This is a new, provisionally named feature – shamelessly cribbed from the Unpopular Front substack – for all subscribers (although it may over time become exclusively for paid subs) where I pull back the curtain and briefly discuss the books, articles, podcasts, songs, albums, TV shows, films, and games that I’ve been enjoying, or at least consuming, over the last month. I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading/watching/playing/listening to, so please sound off in the comments!
Reading
Books
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist (Alexander Berkman, 1912) – partly inspired by the flood of discourse unleashed by Luigi Mangione’s assassination of healthcare company CEO Brian Thompson, and swathes of the internet learning about anarchism, I decided to dust off (figuratively, this was a Kindle read) this book that had been in my library for some time. I’m so glad I did. Alexander Berkman, a young Russian émigré, is sentenced to 22 years in prison for his attempt on the life of the industrialist Henry Clay Frick. Initially indifferent or downright hostile to his fellow prisoners, who he regards with scorn for their political complacency, Berkman’s walls of righteousness slowly crumble as he understands the depth of their humanity. Berkman chides himself for craving freedom but nevertheless attempts an audacious escape. He sees his friends crushed under the heel of brutality. He even – briefly, shimmeringly – falls in love with a fellow inmate, only to see him suffer a tragic fate. Then, he is released into a world he struggles to recognise. Inspiring, enraging, utterly human. An amazing work of art.
Minor Detail (Adania Shibli, 2016) – a story in two parts. The first, told from the perspective of an Israeli platoon commander, is a dramatised version of the true story of the abduction of a Palestinian girl/young woman in the Negev desert by Israeli soldiers who are there to clear the way for settlement. The second part, set in the modern day, focuses on an unnamed Palestinian woman living in Ramallah who learns about the abduction story and becomes totally fixated on understanding what happened and why it’s been largely forgotten. Writing in the spare, minimalist style of Albert Camus in “The Stranger”, Shibli (born in Palestine but now resident in Germany) uses the individual arcs of three people to help us comprehend the tragic reality of the occupation. Beautiful and haunting.
Essays
Gerald Murnane: An Idiot in the Greek Sense (Sydney Review of Books, 2015) – did you know that the person regarded by many Very Serious People as the best writer Australia has ever produced, and perhaps the best English-language writer alive in the world today, is an autodidact 85 year-old who lives in a town of 400 people halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide and claims to have never worn sunglasses or been on a plane? His name is Gerald Murnane, and in this great essay, Adelaide-born writer Shannon Burns recounts his experience meeting Murnane, and mulls over why he’s so underappreciated in his own country.
The Athletic for cricket (Good Areas, 2024) – there are a lot of great cricket writers and broadcasters out there. Gideon Haigh, Daniel Brettig, Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins, Isa Guha – the list goes on. Jarrod Kimber is every bit their equal, not to mention a bit of an inspiration as someone who’s built a recognisable brand from his sportswriting. In this essay, from last January, he considers the application of an Athletic-style business model to cricket writing.
Is literary criticism just a school of sophistry? (Woman of Letters, 2025) – in which Naomi Kanakia, with humour and panache, argues against the inherited meanings of classic works of literature and argues in favour of what she calls “lay reading”, a marriage of the book’s themes with one’s subjective experience of reading it. Polemic and fun.
Shouts in the Silence (Bounces, 2025) – before Alexander Zverev could start his runner-up speech following the Australian Open men’s singles final, a woman yelled out from the well-heeled crowd, “Australia believes Olya and Brenda!” Ben Rothenberg, who doggedly pursued the domestic abuse claims against Zverev before virtually anyone else in the tennis media, finds out what happened next.
Watching
Australian Open – self-explanatory. I gorge on the Open every year, which means at least one ground pass day during the early rounds, one or two night session visits, and a lot of concentrated couch time. We (meaning Australians in general, and Melburnians in particular) really are very lucky to have such an amazing tournament on our doorstep. Tennis is a brilliant TV sport because it’s a) tactically comprehensible; and b) psychologically compelling. I thought the men’s singles was slightly underwhelming this year. The early upsets of players like Taylor Fritz were exciting but ultimately deprived us of higher-quality matches later on, and the eventual outcome (Jannik Sinner lifting the trophy) was virtually guaranteed when Novak Djokovic opted to retire after the first set of his semi-final. The women’s singles, however, was a cracker. Madison Keys had an all-time run and was a very deserving – and popular – champion. Her presentation speech to her team (“You never stopped believing in me, even when I did”) brought a tear to the eye.
Silo, Season 2 (Apple TV, 2024) – is this a good show? To be honest, I don’t know. It feels like it should be a good show, or at least one I enjoy. A lot of the elements are there: an intriguing mystery, an interesting world, Tim Robbins. But the final product feels like less than the sum of its parts. The dialogue feels formulaic, there are some uneven acting performances, and I’m not convinced the writers have succeeded in making me care about the characters. A characteristic of mediocre writing is when characters breathlessly announce something that we’re clearly meant to interpret is very significant, but we don’t really understand why. Silo does this a bit (although not nearly as much as, say, Rings of Power). And Season 2 is sloooow going. But it’s somewhat redeemed by a good finale. I’ll probably keep watching.
Anora (2024) – finally, an answer to the question of “would a movie that combined Uncut Gems, Pretty Woman and a Coen Brothers farce be good?”. The answer is: yes. Very good, in fact. The title character – although she prefers “Ani” – is a stripper who’s offered a huge amount of money by a Russian princeling to be his live-in girlfriend for a week. Everything seems to be going well, until reality brusquely intrudes. This film has elements of nihilistic black comedy, but I think it’s actually an amazing and deeply humane character study, elevated by Mikey Madison’s brilliant performance. The little touches are great – the depiction of the Russian/Eastern European community in Brighton Beach, the cultural clash between Ani (who doesn’t speak much Russian) and the “real” Russians, Igor’s sympathy. And goon-related capers – who doesn’t love goon-related capers!?
Listening
Zelda Breath of the Wild ambience – I listen to lots of video game soundtracks while writing. Some of them, like StarCraft, SimCity 3000, and Age of Empires II, are intensely nostalgic. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Breath of the Wild ambience might not hit those same pleasure centres, but they scratch an itch that other ambient/ASMR-type soundtracks can’t.
Talking Politics: History of Ideas– hosted by David Runciman, this excellent spin-off podcast series explores some of the most important ideas, and the people who had them, which form the foundation of modern politics. Perfect for people who’ve always felt a little guilty about not knowing more about Hobbes, Arendt, Nietzche, etc. Runciman is an excellent host, and manages to make every episode riveting despite them basically being monologues. No wonder he apparently resigned his Cambridge professorship in 2024 to become a full-time podcaster. The new economy!
Playing
Stacklands – a charming, deceptively deep deck/village-builder from the prolific Dutch games studio, Sokpop. I’d not played it for a while, but the new (and excellent) 2000 expansion has given me a second wind. As I’m writing this, the base game is less than a tenner on Steam. You won’t regret it.
Speaking of possible regret, if you suddenly stop hearing from me around mid-February, then I’ve caved to the temptation of playing Civilization VII.
What have you been enjoying, or at least trying to enjoy, lately? Let me know!