Amanda Jones > Recent Status Updates

Half way through but already putting this book on the You Gotta Read This shelf. On the chapter, The Illusion of Validity.

I'm worried for Jude. Come on Jude, don't lose that scholarship. Please Ms Bennett, don't let that happen. I'm rooting for Jude to be a doctor. Come on!

I'm loving how 'different' this is, storywise, it's refreshing. I'm loving the natural, authentic flow of Trini English dialect too. I feel the expression 'an dem' has been shortened to 'them' which sounds more Jamaican - but it's written for the international reader so I guess the Jamaican expression, like 'gal dem' is easier to relate to. Having said all that, maybe some Trinis don't say 'an dem'. Could be limited.

Striking thing so far is how emotionally involved it is. It's one thing to feel you're in a character's head. It's another to feel you're experiencing their very being.

Just skipped ahead to the chapter 'Number Four, The Avenue, 9 July 1976.' Laughed out loud when I read the last few pages!

Loved the scene between Michel Jean and Hardin Burnley!

Totally awed. The best work of fiction I've read for some time.

This is a book that, in the light of ongoing arguments made for Brexit that refer to Parliamentary sovereignty, and the knowledge of which MPs in Parliament make those arguments, should make us furious at the hypocrisy. Those who happily thwart parliament’s function are the ones arguing so passionately that the EU has too much sway and power. Clearly it is they wanting more sway to continue and augment their abuse.

Caroline is one of the most sincere bright knowledgeable lights in UK political life. She lays out simple factual arguments that somehow seem to be beyond anything that emerges on panel shows like BBCQT and Politics Live. Can’t interviewers draw out the facts that matter? No wonder we are so ignorant. We hear so many tennis match arguments that are bereft of the convincing details that matter!

Caroline Lucas stands out for being willing to speak the truth without fear of favour. We need a politics that is not dissociated from truth in order to curry favour by perpetuating mythical ideas. To pander to social bias rather than challenge it shows a lack of moral courage. And this lazy political approach leads to policies with no moral substance.

Wow! I moved to the UK in 2012 and paid little to no attention to politics till 2015. This book is revelatory. My perception of the 2010-2015 UK government is being radically transformed as I learn more about Ian Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson. Austerity may be regarded as a misguided policy but in many ways, the ‘benign’ confident Cameron was captain on an ideologically driven, evidence-bereft irresponsible ship

The antidote to despair!!! I’ve been musing in recent years on the need for a new economics and politics, where evidence and ethics are paramount and money is a servant not a god. I’ve been saying we need to reform capitalism - and a green revolution can power the new economy ....but with the ever increasing polarisation in politics, how to pursue radical change without bloodshed? FALC is an argument we can win.

Okay, listen up. This is a must read for the average inhabitant of this planet. Get a copy for you, a few for the local library and some for your friends.

Very exciting! Most optimistic take on our present reality I’ve run into in a while. Already, together with Rutger Bergman’s ‘Utopia for Realists’ this is a book I’m encouraging everyone to read! And I’m only on page 60.

Very exciting! Most optimistic take on our present reality I’ve run into in a while. Already, together with Rutger Bergman’s ‘Utopia for Realists’ this is a book I’m encouraging everyone to read! And I’m only on page 60.

If you have to choose a few from many, include this one ... even if you think you had great parental modelling experiences as a child - but particularly if you didn’t. My eldest is 16 and I’ve been looking for this kind of guidance for as long as I can remember.

Very engaging! Great dialogue and sense of time and place!