Virus

 Matt Sperlings exceedingly readable wealth and sex and Internet start up book

Misnamed virus as it was from a prepandemic vibe - when going viral was an internet thing. Bubble would have been a better title maybe as in dotcom bubble. Anyway, cool style, some snappyish dialogue, quite sexy sex, if all a bit Jeff Koons. The plot was about making money and somehow I did quite like Ned which was stretch given his attitudes, violence and generally slightly tory / ayn rand vibe.  Maybe it was challenging for me to read the line about it just being better to win. Maybe actually it was just a fun shiny romp about being a cool selfish person.  Not sure what knowing Matt did for it- certainly wasn't making him likeable. I am impressed he wrote it though

Doughnut Economics

 I love this book.  It made me feel confidently eco-socialist. I learnt things like that Adam Smith believed in community and that economic thought is distorting and stupid, especially considering the esteem it is held in. I unlearnt that the standard economic graph of growth going on eternally is reasonable.  The doughnut itself is the sweet spot target with an inner ring of human needs and an outer ring of ecological sustainability into which human progress must aim. I got a tiny bit bored at the end but finished my porridge. Not full of stylistic fireworks but definitely a recommended read. I was grateful to Jo for reminding me of it, and watched Kate Raworth the author in a reading of Dr Seuss The Lorax. A reminder of, among other things, how long we have known that appetite for infinite stuff on a finite planet doesn't work