Pauline O’Reilly
Green Party Senator
Out Of The Wreckage - New Politics For An Age In Crisis by George Monbiot
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THIS BOOK speaks of the extraordinarily altruistic nature of human beings. An award-winning political and environmental journalist, George Monbiot has reason to look at the world we live in and despair.
Indeed, he speaks of a political and economic system driven by extreme competition and individualism, and yet, the magic of this succinct book is that it captures the kindness of people and describes how we are happiest when we live in a just world.
He says we have a unique ability as a species to care for others and it is this mismatch between our economic system and our true nature that drives alienation and loneliness.
'A political system that better reflects our humanity starts with reclaiming community'
As I write, it strikes me that the first step he describes - perceiving the disconnect between who we are and the nature of the political world we live in - is coming into focus because of this period of a common shock we are all experiencing.
Covid-19 has made us re-evaluate what matters. It has given an opportunity for local communities to positively come together in previously unimagined ways. Monbiot describes some of the ways in which we can move to a political system that better reflects our humanity, but he says it starts with reclaiming community, by focusing on local delivery of services and public participation in budgeting.
Fundamentally this is a book about a political system that allows us to come home to ourselves.
Eddie Hoare
Fine Galway Galway City Central councillor
Legacy by James Kerr
RELEASED IN 2013 this book goes deep into the heart of the world’s most successful sporting team, the legendary All Blacks of New Zealand, to reveal some powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business.
While this book focuses on the All Blacks story, there is something in it for all walks of life. It draws on one’s personal responsibility which ultimately harnesses natural born leaders.
We have become accustomed to the all-conquering All Blacks of the modern era. This was not always the case. It involved a culture shift built on a number of traits such as sweeping the sheds, following the spearhead, and leaving the jersey in a better place.
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Sweeping the Sheds: Before leaving the dressing room at the end of the game, some of the most famous names in world rugby stop and tidy up after themselves. They literally ‘sweep the sheds’. This is an example of personal humility, a trait most successful leaders possess.
Follow the Spearhead: A spearhead has three tips. To be effective, all of its force must move in one direction. Not a single part of the spearhead should deviate from what bonds the team together. Similar to the migrating Canadian geese analogy Alex Ferguson famously used in his Ryder Cup motivational speech in 2014.
Leave the Jersey in a better place: The All Blacks represent all those who have come before them and all those who follow suit. Better people make better All Blacks – but they also make better politicians, doctors, business owners, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends.
Claire VanValkenburg
Writer, digital media specialist, science communicator
Girls Will Be Girls by Emer O’Toole
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IN GIRLS Will Be Girls, readers watch O’Toole partake in various gender experiments like using men’s toilets in drag, growing out her armpit hair, and subsequently shouting, “Get your pits out for the lads,” on national television.
I read this book two years ago, and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I was struck by the fragility of femininity. It took the mere presence of armpit hair to earn O’Toole the title of, 'international face of female body hair'.
In harmony with this are deeply rooted societal expectations of gender. Society tells us what we should smell like through gendered deodorants, for example. (I prefer sandalwood, personally ). O’Toole discusses how experimenting with gender norms transformed her body into a political protest by simply existing; like how the presence of her leg hair on public transport created palpable uncomfort.
'A non-fiction feminist memoir that is an accessible place to start for those looking to dabble in gender theory'
O’Toole shows readers there is power in body hair, in purchasing “the wrong” deodorant, in gesturing certain ways, in taking up space, in wearing or not wearing specific clothing. Her experiments illuminate the boring gender expectations we’ve been habitualized to accept and encourages readers to experiment on levels they are comfortable with.
Girls Will Be Girls is a non-fiction feminist memoir that is an accessible place to start for those looking to dabble in gender theory. If messing with gender sounds like your cup of tea, then quarantine has been the perfect time to experiment with body hair, self-expression, and presentation. I think O’Toole would agree.
