A Coronavirus reading list:
Books to make you think and reflect on society
***This offer is now over, but you may be interested in our Covid Collection - find out more here.***
All of the titles on this reading list are available with 50% off paperback, hardback and EPUB versions until the end of May. Use the code APRIL50 at the checkout.
Alongside our Open Access content (highlighted below), we have made some ebooks (EPUB version) completely free until the end of May - flagged as 'free ebook available' below. Add the EPUB version to your basket and use the code APRILFREE at the checkout.
Read the article by Alison Shaw, Chief Executive of Bristol University Press and Policy Press, that accompanies this reading list here.
FOR THE GENERAL READER
The Shame Game by Mary O’Hara
Does the fact that ‘we are all claimants now’ mean that the narrative about poverty will change? Mary O’Hara’s The Shame Game, which draws from the innovative digital platform Project Twist-It, passionately seeks to overturn the toxic poverty narrative on both sides of the Atlantic.
February 2020
Poverty Propaganda: Exploring the Myths by Tracy Shildrick
As more people become reliant on welfare as a result of the pandemic, it's a time to examine the misconceptions about poverty and its prevalence, causes and consequences. This book debunks the myths that have sustained class divides until now.
April 2018
Generation Share by Benita Matofska and Sophie Sheinwald
As the Covid-19 situation brings out community spirit and kindness, read about global sharing initiatives and alternative ways of dealing and coping with social issues.
June 2019
Hunger Pains by Kayleigh Garthwaite FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
During this crisis, foodbanks are struggling to bring in the donations they need. Kayleigh Garthwaite’s book will be a reminder of the gap they fill and how, sadly, essential they are.
June 2016
Good Times, Bad Times: The Welfare Myth of Them and Us by John Hills
This revised edition uses extensive updated research and survey evidence to challenge the view of 'skivers versus strivers', showing how much our lives vary not just as we age, but from week-to-week and year-to-year.
February 2017
Education Without Schools by Helen Lees FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
As parents across the world experience home schooling for the first time, this book that examines the social benefits on home education may be of interest.
November 2013
The Happiness Problem by Sam Wren-Lewis
Time to reflect on the bigger picture as a way of coping with isolation. How we define happiness could be crucial to mental health at this difficult time.
November 2019
21st Century Standpoints series
Take this chance to think about other over-arching sociological issues with the BSA 21st Century standpoints series, such as money, work and education. What are the 21st century challenges shaping our lives today and in the future?
On Transforming Society:
Coming to terms with talking about poverty by Billie JD Porter
Coronavirus: an opportunity to reassess the social contract by Jonathan Wistow
Promoting social justice in a world falling apart by Lisa Mckenzie
Child poverty is not inevitable; it is a political choice by Morag Treanor
RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE ON THE ISSUES
WELFARE, INCLUDING BASIC INCOME
Broken Benefits: What's Gone Wrong with Welfare Reform by Sam Royston FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
October 2017
Understanding the Mixed Economy of Welfare edited by Martin Powell
January 2019
Why We Need a Citizen’s Basic Income by Malcolm Torry
May 2018
It's Basic Income: The Global Debate edited by Stewart Lansley and Amy Downes
March 2018
Understanding the Cost of Welfare by Howard Glennerster FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
May 2017
For Whose Benefit?: The Everyday Realities of Welfare Reform by Ruth Patrick
April 2017
Why We Need Welfare: Collective Action for the Common Good by Pete Alcock FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
April 2016
Open Access journal articles:
Identifying attitudes to welfare through deliberative forums: the emergence of reluctant individualism
Authors: Peter Taylor-Gooby; Ben Leruth; Heejung Chung
Benefits conditionality for disabled people: stylised facts from a review of international evidence and practice
Author: Ben Baumberg Geiger
Welfare conditionality and disabled people in the UK: claimants' perspectives
Authors: Jenny McNeill; Lisa Scullion; Katy Jones; Alasdair Stewart
Gamers or victims of the system? Welfare reform, cynical manipulation and vulnerability
Authors: Del Roy Fletcher; John Flint; Elaine Batty; Jennifer McNeill
On Transforming Society:
Policy choices and automation: how benefits systems can create unjust debts by Jane Millar and Peter Whiteford
ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE
Health in Hard Times: Austerity and Health Inequalities edited by Clare Bambra OPEN ACCESS
June 2019
Download via OAPEN
International Handbook of Health Literacy edited by Orkan Okan, Ullrich Bauer, Diane Levin-Zamir, Paulo Pinheiro and Kristine Sørensen OPEN ACCESS
July 2019
Download via OAPEN
The Short Guide to Health and Social Care by Jon Glasby
March 2019
Healthcare in Transition: Understanding Key Ideas and Tensions in Contemporary Health Policy by Alan Cribb FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
October 2017
Dismantling the NHS? Evaluating the Impact of Health Reforms edited by Martin Powell, Mark Exworthy and Russell Mannion
July 2016
Open Access journal articles:
Rethinking knowledge translation for public health policy
Authors: Patrick Fafard; Steven J Hoffman
Right Here Right Now (RHRN) pilot study: testing a method of near-real-time data collection on the social determinants of health
Authors: Lynn Naven; Greig Inglis; Rachel Harris; et al.
Evidence to support delivery of effective health services: a responsive programme of rapid evidence synthesis
Authors: Duncan Chambers; Andrew Booth; Mark Rodgers; et al.
HOMELESSNESS
Ending Homelessness? The Contrasting Experiences of Denmark, Finland and Ireland by Eoin O'Sullivan, Mike Allen, Nicholas Pleace and Lars Benjaminsen
February 2020
On Transforming Society:
Homelessness is ruthless and complex but we can make a difference by Jessica Gay
FOOD POVERTY
The Rise of Food Charity in Europe edited by Hannah Lambie-Mumford and Tiina Silvasti
March 2020
Hungry Britain: The rise of food charity by Hannah Lambie-Mumford
July 2017
Urban Food Sharing: Rules, Tools and Networks by Anna Davies OPEN ACCESS
April 2019
Download via OAPEN
On Transforming Society:
How should the voluntary sector respond to food poverty? by Stephanie Denning
Come dine with us! Urban food sharing in the 21st Century by Anna Davies
RETHINKING THE ECONOMY
The Economics of Arrival: Ideas for a Grown-Up Economy by Katherine Trebeck and Jeremy Williams
January 2019
Rethinking Britain: Policy Ideas for the Many edited by Sue Konzelmann, Susan Himmelweit, Jeremy Smith and John Weeks
September 2019
A Sharing Economy: How Social Wealth Funds Can Reduce Inequality and Help Balance the Books by Stewart Lansley FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
March 2016
From Greed to Wellbeing: A Buddhist Approach to Resolving Our Economic and Financial Crises by Joel Magnuson FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
November 2016
On Transforming Society:
What does progress look like if we stop pursuing economic growth? by Jeremy Williams and Katherine Trebeck
Rethinking Britain: Policy ideas for the many by Sue Konzelmann John Weeks and Marc Fovargue-Davies
HUMAN RIGHTS
Preventing Intimate Partner Violence edited by Claire Renzetti, Diane Follingstad and Ann Coker
June 2017
The Concept and Measurement of Violence Against Women and Men by Sylvia Walby, Philippa Olive, Jude Towers, Brian Francis, Sofia Strid, Susan Balderston, Consuelo Corradi, Markku Heiskanen, Karin Helweg-Larsen, Lut Mergaert, Emma Kelly and Heidi Stöckl OPEN ACCESS
February 2017
Download via OAPEN
Tackling Child Sexual Abuse: Radical Approaches to Prevention, Protection and Support by Sarah Nelson FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
June 2016
Mental Health in Later Life: Taking a Life Course Approach by Alisoun Milne
February 2020
Open Access journal articles:
Measuring violence to end violence: mainstreaming gender
Authors: Sylvia Walby; Jude Towers
‘It’s a work in progress’: men’s accounts of gender and change in their use of coercive control
Authors: Julia Downes; Liz Kelly; Nicole Westmarland
Tackling domestic abuse locally: paradigms, ideologies and the political tensions of multi-agency working
Author: Pamela Davies
What's love got to do with marriage?
Author: Khatidja Chantler
CHARITY
The New Fundraisers: Who organises charitable giving in contemporary society? by Beth Breeze
October 2017
The Good Glow: Charity and the Symbolic Power of Doing Good by Jon Dean
May 2020
Open Access journal articles:
Transforming the world and themselves: the learning experiences of volunteers being trained within health and social care charities in England
Author: Sarah Darley
On Transforming Society:
The limits of digital charity: Young people, giving and social media by Jon Dean
CHANGING SOCIETY FOR THE BETTER
Social Innovation: How Societies Find the Power to Change by Geoff Mulgan
November 2019
Rethinking Poverty: What Makes a Good Society? by Barry Knight OPEN ACCESS
August 2017
Download via OAPEN
Building Better Societies: Promoting Social Justice in a World Falling Apart edited by Rowland Atkinson, Lisa Mckenzie and Simon Winlow
May 2017
Thinking Collectively: Social Policy, Collective Action and the Common Good by Paul Spicker
June 2019
All Our Welfare: Towards Participatory Social Policy by Peter Beresford FREE EBOOK AVAILABLE
January 2016