Happy New Year, dear friends.

Our desire - and technical ability - to know everything, everywhere and at once, has all but done away with the concept of surprise. So the message of abdication delivered to millions of Danes with a barely perceptible ‘gotcha’ smile by a queen who has so flawlessly served her country for 52 years was a welcome experience, one that sent shock waves through all homes and gatherings, and reminded us that not everything need last forever.

At 6:05 PM on December 31, 2023, an elegant and eloquent woman stepped down gracefully from an actual throne with a final message of - and call for - understanding, rapprochement, union and humanity, and the gasp of astonishment felt simultaneously as a release of breath held for most of 2023.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark did not herself choose, nor was she elected for the role that would define her life. Yet, she succeeded with deference and respect where most leaders, who very much choose for themselves and are indeed elected, fail.

The monarchy is in many ways and for many reasons, a relic of the past, albeit an extremely popular one, so the job awaiting King Frederik X is an awesome one. In a time when monarchists of the past (and present) face being outnumbered by a growing number of republicans of the future, it is more than ever a role that calls for serious reflection, one that can do much good in polarized times, but also risks falling flat and making itself redundant if it doesn’t realize the pitfalls alongside its potentials.

Obviously, the peaceful passing of the baton in an equally peaceful country of 6 million, means next to nothing in a world on fire, but it has given us all a much needed moment of pause before we embark on what we can only hope will be a better year.

With nearly 50% of the world’s population heading to the polls this year, 2024 will be a year of huge consequence to us all. There will be drama, there will be horror, there will be comedy and there will, hopefully, be joyful resolution and relief, and some of us will be right there in the front row popcorn in hand watching, commenting, shaking our heads and steadying our hands.

Through it all, we will continue to curate, care and challenge through that genius tool of enlightenment: the book. We hope to engage and entertain, and plan to ensure that Books & Company, as it enters its 15th year of existence, remains a hub of insight, inclusion, consideration and kindness.

I enter 2024 with immense gratitude to all our customers, so many of whom have become ‘customer friends’, for all your incredible support, AND to the amazing team of colleagues without whom there would be no Books & Company, and who make it an absolute joy to show up for work every day.

Thank you, and all the very best for 2024!

Isabella

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by AFK (Away From Keyboard)

Fair judgment requires distance, knowledge, context and impartiality, none of which can ever be complete or absolute, but must remain goals to strive for.

It follows, therefore, that it is not fair to ask a father whose child has been kidnapped from a Kibbutz or a daughter whose mother has been killed in Gaza how they feel about the perpetrators of the crimes committed against their loved ones. Their hearts and minds must be allowed to grieve and to find the strength to work their way back to a life worth living.

It also follows, that it is not only fair to ask, but should indeed be required of the rest of us to contribute to a balanced, informed reaction to horrific events to which we are not ourselves party, but merely heartbroken onlookers. Events that in this case might very well have repercussions far beyond their relatively narrow (Israel-Gaza) border.

In addition to spreading news, social media successfully creates - and continuously contributes to - a growing and increasingly perilous divide between the two sides of the conflict, reinforcing a reality where many choose affirmation over information.

Add to this the technological advances that allow both sides to fan the flames through fake images and stories, and what we are left with is a heightened sense of confusion and despair at the state of the world.

The strongest antidote to this is our own search for reliable information through trusted and vetted sources of which there are many on both sides, and, of course, books, fiction and non, written over the course of the past 75 years to help understand a cause that continues to baffle and frustrate; a cause that so often seems hopeless, but one that we must continue to face, however painful, until a solution is found that will bring peace to the children of Israel and Palestine.

Kind regards,
Isabella and your friendly team at Books & Company

Illustration: Forouzan Safari

In spite of - and in opposition to - the dark clouds, black chadors and closed minds of the regime, you would be hard pressed to find a more fun loving, generous, warm hearted people than the Iranians. We love a good party, serve up some of the most delicious food and adore getting dressed up - appearances matter a lot - as do life and love. This was true before the revolution of 1979 and remains true 43 years later.

One of the world’s oldest civilizations has been held hostage for almost half a century, and the dreams of freedom and equality that brought down the Shah and installed Ayatollah Khomeini have been quashed by a religious authoritarian regime that has succeeded in warping a religion, spreading terror, insisting on archaic values, and killing men and women in war as well as in opposition.

To this day, Iranians inside (and out) of Iran do not always feel safe, the arbitrary nature of the country's particular rule of law constantly and unexpectedly shifting the ground beneath their feet. The recent tragic death of the 22 year old Mahsa Amini was yet another example of this blatant disregard for life and freedom.

A few years ago I went to a talk at Copenhagen University with Rasmus Christian Elling, Associate Professor at the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies and an eminent expert on Iran. After a fascinating talk on the country’s modern history, an audience member asked why freedom continues to elude Iranians. In a (somewhat) surprising answer Rasmus Elling suggested that if women had been given the freedom of expression and the right to refuse the hijab back in 1979, Iran might very well have been a very different place today.

This isn’t the first time the streets of Tehran are in flames, the proverbial straw has broken the proverbial camel’s back again and again and each time the world has stood by with bated breath wondering if this was the moment of change; 1999, 2009, 2017-2018, 2019.

This time, however, the nature of the uprising following the killing of Mahsa Amini is different. The demonstrations are more widespread, the anger more intense; the incredible death-defying courage shown by the women unparalleled and the support of the men astonishing. So maybe this time?

Kind regards,
Isabella and your friendly team at Books & Company

Three years ago today we sent out the following:

'In a time when facts are stranger than fiction, when one person’s truth is another person’s lie, when you wish that someone would call out ‘April Fools’ and bring the world back on track, we invite you to take a chance and venture out beyond your comfort zone.'

Well, since then, the world has only gotten stranger and stranger, and our comfort zone seems but a figment of our imagination. Indeed it seems the (dis)comfort zone has become our new default setting.

No better time, therefore, than the present to remind ourselves that life is more than virus and violence, and that, as always, literature offers the respite and resolve we need to deal with whatever the future holds.

So, we have once again wrapped and wrapped and wrapped lots of great, interesting, funny, sad, quirky, mind-bending, serious, scary, beautiful books in brown paper with no labels and invite you to mark your calendars and drop by the shop tomorrow 

Friday April 1 and/or Saturday April 2nd

where the window will be overflowing with books at 30,- a piece. This year we are even adding a few cookbooks and coffee table books at 50,- a pop!

The catch: you won’t know what you're getting, so what you get might be just what you didn’t know you were looking for.

We look forward to seeing you at the shop!
Your friendly Books & Company staff

Photograph: The New York Times

It feels like a lifetime, and yet just 5 minutes ago, that we woke to the surreal words spoken on the radio, ‘The World Trade Center is collapsing’.

Moments later the skies over my home in San Francisco fell silent as planes were grounded and phone lines succumbed to the pressure of family members desperately seeking news of loved ones in New York City.

In a matter of minutes, thousands of innocent lives perished in a senseless act of terrorism that ushered in an era of confusion, fear and ultimately war.

20 years later, the families of the victims in the towers are still coming to terms with their unimaginable loss on that clear September morning, while a new generation is trying to understand why we continue to wage battle in far-flung countries, and millions of Muslims around the world continue to be stigmatized by the nefarious actions of a handful of men.

It will be up to the historians of the future to judge, but our hopes of emerging stronger, wiser and kinder from the debris and trauma of that fateful morning are rapidly dwindling.

As we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, we must consider the possibility that after 20 years of retaliation it is now time for reparation.

Mistakes have been made, lessons are still being learned, but this is our opportunity to make a change and truly honor the victims through actions and policies that promote peace and discourage strife.

That is what they - and the world - deserve, and what this anniversary demands.

Photograph: Skateistan

It is easy to forget how fortunate we are and how the freedoms and rights we take for granted remain elusive to so many.

Yesterday, as images of desperate men jumping onto moving planes and devastated women buying burqas flooded our screens and sent a chill down our spines, the tragedy of Afghanistan revealed not only the utter despair of a people who had dreamt of so much more, it also put into stark relief our own good fortune of living in a democracy where we need not fear for the lives of our sons and daughters.

But our good fortune is only one side of the coin; the other is our obligation.

The political scramble to justify the chaos of the present with the mistakes of the past is all too quickly leading to the conclusion that 20 years in the service of creating a more democratic nation have been in vain.

Tell that to the women who were able to walk the streets on their own; to open their own businesses and speak their own minds. Tell that to an entire generation of girls and young women who were once again allowed to go to school. And tell that to the fathers, husbands and brothers who could proudly watch them do it all.

The response to the failure of Afghanistan cannot be to turn our backs on future challenges. It must be to accept and learn from our mistakes in order to do better. We must resist the urge to find all resistance futile, as that is how we allow despots the triumph they crave.

The people of Afghanistan trusted us, believed in us and in many cases helped us, and as we watch the doors close and darkness descend we cannot forget that being on this side of the door demands action.

We may not be able to help everyone, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. It is our duty, our obligation, to show gratitude for the fact that we are where we are, in the safety of our homes, by helping the Afghans who put their lives on the line to help us do our job, and who are now staring into the abyss.

We owe them that.

-----------------------

As we return to our events schedule, stay tuned for an evening on the topic of the state of the world 20 years after 9/11, including a look at the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and their effects on US foreign policy. Date TBA.

The literary reckoning with the war in Afghanistan has also begun. A few interesting books making their way to our shelves in the next few days are 'The Afghanistan Papers : A Secret History of the War' by Washington Post reporter Craig Whitlock and
'The American War in Afghanistan' by Carter Malkasian.

We look forward to seeing you at the shop!
Isabella and the staff of Books & Company

We were back on Monocle Radio on Sunday chatting with Tyler Brülé about summer books and magazines - and reminiscing about that wonderful evening a few weeks back where we had the pleasure of hosting Tyler and his team for the launch of the gorgeous Monocle Book of Homes.

Check out the episode here: Monocle on Sunday The conversation begins at 28:47.

We all know that wherever we end up spending our summer holiday we will need a good stack of books to keep us company.

So it is (finally) time to start filling your beach bag, suitcase, bike basket OR your favorite Books & Company tote with books to enjoy in the lazy hazy summer ahead.

As a fun holiday option we are offering to put together book packages - for children and adults - and we are happy to curate a selection according to genres, interests, age etc., and since we all need a bit of summer fun we will throw in a surprise book with each package ordered.

So feel free to get in touch and we will get the book ball rolling.

We look forward to hearing from you!