Announcing January's book of the month

New year, new ideas, and so many new books to read.

Welcome to 2025: I’m already excited by the slate of titles we’re going to share this coming year, but we’re going to start off with one that I hope proves particularly useful at this moment in time. 

January’s book of the month is Stories Are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind by Annalee Newitz, a fascinating pop history of propaganda in the US.

The book tours through how America’s skill at psyops developed over the years, and it makes a bouncy, fast argument: That the nation’s taste for conspiracy theories and disinformation has turned from a weapon deployed by the military into an arsenal used to fight domestic culture wars. Newitz, a journalist and science fiction author, uses many storytelling tactics to pull together these threads, and the result had me entertained and interested from start to finish.

And yes, OK, it’s a little on the nose for somebody like me who works in the media—journalism, editing, publishing—to share a book that bows down to the power of story. But I’ll take the hit. There is no doubt that propaganda narratives are powerful and very present today, whether they’re kind that’s based on a kernel of truth, or the type of planted accusation that is pure fantasy. And I suspect we’ll see a lot more of the examples that Annalee details in this book flying around as the US enters a new and confusing political phase.

Don’t believe me? Kirkus Reviews said it was “a cogent history and analysis of today's toxic national discourse" while the New York Times said Newitz was “so skillful at elucidating such a tangled, morally contentious history that I never felt lost.”

Copies of January’s pick are on their way to subscribers as we speak, although a little delayed because of the holidays. And I’m hoping to chat to Annalee in the next few weeks, so if you have a question to ask about the book or then please send it over by replying to this email or going direct to [email protected].

In the meantime, thanks to our current club members… and if you’re not already signed up it’s never too late to join: it’s a small monthly commitment that supports authors and gets you great hand-picked non-fiction.

Onward,

Bobbie