The Lorazepam vape under the waterfall has had me in fits everytime I remember it over the last 24 hours 😂😂😂

It’s beyond bizarre. I remember huge conversations about “the younger millennials” at my then workplace, while I “a younger millennial” sat at the table with big wide eyes.

I’m not watching my generation do the same to Gen Z. Just tell folks your not great with change management and move on like.

Igo* apologies the autocorrect got me! 😅

I will do! :) Thanks a million again Igor. Mind yourself! :)

I’ve had so many fantastic interactions with folks on here since I finally made the move. It’s a breath of fresh air.

That sounds right up my alley! I’ll add that to the list too :)

This is exactly what I’m trying to do with a room similar! 😂 I’ve two lovely bookshelves either side of an open fire place, and I’ve painted the room dark so it feels like a little snug.

Just missing a big old style armchair, but maybe next year :)

Oh my goodness! Your amazing .. I was expecting a recommendation or two at best!

Thank you so much!

Fell into a bit of Noam Chomsky myself this year when trying to read up on Palestine! Really appreciated his work.

Love Fintan O’Toole!

“We Don’t Know Ourselves” was one of my first entry points to non-fiction, and sent me down a rabbit hole of Irish history.

Will absolutely be adding more from him this year! :)

I’m currently trying to fill my home with books as it was a little girl dream to have a sort of personal library (thus why I’m mostly buying at the moment), but libraries were the only thing that kept my passion for reading alive when I had less funds at my disposal.

Online resources amazing too!

Oh absolutely and couldn’t agree with you more! Apologies, reading back I should have included them too.

I use my own local library for my fiction reading, and they are nothing short of fantastic. They’ve also provided some amazing suggestions for my non-fiction reading.

Also want to take this opportunity to shout out Ireland's public libraries. Not everyone can afford to buy books. But the library is 100% free and every time you rent a book from them the author gets paid royalties. If your local library isn't currently carrying the book you want, ask at the desk

Some of my favourites from this year:
- Nuclear War - Annie Jacobsen
- The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer - Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East - Robert Fisk
- Africa Is Not a Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa - Dipo Faloyin

6/

SOOOOO in 2025, I'll be aiming for 30 non-fiction books in the year.

This is where my ask comes in. #booksky & #SpeirGorm folks, what non-fiction books can you recommend for me? I'm open to pretty much any topic, but I do avoid self-helpy style books.

5/

- The knowledge does actually stick ... Particularly with the bullet point method. I have a fantastic little notepad of all of the knowledge I picked up this year, and the physicalness of that also feels good.

- You can manage to escape into a good non-fiction book, just as much as any other book.

What I learned:
- Independent bookstores (and the humans who work in them) must be protected at all costs.

- If I thought I was previously uninterested in a topic, I can typically now pin it down on how I was first taught/encountered it.

3/

- I had to write at least 10 bullet points from what I had read in my trusty notebook.

- If I really found I had no interest in a topic, I wouldn’t force myself beyond the halfway point.

- I was only allowed to read 3 books on the same topic in a row (I have a tendency to become hyperfixated).