Handpicked reads for word lovers, etymology enthusiasts, and anyone who believes language is an adventure.
Burma Chronicles
Guy Delisle
Delisle's graphic travelogue revolves around a year spent in Burma (also known as Myanmar) with his wife and son. Burma is notorious for its use of concealment and isolation as social control: where scissor-wielding censors monitor the papers, the de-facto leader of the opposition has been under decade-long house arrest, insurgent-controlled regions are effectively cut off from the world, and rumour is the most reliable source of current information. Delisle covers all of this and more, from his very conscious foreign eyes, in the most adorable and accessible way possible.
A Wonderland of Word: Around the Word in 101 Essays
Shashi Tharoor
Tharoor takes us through interesting facts about languages and words in his much-loved witty and humorous style. I would recommend this book to all logophiles (lovers of words)!
As a thirtysomething going through a where-do-I-go-from-here crisis, this was a comforting read. As is suggested by the title, the phenomena of 'ghosting' does a decent job of getting that theme across; however, I find in Alderton's debut numerous meanings and kinds of ghosts. It is a sharp and witty account of the thirtysomething life, with her language very tacitly carrying the ambivalence and difficulties of human relationships.
In “Yellowface,” R.F. Kuang satirizes the publishing industry with a tale of a struggling writer who passes off her recently deceased friend’s book as her own. I found it to be a thrilling, exhilarating, and wickedly funny.
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism
Sarah Wynn-Williams
This book is Sarah Wynn-Williams' account of having worked at Facebook (now Meta) for several years before she was let go. Albeit a holier-than-thou perspective, Williams book does shed light on the bizarre tech world and its carelessness in dealing with the world and its own people. It is very much a story about greed, power, and influence, written in a perfectly readable, often hilarious tone. I enjoyed reading it. As a non-tech person, it did reveal a lot to me!
