Skip to main content
Português
Library - Filipe Medeiros

Library

Books, articles, etc. that I've read and recommend or that I want to check out in the near future. If an item has a checkmark "✓", that means I've read it, listened to it, etc.

  1. Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei

    Manifesto of the Communist Party

    ✓

    Karl Marx
    Friederich Engels

    Very interesting. Honestly, I only felt compelled to read this because of its statute as a classic. I think no marxist should call themselves that without reading (at least) this Manifesto, especially given how short and quick to read it is. The text's language has some peculiarities, of course due to when it was written, but it is generally easy to understand. It seems to me that some topics are very specific to what the authors were living through, during those days, in Europe, and, for that reason, it's hard for someone with a lack of historical context — like me — to get and feel everything perfectly. Even so, it positively surprised me! Mainly because of its mentions to women (in its call for their emancipation) and to Nature (in the recognition of its exploitation by the capitalist systems). I recommend this book to any leftist.

    ⤤

  2. Não foi por falta de aviso/Ainda o apanhamos!

    Portugal, a Europa e a ameaça autoritária/Crónicas do Portugal futuro

    ✓

    Rui Tavares

    At multiple points during the book, I felt like screaming, but especially reading the "Não foi por falta de aviso" ("Not for lack of warning") side. Not at Rui Tavares, the author, but at Portugal, at Europe and at the world — or, to put it better, at the "liberal democracies". How is it possible that we have had such mindful eyes as Rui's (among others), in such good vantage points, and that we are still, as I write this, falling into the traps of neofascism that Rui has been writing about since 2014? It almost gives the impression that we ignore the clues on purpose. I recommend this book, mas here's a warning of my own: the side effect of frustration is very likely.

    ⤤

  3. Nova Il·Lustració Radical

    New Radical Enlightenment

    ✓

    Marina Garcés

    I loved this book. It is, just like any good essay, a somewhat magic balance between the philosophical and the poetic, between a reflexion and a call to action. I felt at home. Although it's not a long read, it's got a lot inside; in fact, enough for there to be an oscillation between a critical look into the "how we got here" and interesting thoughts on the "where we are after tomorrow". This theoretical tracing of a path that brought us to the future, and its exposition of new ideas about the (how the author calls it) "post-post-modern" world opened new horizons for me. Every once in a while, I felt I was reading a reinvigorating manifesto for the international progressive movement: a new energy standing on the basis of a new radical enlightenment.

    ⤤

  4. Factfulness

    Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

    ✓

    Hans Rosling
    Anna Rosling Rönnlund
    Ola Rosling

    After having been recommended this book ad nauseam, I finally got it from the library. I cannot say it lived up to its revolutionary promise, in my eyes. There were, without a doubt, some great features, like the mention to biases that we are all prone to, and should be aware of, a sort of simple system to have in mind, to improve our thinking about data and facts, and digestible concepts like the "bad but better" (which is not necessarily true in the whole world, all the time). But… that is about it. At times, the tone of the book borders the cynical (referring to pregnant women as bad business for menstrual pad companies might take the first prize in this regard), and, like it has been analysed by some progressive thinkers and bloggers, the book — and, honestly, Hans's whole career as a "fact educator" — seems to be very selective on the facts chosen and, more importantly, how they are presented. Overall, I would recommend the book if you are looking for a fun, light read on how to think about data, more than a critical take on the current state of affairs.

    ⤤

  5. Esquerda e Direita

    Guia histórico para o século XXI

    ✓

    Rui Tavares

    As one would expect, a super pleasant read. I really enjoy the way that Rui writes. Esquerda e Direita is, perhaps counterintuitively, a very light book, but one with which you can learn a lot. I recommend it to anyone that has a free weekend, no idea yet of a book to read, and curiosity to be introduced to the most known political dichotomy of our days.

    ⤤

  6. Trolling ourselves to death

    Democracy in the Age of Social Media

    ✓

    Jason Hannan

    I read this book almost by accident, after finding it on my university's take-a-book shelf. I absolutely loved it! It takes a trip down history lane to explain how we got to the current point in the public discourse, how different media contributed to it over the years, and the role of modern social media in the present day, all while drawing inspiration from some incredible works of philosophy, economics, sociology, etc. I highly recommend it as a fast (but not super light!) read, for anyone interested in social sciences.

    ⤤

  7. Adults in the room

    Yanis Varoufakis

    Reading :) Loving it, although a bit saddening at times.

    ⤤

  8. Cien Años de Soledad

    One hundred years of solitude

    Gabriel García Márquez

    I gave this one back to the library. I think reading it in spanish doesn't allow me to enjoy the book. I definitely want to get back to it one day! Probably in Portuguese, maybe in English?

    ⤤

  9. Ensaio sobre a cegueira

    Blindness

    ✓

    José Saramago

    Weren't it for the demanding and at times confusing form Saramago uses in his writing, and I wouldn't have noticed I was reading one of his books; I could have been reading the plot for the next Netflix show. Maybe it is my fault, but I think I missed some of the more profound message that the author tried to convey. Maybe something tied to the ignorance of the masses in modern soceity? With that said, I enjoyed it a lot! It kept me hooked until the last page and I went through excitement, anger and curiosity. A small note: I read an English translation (it was the only version available at the library) and I think that hurt my reading a bit.

    ⤤

  10. Sputnik sweetheart

    ✓

    Haruki Murakami

    In some random ranking I saw online, this book wasn't even in the top 10 Murakami works. Even so, I decided to give it a chance, and it did not dissapoint. It's, paradoxically, very fun and melancholic to read, and the typical tone of the Japanese author, in one moment mundane and surreal in the next, took my imagination to vividly imagine sceneries like an amusement park in Switzerland and sex scenes in a vacation home in fantastic Greece. As is custom by now, Murakami gave me a bittersweet ending, where I could only wish that the story wouldn't be over.

    ⤤

  11. The Strange Library

    ✓

    Haruki Murakami

    This is a Murakami book that's very different from his other works. It's tiny and it's as much visual as verbal, with beautiful illustrations intertwined with the story. The creepy, unsettling and sometimes magical plot is not new to the author, and he still managed to make me feel new emotions: this time of fear and loneliness. The only unfortunate part is that the book is so short that these strange emotions can be more fleeting than one would wish.

    ⤤

  12. Doughnut Economics

    Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist

    ✓

    Kate Raworth

    I loved it and highly recommend it! It's a book about economics, but a very unorthodox one. It has a degrowth side to it, but it's a great read for any person that wants a breath of fresh air in the field of economics.

    ⤤

  13. Mission Economy

    A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism

    ✓

    Mariana Mazzucato

    I've read about half of the book (maybe a bit more, if you don't count references, etc). I can't say I was impressed. The book tries to use the case of Nasa's Apolo XIII project to explore how the Srare can and should be a leader in society, guiding investment, picking strategic areas, taking tisks for the common good, etc. However, I felt lost in the middle of the analogy, not being able to make a clear connection to its more general implications. I still haven't finished the book. One day I'll try again.

    ⤤

  14. Limits to Growth

    The 30-Year Update

    ✓

    D. Meadows
    J Randers
    D. Meadows

    This book completely solidified my urge to study political economics and system dynamics. It takes on a realistic but duly urgent approach about the problems that haunted the world at the beginning of the 21st century and that, unfortunately, still do. The authors present clear solutions but, above all, a new way of thinking about what it means to live in a society and the potential the human being has to build a new global community with well-being and Nature preservation at the core, based on empirical data when possible.

    ⤤