Looking for some post-election reads to de-stress during summer vacation? We’ve collected the must-haves from our colleagues here at ECDA on what to read or watch this summer. With a clear need to break from the last few months’ election frenzy, you won’t find anything on campaigning or elections, just some enjoyable reading and movie options. Check out our curated selection below for something to tuck into your suitcase or stream with some popcorn.
Books
1. Tomorrow sex will be good again, Women and Desire in the Age of Consent - Kathrine Angel - The book examines the complexities surrounding contemporary discussions on consent, desire, and sexual autonomy. It explores the critiques on the oversimplification of these concepts in modern discourse, particularly how they intersect with feminist thought and the #MeToo movement.
2. Good Morning, Monster - Catherine Gildiner - A therapist shares the compelling stories of five of her most memorable patients, each facing profound emotional challenges rooted in their pasts. Through years of therapy, these individuals embody resilience and perseverance as they uncover and confront the deep-seated sources of their suffering, offering an insightful and moving look into the healing process.
3. The Verso Book of Dissent: Revolutionary Words from Three Millennia of Rebellion and Resistance (2020 edition) - Preface by Tariq Ali; Edited by Andrew Hsiao and Audrea Lim - An anthology of various texts, plays, songs and poems that constituted a struggle against power through ages. It is a complete collection that starts from classical age authors, like Hesiod and Sapho, and ends with contemporary ones, such as Pussy Riot and Greta Thunberg.
4. Queer Nature: A Poetry Anthology - edited by Michael Walsh - An anthology of contemporary nature poetry that centers LGBTQIA+ voices, featuring over two hundred queer writers from the nineteenth to twenty-first century, offering new perspectives on queerness and the natural world.
5. Travelers in the Third Reich, the rise of fascism in the eyes of the everyday people - Julia Boyd - The book explores the experiences and perspectives of foreign visitors in Nazi Germany before World War II. Through diaries, letters, and memoirs, the book provides a nuanced view of how the regime was perceived by outsiders, revealing both admiration and alarm. It illustrates the complexities and contradictions of life under Hitler's rule as seen through the eyes of diplomats, tourists, students, and journalists.
6. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari - An exploration of humanity's creation and evolution, integrating history and science to offer new perspectives on what it means to be human and speculating on our future.
7. For the Love of Men: A New Vision for Mindful Masculinity - Liz Plank - An insightful guide that explores the evolution of masculinity and offers actionable steps for fostering mindful masculinity in the modern world, addressing toxic behaviors and societal expectations.
8. This is How it Always Is - Laurie Frankel - The story of one family’s journey with a transgender child exploring the themes of secrets, transformation, and the unpredictable challenges of parenting.
9. I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi - Gina Siciliano - A graphic novel about the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, an Italian painter who was at the same time super popular and almost forgotten. The book nicely guides through the struggles that women had to pass to become even remotely recognised as professionals, including economical, psychological and physical violence. It also shows the strength and power that women have to protect their loved ones from what they had to endure.
10. Out of the Darkness: The Germans, 1942-2022 - Frank Trentmann - A historical complete overview that explores Germany's transformation from the devastation and moral reckoning of World War II to its role as a moral leader in Europe, examining the nation's complex journey through a range of diverse voices and pivotal events.
11. Black Milk: On Writing, Motherhood, and the Harem Within - Elif Shafak - A writer’s testimony of her personal experience through postpartum depression and how it affected her intimate relations with other people as well as her writing.
12. 'Twas the Night Before Pride - Joanna McClintick - A children’s book on the importance and fundamentals of Pride.
13. The granddaughter - Bernhard Schlink - The novel delves into the intertwined themes of love, loss, and reconciliation as Kaspar, grieving his wife's death, uncovers her secret granddaughter. His quest to find her takes him to a rural neo-Nazi community, where he forms an unexpected and profound bond with the young girl, striving to bridge their disparate worlds.
14. One Nation Under Guns: How Gun Culture Distorts Our History and Threatens Our Democracy - Dominic Erdozain - A critique of American gun culture, arguing that the Second Amendment was not intended to guarantee an individual right to bear arms, and that this misinterpretation poses a severe threat to democracy. Through a historical analysis, the author contends that reclaiming the founders' (of the United States) vision of freedom is essential to addressing the modern scourge of gun violence.
15. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead - Olga Tokarczuk, Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Translator), Beata Poźniak (Narrator) - Beyond the mainstream, there are people who fall between the cracks, who live in the fringes, who explore alternative ways of existing, relating to nature, science and the rest of society. This novel examines one such woman living in a forest on the border of Poland and the Czech Republic.
Movies & TV series
1. 20,000 Species of Bees (2023) - The story of the self-discovery of a transgender girl written and directed by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren in her debut film.
2. Maya Angelou And Still I Rise (2016) - An enjoyable documentary about the activist and poet Maya Angelou including some of the untold aspects of her life and professional career.
3. Pose (2018 - 2021) - A TV series that tells the story of ball culture and the gay and trans community in New York City during the late '80s and early '90s, the raging AIDS crisis, and the impact that neoliberalism had on minority communities.
4. The Platform (2019) - A horror movie that addresses dystopia, survival, and class struggle through the ordeals of the prisoners in a science-fiction-like environment.
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