Currently reading: The Darker Angels of Our Nature edited by Philip Dwyer 📚

A refutation of psychologist Steven Pinker’s 2012 “The Better Angels of Our Nature” by historians of violence. The editor is the Professor of History and Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence at the University of Newcastle, and co-editor of Cambridge World History of Violence.

Review: A Man and His Pride by Luke Rutledge 📚

This was the prefect book to read on the way home from Sydney World Pride 2023. It has been a while since a book made me both laugh out loud and cry for the characters and for the things they represent. Luke Rutledge’s debut novel is set at the time of Australia’s Same Sex Marriage referendum. It skilfully weaves a tale of flawed deeply human people dealing with different sorts of trauma inflicted by many varieties of homophobia and self repression. It’s equally a story about how heteronormative expectations damage us all - queer or straight - but also about the gentle love of friendship can help us overcome and heal our hurts. Truly, love wins - just not always how you expect it will.

The Sydney World Pride / Mardi Gras 2023 Sussex St Library 📚 #books #library #sydney #worldpride #mardigras

Morning reading after a fantastic first night of @sydneyworldpride - with a couple of books from @littleblackgallery and @boysfineart #mōrena #sydney #worldpride #mardigras #books #art #photography

Photography books - “Rite” by Michael Søndergaard and “Uncensored” by AdeY

Wonderful World Pride Exhibition by @thelittleblackgallery 📷 #photography #art #exhibition #northsydney #sydney #mardigras

Successful book haul from Abbeys Bookshop in central Sydney 📚🛍️😜😳

So many great history books!

(Some pre-planning may have been involved…)

Started reading: The Tyranny of Faith by Richard Swan 📚

I enjoyed the first the Empire of the Wolf series; looking forward to this one.

Finished reading: Godkiller (Godkiller, Book 1) by Hannah Kaner 📚

Oh yes! Fantastic! More please :)

Finished reading: Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell 📚

Fun queer space opera in the same universe as “Winter’s Orbit”.

Books and coffee, Taranaki style #books #coffee #NgāMotu #Taranaki #holiday #roadtrip

Finished reading: Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo 📚

Wow. That was a ride and a half!

Finished reading: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo 📚

Well crafted tale of magic, privilege, colleges, and the dead. Looking forward to the sequel.

Finished reading: The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan 📚

This one was fast and furious, gripping and gory. Excellent grimdark fantasy. Can’t wait for the sequel. #BookReview #Fantasy #Grimdark

Finished reading: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka 📚

A marvel. #mīharo

Here are some more of the books I finished reading in 2022:

{{< bookgoals 2022 >}}

Finished reading: Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis by Annie Proulx 📚

A troubling but gloriously well written call to action to save or rehabilitate or fens, bogs and swamps.

Started reading: Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr 📚

I was gifted this last Xmas - and didn’t get around to reading it. It has stayed at our beach house all year, and now we are back and it seems like a good time to start. 😜

Just arrived: The Wordhord by Hana Videen 📚

Heard a lot about this - can’t wait to dive in :)

Currently reading: The Glass Wall by Max Egremont 📚

This one is interesting so far - a travel book - but deeply steeped in the complex history of the Baltic states.

Today’s book purchase: “Procopius: The Secret History” (Folio Society, 1990) from the excellent Ferret Bookshop on Cuba St, Pōneke. 📚#Books #SecondHand #History #Roman #Byzantine #FolioSociety

Finished reading: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan 📚

Really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed the great story telling, the strong characters, and the exploration of traditional Chinese mythos in new ways.

Finished re-reading: The Ness Of Brodgar - As It Stands 📚- an overview of the current state of the excavations at this Neolithic site on Orkney. #Archaeology #Prehistory #Neolithic #Orkney

The Ness of Brodgar Excavation continues to uncover fascinating information about Neolithic Orkney:

At its zenith, in the main phase that we are currently exploring (dating from c 3100BC), the Ness was dominated by huge freestanding buildings flanked by a pair massive stone walls.

The best book on the Ness at present is The Ness of Brodgar: As It Stands (Orcadian, 2020)

I am very keen to visit this and other sites in Orkney at some point!

Finished reading: The Adventures of Ibn Battuta 📚- accounts of the 14thC travels of Ibn Battuta.

This exhibition at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York from October 2022 to February 2023 looks fascinating! Wish I could spare the time to go and see it. 

The exhibition covers the first known author by name in history - Enheduanna, the high priestess of the temple of the moon god in the city of Ur. She was the daughter of the Akkadian king Sargon (ca. 2344-2279 BC). Her poetry reflected her deep devotion to the goddess of sexual love and warfare—Inanna in Sumerian, Ishtar in Akkadian. 

She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia, ca. 3400–2000 BC