Matt Lloyd-Rose, author

As someone who has experience as a caregiver, elementary school educator, and volunteer officer, I am constantly searching for literary works that delve into significant societal issues. I am particularly drawn to poignant and poetic books such as Claudia Rankine’s Citizen and Matthew Desmond’s Evicted.

I have noticed a lack of books on education, community, care, and inclusion compared to the abundance of excellent new works on related subjects like climate and health. These books can sometimes be challenging to locate as they are often categorized under Politics, Memoir, or Smart Thinking instead of having a dedicated Society section in bookstores.

I have recently been creating my own collection of books related to society. One of the newest additions is “Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It” by Emily Kenway. This captivating and well-written book is a combination of memoir and manifesto, focused on the topic of caregiving. Kenway shares her personal experiences of caring for her mother and argues for the importance of placing care at the forefront of society. This book is both thought-provoking and emotional, weaving together extensive research with touching anecdotes.

I have been also reading the book “Labours of Love: The Crisis of Care” by Madeleine Bunting alongside “Who Cares”. While this may sound like an abundance of discussion on care and crisis, the two books actually complement each other perfectly. Bunting’s book is just as radical, but with a wider scope, delving into topics such as parenting, nursing, and palliative care. Through incorporating the voices of her interviewees, Bunting presents a compelling argument for reevaluating the importance and value of care in society. Bunting writes, “No one can afford to overlook the subject of care.” Her emotionally charged, thought-provoking book gives a renewed sense of urgency and intrigue to the concept of care.

To provide a comparison, I will mention two other recent favorites. I thoroughly enjoyed poet Hannah Sullivan’s second anthology, “Was It for This,” which consists of exceptional lengthy poems about themes such as loss, time, childhood, and aging.

I was captivated by the powerful narrative of Locks, written by Ashleigh Nugent. The novel follows the journey of a biracial youth from Liverpool as he travels to Jamaica to reconnect with his heritage, but soon finds himself imprisoned in a detention center. The story is engaging, poetic, wise, perceptive, and filled with humor.

“Into the Night” is a book by Matt Lloyd-Rose, published by Picador and available in paperback on March 7th for £10.99. To support the Guardian and Observer, you can purchase a copy at guardianbookshop.com. Lloyd-Rose also publishes the newsletter “Social Imagining” weekly.

Louise, Guardian reader

I really loved reading Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s The Most Secret Memory of Men and it’s stayed on my mind. The use of language, the complex plot, and the nods to global literature all made it incredibly engaging. I was particularly struck by the observations about French literature. I’m eagerly anticipating its possible inclusion on the longlist for the International Booker prize – it definitely deserves it!

Anne Sebba, author

Rewritten:

A long flight provides the perfect opportunity to immerse oneself in a book and I recently had the pleasure of delving into the novel, “Code Dependent” by Madhumita Murgia. The book highlights the potential risks that come with unchecked development of AI, but also sheds light on the positive possibilities it holds. Ultimately, I was comforted by the arguments presented and gained a better understanding that many aspects of AI have been present for quite some time. Nonetheless, it is crucial for us to remain vigilant.

As a judge for the inaugural Women’s prize for non-fiction, I have had the opportunity to embark on several imaginary journeys over the past few months. Led by experts in their respective fields, I have journeyed from Jamaica to Lahore, South Asia, and the Philippines, discovering new lands, ideas, and approaches to writing about timeless emotions. From the 16 books on the longlist, I have chosen just a few to highlight. As a biographer, I am impressed by how others in my field find innovative ways to approach the genre. One book that particularly stood out to me was Anna Funder’s Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life, which blends elements of memoir and biography to explore the life of George Orwell and his first wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy. Funder skillfully sheds light on the nature of Orwell’s brilliance and the often-overlooked support he received from Eileen. Through her writing, Funder eloquently discusses the themes of male privilege and the unacknowledged contributions of domestic help, which she believes still exist in society today.

Leah Redmond Chang effectively transports readers to 16th-century Europe in her book, Young Queens: The Intertwined Lives of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary, Queen of Scots. Through her captivating writing, Chang explores the lives of female monarchs, specifically Catherine de’ Medici, her daughter Elisabeth de Valois (who became Queen of Spain), and Mary, Queen of Scots. Despite their considerable power, these three queens were well aware of their position in a male-dominated world.

Chang writes beautifully and clearly about complicated events of world history, religion and dynastic strife. Retaining a good eye for the telling details of what it meant to be a woman when so little was known (rather than surmised) about pregnancy and childbirth, and a mother, she draws her reader deeply into these women’s lives.

These are bold stories confidently told, but I’ve also loved reading a poetic memoir of growing up with an oppressive father in a devout Rastafari family in Jamaica – How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair – and an account of the drug wars in the Philippines by courageous investigative journalist Patricia Evangelista – Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in the Philippines. Shocking aspects of both these stories have remained to haunt me. Go and seek these books out, along with the rest of the impressive books on the Women’s prize longlist!

Brian, Guardian reader

I recently read Dolphin Junction by Mick Herron, which is a well-crafted anthology of short stories with the author’s clever weaving of humor and plot. I also delved into Richard Thaler’s Misbehaving, a compelling overview of a key economic and political concept of the early 2000s. This book also has its own clever humor.

Source: theguardian.com