Stephen Holland - Multimedia Journalist

  Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan My rating: 4 of 5 stars In Megan Nolan’s debut novel, Acts of Desperation , we get a glimpse into the interior romantic life of an unnamed narrator, her co-dependent relationship with a boy named Ciaran, and the consequences of obsessive love. Romantic attachments can be so frustratingly complicated. Sometimes from the outside it is easy to look at a relationship and see everything that is wrong with it. But just like the narrator’s friends in this book there is nothing you can do to stop it. You can see from the outset that the road she is walking down is paved with heartache and pain. That this is going to end in disaster. But unless you are the person in the relationship, you will never truly understand it. But that is what Nolan does with this novel, she makes us understand. Told through first person we get to experience the anxieties, self-destructive tendencies, and hedonistic indulgences of a young girl in Dublin who craves validation f...

The current lockdown situation is a difficult time for everyone. It can lead to feelings of isolation and hopelessness. When people are separated from their friends, family and loved ones, it’s easy to feel emotionally and spiritually bereft. Books are one source that can help ease the burden of seclusion. A truly great novel can teach us things about ourselves and help to give us strength and resilience that we never knew we had. Here are just a few books that I read when I feel like I need some guidance on this earth. I think each of these stories in their own way have something to tell us about the nature of the human condition, what it means to be alive, and how even when you’re feeling your most hopeless, there can always be a light at the end of the tunnel.  The Five People You Meet in Heaven This heart-warming novel by Mitch Albom examines what it means to exist on this planet and the events that unwittingly effect our experience of being alive. It follows the life and death...

  Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution  by  Sara Marcus My rating:  4 of 5 stars Riot Grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement in the early 1990s. It is most commonly associated with music, but it was more than that. It was about politics, it was about being heard, it was about giving young women a safe space for the first time in their lives to openly discuss issues that affected them. Not just through music, but by circulating zines and holding meetings. Riot Grrrl addressed issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, classism, anarchism and female empowerment. Through bands like Bikini Kill, Heavens to Betsy and Bratmobile, the movement gave voice to women’s discontent in the notoriously male-centric punk scene. The ripple effect of this movement can still be seen all over the world today and laid the groundwork for modern activist groups like Pussy Riot in Moscow. In Girls to the Front, Sara Marcus has wr...

Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World by Jason Hickel My rating: 5 of 5 stars Less Is More is a book by economic anthropologist Jason Hickel. It examines the reality of climate change in the world today and tackles the true root of the problem: Capitalism. This book explains that if we truly wish to overcome the largest issue humanity has ever faced, that there is only one solution and that is degrowth. Capitalism is run on the concept of perpetual economic expansion, but the consequence of this is that it will never be enough. There is no end point to capitalism, there is no moment when giant corporations say, “Okay, that’s enough money, time to restore the amazon”. If we wish to restore the planet and save it from utter destruction, we need to find balance and that balance is diametrically opposed to the values of capitalism. These are the concepts that Hickel outlines in his book, offering statistics and examples that would shock and appal even the most staunchly con...