Our 2024 passive aggressive gift guide
The festive season is upon us, and so, inevitably, are the frenemies, the barely-tolerated other halves and the family members you definitely don't see eye to eye with. Grit your teeth and bear it . . . or even better, gift them one of our carefully chosen passive aggressive gifts and enjoy watching them read between the lines.
For the person who's still stalking their ex's social media platforms . . .
How to Get Over a Breakup: An Ancient Guide to Moving On by Ovid, translated by Michael Fontaine
The fact of the matter is, moving on after a breakup is hard (and not just for the breakup-ee, but for everyone who has to talk them down from starting an alt account so they can stalk their ex's new lover's insta). How to Get Over a Breakup: An Ancient Guide to Moving On is an evergreen classic that dates back to 2AD and is as relevant today as it was then (ish). Complete with a lively introduction and the original Latin on facing pages, How to Get Over a Breakup presents an unabashedly modern prose translation of Ovid's Remedia Amoris, a frank and witty guide to coping with unrequited love, falling out of love, ending a relationship, and healing a broken heart.
For the person who scolded you for getting a tattoo because it would 'make it difficult to get a job' . . .
Working for the Brand by Josh Bornstein
Gone are the days when a job was a simple exchange of labour for a pay packet. These days, corporate cancel culture often means that if you crack the wrong joke, 'like' the wrong Facebook post, or a share a political reel on TikTok, you can be shamed, sacked, and blacklisted. In Working for the Brand, journalist Josh Bornstein examines how our major corporations have come to exercise repressive control over the lives of their employees, and explores the growing authoritarianism of the companies that we work for.
(p.s. In case you were wondering, over 20% of Australians have at least one tattoo, so it's not the employment-killer that your Mum maybe thought it was anyway.)
For that person who borrowed a favourite book from you in 2015 and NEVER RETURNED IT . . .
Book Curses by Eleanor Baker
One of the great joys of reading is when you convince someone else to take a chance on one of your favourite books (ask any bookseller). The flip side of this enormous pleasure is when you've lent your personal copy of said book to someone, and it vanishes from your life forever. Eleanor Baker's Book Curses is a collection of ferocious and humorous book curses wished upon forgetful borrowers, book vandals, and outright thieves. Positively inspiring, it includes fearsome threats discovered emblazoned on stone monuments from the ancient Near East, to elaborate manuscript maledictions and chilling warnings scribbled in printed books.
For the person you suspect got ChatGPT to write their Christmas cards . . .
AI Snake Oil by Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor
Did you know that getting ChatGPT to write an email for you burns through the same amount of energy as it would take to power 14 LED light bulbs for 1 hour? Or that an AI-powered search uses 10x more energy than a basic Google one? In AI Snake Oil, computer scientists Arvind Narayan and Sayash Kapoor uncover rampant misleading claims about the capabilities of AI and describe the serious harms AI is already causing in how it's being built, marketed, and used.
For the person who's spending a little too much time in the Manosphere . . .
Clown World by Jamie Tahsin & Matt Shea
There's not many things in the world that scare me more than the popularity of toxic and misogynistic celebrities like Andrew Tate. Part Gonzo journalism, part masculinity rabbit hole, Clown World takes readers on a journey to reveal the dark secrets of Tate, the machine that brought him here, and the ideology he has unleashed on a generation of young men. Hopefully this in-depth examination of how this failed reality TV star managed to become one of the most famous influencers in the world will help de-program a misogynist in the making. (If they've ever uttered the words 'your body my choice', feel free to swap it for a lump of coal though).
For the person who's constantly badgering you to turn your hobby into a side hustle . . .
You Don't Have to Have a Dream by Tim Minchin
If you have a hobby that involves doing something productive – sewing, drawing, knitting, cooking, woodworking, taxidermy, gardening, etc. – I pretty much guarantee that at some point someone has suggested a way for you to monetise it. The idea that you might be doing it for sheer pleasure of participating in an act of creation seems to be quite foreign in this late-stage capitalism hellzone that we find ourselves in. Tim Minchin gets it. You Don’t Have to Have a Dream is an accessible and engaging celebration of life, art, success, kindness, love and thriving in a meaningless universe.
For the person who still thinks it's about the avocado toast . . .
The Great Divide by Alan Kohler
(Not) fun fact: After Hong Kong, Sydney is the second most expensive place on the planet to buy a house. Melbourne's not far behind at seventh place, and Adelaide comes in at #9. In fact, according to Demographia's annual list of housing affordability, almost every major Australian city sits in the bottom 25% of affordable housing globally. According to renowned Australian finance journalist Alan Kohler, this escalation in house prices has altered Australian society, increasing inequality and profoundly changing the relationship between generations. It has caused a rental crisis, a dearth of public housing and a mortgage crunch. The Great Divide is a clarifying and forward-looking book about how we got into this mess . . . and how we might get out of it.
For the person who gets all their news through Murdoch media . . .
The Men Who Killed the News by Eric Beecher
You know that saying 'don't believe everything you read'? In The Men Who Killed the News, Crikey owner and ex-Fairfax editor Eric Beecher lifts the lid on the abuse of power by media moguls, offering the perfect guide to understanding how media power works: the players, the techniques, the strategies, the behind-the-scenes machinations.
For the person who's still cultivating an enormous suburban lawn . . .
The Natural Gardener by Richard Unsworth & Nicholas Watt
Green grass lawns are a cultural import, and one that's desperately unsuited to the Australian climate. We pour billions of litres of drinking water over them to keep them green, use fossil-fuel powered lawnmowers to keep them manicured, and use ecologically disastrous poisons to keep them pest-free. Fortunately the tide is turning on this outdated status symbol, and The Natural Gardener will help. In this beautifully presented book, garden designer Richard Unsworth offers advice on how to select landscape materials that sit effortlessly in the landscape, planting combinations that thrive in different settings, and discusses principles of bush regeneration and restoration. Whether large or small, urban or rural, every garden and every gardener can benefit from wildening their surroundings to reconnect with nature.
