted on me during the year – and to see whether they
passed the
tests I had suggested in 2018 we might use to decide whether to purchase yet
another non-fiction book.
I start with the oldest. In many cases the hyperlinks explain
what I found interesting about the book and sometimes the commentary there will
actually allow you to access the book itself. In a few cases the hyperlink in
the title itself will give you the entire book (or at least some sample pages)
The
British Regulatory State – high modernism and Hyper-innovation; by
Michael Moran (2003). This gave a very different interpretation of the modern
UK state from the one found in most textbooks
Monoculture
– how one story is changing everything; FS Michaels (2011) A very readable explanation of
neoliberalism
The
Capitalist Papers – fatal flaws of an obsolete system; Jerry Mander (2012) Ditto
The
New Few – a very British oligarchy;
Frederick Mount (2012) Ditto
Dealing
with Dysfunction – innovative problem-solving in the public sector; Jerry de Jong (2014) A highly original perspective on good
decision-making.
The
Road to Character; David
Brooks; (2015) The link explains
Interestingly, the books which left the biggest impression were all produced in the last 2 years. They are -
The
Econocracy – the perils of leaving economics to the experts; Earle, Moran and Ward-Perkins (2017)
Capitalism
– the new anxieties; Paul Collier (2017)
The
Fear and the Freedom; why the second world war still matters; Keith Lowe (2017). A history book which reminds me of
Theodor Zeldin in the way it uses portraits of individuals as a hook on which
to hang the narrative.
The
Laws of Human Nature; Robert
Greene (2018)
Reckless
Opportunists – elites at the end of the establishment by Aeron Davis
(2018)
Bullshit
Jobs – a theory;
David Graeber (2018)
No comments:
Post a Comment