Well, it’s the first of June, and it feels like summer has been here for weeks already. I keep trying for four books per month in order to get one read every week, and I don’t quite manage every month, but this time I did. Hopefully long, light June evenings on the terrace will help me improve, but for now, here are the titles I read last month:

Poltava (Englund) – the first book I’ve read in Swedish for a while, and what magnificent Swedish! It describes the destruction of the Carolinian army in Ukraine in gory detail, but also provides a look at the psyche of people back in early 1700’s, and how foot soldiers can be made to make the ultimate sacrifice for little or no reason. Seemed topical. 4.5/5

Under the skin (Villarosa) – a harrowing, unflinching look at what it means to be Black/Brown in the US, specifically in regard to health care, and with special attention to the compounding effects of intersectionality. Not an easy read. I knew it was bad, but not that bad. 4/5

A Thousand Brains (Hawkins) – an interesting insight into the brain and how it functions, this also offers an exposé of what intelligence is, and what it can mean for our species. Fittingly, it’s thought-provoking. 4.5/5

Learning in the zone (Magana) – this book purports to describe habits of meta learning. It does not. This is the worst jumble of pseudo-scientific goobledigook I have ever had the bad luck of encountering. Awash with cryptically contorted nonsense-statements and with precious little on offer in terms of actual advice, this book serves one purpose only: providing a zero on the scale on which to measure good books. 0/5