The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-made Landscape by James Howard Kunstler
A classic in urban planning, covering the downside of post-war American urban design. It dates from 1993 so but still 90% relevant. 3/5
A Year in Paris: Season by Season in the City of Light
by John Baxter
A series of short chapters arranged in seasonal sections on Paris, People, the Author’s life and the French Revolutionary Calendar. Plenty of Interest. 3/5
These Happy Golden Years: Little House Series, Book 8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Covering Laura’s short time as a schoolteacher (aged 15!) and her courting with husband-to-be Almanzo. Most action is in the first half of the book though. 3/5
Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World by Matt Alt
In depth chapters on things the Walkman, Game Boy and Hello Kitty traces Japans rise first in hardware and then in cultural influence. Excellent story 4/5
On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist by Clarissa Ward
A conflict-reporter memoir of her life and career. Based mainly in Moscow, Baghdad, and Beirut she especially goes into detail of her missions into Syria during it’s civil war. 3/5
My Scoring System
- 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
- 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
- 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
- 2/5 = Disappointing
- 1/5 = Did not like at all
