Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino

From Storygraph: At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different; she also possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of earthlings.

My Thoughts: Recommended by Engie and Lisa. This is not really sci-fi, as much as it is about growing up, identity, working out the world and our place in it. I really enjoyed Adina’s point of view, and laughed out loud at some of the descriptions sent back. 4-stars

Careless People: A Story of where I used to work – Sarah Wynn-Williams

From Storygraph: Sarah Wynn-Williams, a young diplomat from New Zealand, pitched for her dream job. She saw Facebook’s potential and knew it could change the world for the better. But, when she got there and rose to its top ranks, things turned out a little different.

My Thoughts: Details the very poor corporate culture at Facebook. I do think describing their actions as careless as a bit of a let off, most of the time they were appraised of the damage but put profits above people, so basically selfish and immoral. I thought Wynn-Williams was quite naive believing she could make a difference, especially once she got a clearer lay of the land. The treatment she put up with was appalling, but systematic of the ridiculous situation in the US where leaving employment can lead to loss of health insurance. Coupled with non-disclosure clauses in contracts it’s a recipe that enables corporate abuse of employees. It confirmed my choice to deactivate my Facebook account. There was actually a time before the algorithm when Facebook was useful and good, but of course they couldn’t make money from it like that so they had to enshittify it. 3-stars because the author stayed too long at Facebook.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

From Storygraph: Amina al-Sirafi has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.

But when she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse, she jumps at the chance for one final adventure with her old crew that will make her a legend and offers a fortune that will secure her and her family’s future forever.

My Thoughts: This was great fun, what more do I need to say? Recommended by Engie. 4.5-stars

The New Social Contract: Renewing the Liberal Vision for Australia by Tim Wilson

From Storygraph: A new generation of Australians are walking away from the liberal promise and embracing socialism in a way that was unthinkable before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The New Social Contract offers a powerful proposal for restoring liberalism’s appeal to Australian voters.

It situates Australian liberalism today broadly within the British, American and European tradition, but also explains what is distinctive about Australian liberals. At the core of Australian liberalism is a commitment to the interests of the individual. These interests include the freedom of the individual, but they also extend beyond it to include participation in an open and just society. It is only when liberal politicians demonstrate a genuine commitment to policy making that advances the full range of interests of individuals will they enjoy the confidence of Australian voters.

My Thoughts: This book is written by my current federal member of parliament. (Note for US readers, the Liberal Party are on the right/conservative side of our politics). The first few chapters of this book looked at the historical vision of the liberal party, and the theory behind the Australian version of liberalism. There was nothing I would really argue with in these chapters. Then he clearly articulated the challenges facing Australian society, especially the problems of inter-generational justice. The last chapter, in which I had hoped to see some concrete ideas for addressing the problems, was extremely disappointing. He dropped into more standard political posturing and offered no possible solutions. I do wonder what he thinks of the latest shenanigans of the federal liberal party, and the posturing of Senator Price, and whether he and the few moderates left can work to transform the liberal party into a serious option to govern Australia.

Lines of note:

“Keeping economic and social systems open necessitates not creating artificial barriers for younger generations to accumulate property through barriers of taxation or regulation-such as one-off large taxes that favour established interests that already hold capital and continue holding it because of the tax barriers to transactions.”

“In Australia, the challenge that liberalism faces is that it has drifted away from the core principle of advancing the empowerment of individuals, to focusing obsessively on freedom of the individual as part of the neo-liberal era, and has lost its ballast around a liberal conception of justice. Imbalanced liberalism risks diminishing electoral appeal as it no longer offers the best avenue for individuals to live the fullness of their aspirations and their lives. The neo-liberal era has increasingly allowed distant, unaccountable, and centralised political power and capital to gain the upper hand.”

“The Economist magazine devoted a special issue to rediscovering the importance of the traditions and strengths of open societies for a modern context. Today, societies seem so open that, in order to regain some form of control, the certainty that can be achieved by reversing the tide and closing the economy or society to pursue security seems irresistible. It is misplaced. Closure is not needed for control. Instead, we need to return to a way of life in which society, the economy, and governance are built from citizens and communities rather than from capital city elites and centalised authority”

“Older Australians have had their chance to succeed, and they should want every individual in every generation that follows to have that same freedom to live their best lives too. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the young have been prepared to compassionately sacrifice their interests to contain a crisis that disproportionately affects the elderly. That sacrifice is real in their education, their incomes, and their career progression. In the coming years, we shall all need to confront the economic cost of a health crisis that will disproportionately burden the next generation. That imbalance already existed. The pandemic has just made it more extreme.”

3-stars