Suswati Basu

📚 Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia: human cost of AI's data colonialism - review Murgia’s “Code Dependent” serves as a critique of "data colonialism" where state and corporate powers use tech to exert control over vulnerable populations.

📚 A Flat Place by Noreen Masud on trauma and its link to land - review “A Flat Place” by Noreen Masud illustrates her multifaceted connection to flat landscapes —serving not only as a reflection of her emotional numbness and derealisation but also as a symbol of the enduring, unchangeable impact of her traumatic past. The flat landscapes metaphorically represent the erasure of history and personal trauma, much like the draining of the fens removed the natural history and biodiversity.

📚 Knife by Salman Rushdie: a memoir about mortality - review Salman Rushdie challenges the notion of fault and responsibility for the attack, ultimately rejecting any regret over his decisions: “To regret what your life has been is the true folly”.

📚 Hannah Durkin: the Clotilda slave ship and its lasting legacy - review The Clotilda story is more than just about Alabama. It is a fragment of a wider story about transatlantic slavery, and these 110 captives represent a fraction of the 12.5 million people involved.

📚 Jami Attenberg: 1000 Words shows writing as a formidable collective act - review Our minds are travellers, wizards, psychiatrists, and scientists all at the same time. And for Christopher Gonzalez, writing offers “a second chance to live unfettered by insecurity or self-doubt,” while Attica Locke describes the process as “fun,” suggesting it as another form of play. What it shows us is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all to writing – it is as individual as a fingerprint or a signature.

📚 Post Office scandal: Nick Wallis on how we got here - review “An attempt to abuse the legal process in this way is almost unthinkable. But it happened, and it wasn’t just a badly trained Post Office employee acting alone.” Often, when reading an investigation that seems one-sided, it's easy to criticise the book for a lack of balanced reporting. However, in this case, Wallis frequently exposes the general disregard and shocking attitudes of key figures within the institution.

📚 Not the End of the World: Hannah Ritchie's optimism amid climate crisis - review She asserts, "doomsday is no better than denial," reminding us that extreme pessimism is as counterproductive as outright denial of climate issues. She urges young people to think about their “truly unique position” in delivering a sustainable future, and hones in on the fact that we still have options.

📚 A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: a snapshot of a wider issue - review Nathan Thrall challenges readers to see beyond the surface of events and understand the larger context in which they occur. He questions how a situation could deteriorate to the point where such a tragedy becomes almost inevitable.

📚 Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: love letter to Gaza children - review "Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear" by Mosab Abu Toha embodies a fusion of devastation and magnificence, illustrating how amid the perpetual struggle for survival, there exist everyday delights in the minutiae of life—whether it be in the melodies, the olive groves, or the warm aroma of freshly

📚 Endgame book: Omid Scobie and the problem of hearsay - review "[Two] troubled institutions now require each other for relevance in a culture that, to a large degree, is moving on without them." If these are the [royal] sources we are relying on for information, it may be necessary to assess the accuracy and reliability of the information we consider as truth. If the monarchy is genuinely meant to have a celestial mandate to govern, it is imperative that we elevate ourselves beyond sensational tabloid content and their malicious methods of operation.