If you are looking for some books to enrich your mind and soul in the new year, you might want to check out the books of the year 2023 selected by the contributors of The Times Literary Supplement (TLS). These books offer a diverse and stimulating range of perspectives and insights on various aspects of human culture, history, and experience. Whether you are interested in fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose, classics or contemporary, you will find something to suit your taste and curiosity among these titles.
Some of the books mentioned are:
Against Decolonisation: Campus culture wars and the decline of the West by David Abulafia, a critique of the academic movement that seeks to erase the legacy of Western civilization.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power by Shoshana Zuboff, a groundbreaking analysis of how big tech companies exploit our data and manipulate our behavior.
The Anarchy: The relentless rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple, a vivid account of how a private corporation conquered and plundered a vast empire.
The Body: A guide for occupants by Bill Bryson, a witty and informative tour of the human anatomy and physiology.
The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman, the second volume of the prequel trilogy to the His Dark Materials series, following the adventures of Lyra and her daemon in a parallel world.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, a charming and uplifting illustrated book about friendship and kindness.
The British in India: Three centuries of ambition and experience by David Gilmour, a comprehensive and nuanced history of the lives and legacies of the British in India.
The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the friends who shaped an age by Leo Damrosch, a lively and engaging portrait of the eighteenth-century literary circle that included Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Edmund Burke, and others.
The Collected Poems of Iain Crichton Smith edited by Matt McGuire, a definitive edition of the works of one of the most important Scottish poets of the twentieth century.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins, a Gothic novel that explores the themes of race, class, and gender through the story of a former slave accused of murdering her master and mistress in London.
One of the books that caught my attention is Against Decolonisation: Campus culture wars and the decline of the West by David Abulafia, a professor of Mediterranean history at Cambridge University. In this book, Abulafia challenges the academic movement that seeks to undermine and erase the achievements and values of Western civilization, arguing that it is based on a distorted and selective reading of the past. He defends the importance of studying the Western tradition and its contributions to the world, while acknowledging its flaws and limitations. He also criticizes the politicization and polarization of the humanities and social sciences, and calls for a more balanced and rigorous approach to education and scholarship. This book is a provocative and timely intervention in the debate over the role and relevance of the West in the global context.
Another book that intrigued me is The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The fight for a human future at the new frontier of power by Shoshana Zuboff, a professor emerita at Harvard Business School. In this book, Zuboff exposes the hidden and harmful practices of the big tech companies that collect and commodify our personal data, and use it to influence and manipulate our behavior. She argues that this new form of capitalism poses a grave threat to our democracy, our privacy, and our autonomy, and that we need to resist and reclaim our rights and dignity as human beings. This book is a groundbreaking and eye-opening analysis of the digital economy and its implications for our society and our future.
A third book that appealed to me is The Anarchy: The relentless rise of the East India Company by William Dalrymple, a historian and writer who specializes in the history of India and the Islamic world. In this book, Dalrymple tells the astonishing story of how a private corporation, the East India Company, managed to conquer and plunder a vast and rich empire, India, with the help of a ruthless and corrupt network of mercenaries, bankers, and politicians. He reveals the devastating consequences of this corporate imperialism for the millions of Indians who suffered under its rule, and the lasting impact of this episode on the history and culture of both India and Britain. This book is a vivid and compelling account of one of the most remarkable and tragic chapters in world history.
These are just some of the books that I found interesting and worth reading from the TLS list. There are many more books that cover a wide range of genres and topics, from fiction and poetry to history and science, from classics and biography to politics and philosophy. I recommend you to browse through the list and see if any of them catch your interest. You might discover some new and exciting books that will enrich your mind and soul in the new year. Happy reading!
