Current Affairs and Media

Mask Off

Bola's book on modern masculinity and its discontents is a well-rounded, convincingly argued and easy to follow introduction to gender studies. And while he pays particular attention to the ways in which men themselves are propagating and being harmed by patriarchy, lots of his arguments will be familiar to people with some knowledge of feminism and gender theory. The high rates of suicide among men should definitively be a cause for concern and this book makes a great case (albeit not a new one), that feminist goals are meant to help men too. My sincere hope is, that this easy-access approach from a male author will convince more people to engage with the subject.

Crying in H Mart

Somewhat to my surprise (since I thought the author and I would have little in common) I was absolutely engrossed by this memoir.
I especially loved Zauner's reminiscence of her life in the Pacific Northwest, more precisely in Eugene, Oregon. It coincidentally is the same town the American side of my family lived for decades and where I spent a few months after graduation myself; getting to know the college town a little bit which means I was able to recognize many of the spots she describes, be it the Willamette River I cycled next to frequently to get downtown or visiting a concert at the McDonald Theatre.
Zauner's heart-wrenching story of her mother's illness brought tears to my eyes several times and her overt passion for Korean food made me curious to try more of this cuisine. This book is a real treasure!

Women, Race & Class

American philosopher and civil rights activist Angela Y. Davis analyses the development of Black Feminism, based on well-investigated historical research. She reveals the so-called "standards for a New Womanhood" and emphasizes differences in the development of Black and White Feminism. As a white feminist, this book gave me a whole new perspective on the complex subjects of feminism and racism and its development.

Will

Er ist einer der größten Stars Hollywoods, Rapper, Kino-Held und der "Prinz von Bel-Air". Doch der Strahlemann hatte immer mit ganz eigenen Problemen und Widrigkeiten zu kämpfen: Selbstkritisch und reflektiert führt Will Smith in "Will" durch sein Leben und lässt dabei auch seine Schwächen, Zweifel, Fehler, Macken nicht aus. Ein erfrischendes, fesselndes Buch, das beeindruckend den Menschen hinter der Promi-Fassade zeigt.

The Velvet Rage

What does it mean to grow up in a world made for men, and more specifically cis, white and straight men? It means hiding who we really are, curbing our emotional development and creating an identity that ensures we are accepted for who we are (not). Through his experience as a therapist, Alan Downs writes about the stress involved in the constant search for validation and the rage that results from confronting a self that cannot be authentic. And it is a velvet rage, because it is an emotion that we learn to inhibit, but which nevertheless continues to exist and shape us. It is a journey that does not only affect homosexual men, but anyone who has to deal with the shame of being different and therefore unlovable.

The Lies That Bind

When we think about how to sum up identity, we most likely think about such markers as nationality, religion, sexuality or skin colour. But how fitting are these labels to actually identify us? In his thought-provoking and well-argued book, Appiah sets out to demolish most of these identifiers, arguing that most people are much more diverse and can often lay claim to several or contradicting labels. Most of them date back to colonial times and may have lived out their usefulness ages ago. Drawing on history and sociology and often taking himself as an example, Appiah makes a strong and enlightening case for coming up with better terms in order to identify multi-faceted humanity.

Nothing is True and Everything is Possible

There are a number of books one could read to try and make sense of the current situation but this one is definitely a good place to start. Originally published seven years ago, it chronicles Pomerantsev's experiences in the early noughties, when he was pursuing a career in Russian TV production. His highly readable account focuses on several cultural phenomena, such as the gangster turned film producer, the rise of Russia Today and the deeply ingrained corruption. I suspect this was once a more light-hearted read but in the light of recent events, it is almost scarily prescient and underlines once again the argument, that the war on Ukraine shouldn't really be a surprise but is rather the result of a development that someone could already knowledgably write about in 2014.

A Promised Land

Reading Obama's book, one is immediately overwhelmed by a surge of nostalgia and even some bafflement. Was it really only four years ago that America had a president whose discourse with the public could operate above the level of a tweet ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS? And was this president adept at compromise and working with his political opponents to achieve his goals, rather than sacking his allies VIA CAPS LOCK TWEET?
Nostalgia may well be one's first impression when reading this book but it will quickly be overcome by the realisation that Obama's differences to Trump extend to his ability to build a tense and gripping narrative about the driest of subjects (to be fair I haven't read "The Art of the Deal"), and by his ability to write in beautiful (sometimes a bit too flowery) prose. This isn't a memoir full of great revelations but instead of great insight and a reminder that maybe America was great enough already. BEST PRESIDENTIAL MEMOIR EVER! AMAZING!!!

The Right to Sex

After reading my collegue's review, I decided to give it a shot, being sex-related sociology amongst my fields of interest.
Ania Srinivasan deals with thorny topics which feminists have been engaging for decades with, without coming across as condescending. On the contrary, her stance on the different issues is imbued with knowledge and humbleness of not having necessarily the final answer. Her intellectual honesty is just so outstanding that - no matter if you agree with her or not - you can't help but keep the book glued to your eyes!

I hope to hear more of her publishings soon

Afropean

Johny Pitts's "Afropean" is an intensely personal history of African Europe. The title gives away teh book's project which is to afford the Afro-European (or Afropean) identity every bit as much of a central place in European culture and history as African-American has over the pond.
Pitts's journey takes us across Europe from Sheffield, in the north of England, where he grew up to Paris, Brussels, Berlin and a host of other places in between. His photographer's eye allows him to observe each city and come out with fresh and interesting perspectives which he then weaves into their Black histories.
This is the kind of non-fiction where one feels one is constantly being fed both with the skills of observation and empathy of a fine novelist and the research and insight of a historian - it's a book which you will both enjoy reading and feel you have learned a lot from afterwards. Urgent yet whimsical, it is a fine piece of writing.

Invisible Women

This book on the gender data gap has opened my eyes. They were already half-open, but this gave me so much profound scientific research to back up my personal perception of gender bias. I highly recommend it!

Four Futures

Dieses kurze und leicht verständliche Buch ist eine interessante Übung, die uns hilft, uns eine mögliche Zukunft für die Menschheit vorzustellen.

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