As the year slowly rounds up and everyone is running from commitment to commitment, it's important to have a breather in between and immerge yourself into something other than sleigh bells ringing. Not least so you can avoid boring small talk during the so-manieth gathering and really engage with your loved ones, colleagues or designated drivers (for those among us who don't shy away from some eggnog). It also gives you the power to stand your ground when uninformed red-nosed Rudolph's try to derail a conversation by talking like they're 'in the know', while they're most definitely not 'in the know', which you are now going to point out to them because you are 'in the know' after reading these books.

Flâneuse by Lauren Elkin

'Flâneur' is French for a man who aimlessly strolls the city streets observing himself, passers-by and the funny world we live in. The female version to this, 'flâneuse', does not exist. Well, perhaps not in the dictionary, but on the streets the flâneuse has been alive and kicking. At least according to Lauren Elkin. In Flâneuse: Women Walk The City In Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London (2016) Elkin makes her case for the existence of the flâneuse. Through her own walking-experience, Elkin presents multiple cases of flânerie by female powerhouses (think Virginia Woolf, George Sand, Sophie Calle) who proudly strode off into the streets. This book shows how women have been erased from the city streets, how public space is created and negotiated and how there's still a great need to keep on walking to (re)negotiate the cobbles we walk on. Although I wished her case studies were more diverse and intersectional (and not only reliant on big-named well-dissected classic writers), this book points in a playful manner to insightful and productive thought-strands anyone who walks out of the front door encounters.

The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

In The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through The Madness Industry (2011) Jon Ronson explores the absurdity that comes along with institutionalised mental health care. He focuses on the way the industry works, and most of all doesn't work, with help from psychiatrists, psychopaths and Scientologists (what a happy bunch indeed). He shows the maddening, looped-argumented issues the industry (and humanity) are faced with through his own intuitive interests. Throughout the book Ronson looks at the case of a psychopath that claims to not be a psychopath (but that's something a psychopath would say!). This case opens up confronting questions of what counts as a 'sane' person and how easily 'we' can loose control over our own minds and bodies. Through his approachable witty writing style uncomfortable truths, not-so-truths and can-you-believe that's-true truths are uncovered. When reading this I had to repeatedly remind myself that all this (still) takes place in the madness industry. I really like the personal touch and look Ronson uses as leading inquisitive insight to the way he conducts and processes his research.

The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli

Ok, The Story of My Teeth (2013) is a bit weird. Especially when you don't get half of the references... However, when you finally get the gist of it, you will fly through its pages. The book follows Gustavo 'Highway' Sanchez and his quest to 1) replace his unsightly teeth with some shiny whites and 2) retrace his shiny whites once they mysteriously go missing. Besides being a great tooth-enthusiast, Highway is also the world's best auctioneer. Or, at least, that's the modest title he uses to introduce himself. Through the power of his lies (or, as he calls them, allegories) Highway sells anything and everything to anyone who comes to his auctions (spoiler alert: even himself). The story of Highway takes collecting and connecting to a whole new level while it explores such small topics as value, worth and creation through entangling and changing claims of truth and the shifting weight of these claims (perhaps this can be related to Banksy's painting that shredded itself after it was bought at an auction and ironically doubled or trippled in value through this 'destructive' act). Basically: Bargain Hunt is nothing in its comparison! Although I really struggled reading and most of all understanding the story of Highway (once again: references, all of the references), in hindsight the main thing I took from it can be very productive when (re)thinking and (re)telling truth claims (and, perhaps, the pivotal role of capital within these claims). #fakenews?

What are you reading before the new year? Let me know in the comments below!