Review - No Silly Questions
Do you know the difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate? How about what semiconductor chips do? Or how the share market works?
Unless you've studied or worked in politics, finance or science, chances are you don't know the answers to all three questions.
Politics, finance and science are those big, scary, important topics we all know we should learn more about, but are apprehensive to.
Whether it's out of boredom, fear of feeling stupid, or annoyance at the prospect of being talked down to, many people avoid interacting with these topics altogether.
But being knowledgeable on these topics has never been more important.
In the age of disinformation, political unrest and rapid technological advancement, knowledge of politics, finance and science is the most important weapon we can wield to make change and stay afloat.
So, as much as us bookworms would like to bury our noses in our novels, it's time to pull our heads out of the sand and learn about the world.
Luckily, we now have a brilliant book to get us started: No Silly Questions by Zara Seidler and Sam Koslowski, who founded The Daily Aus. Let's find out more, shall we?
Judging a book by its cover
If the cover is one thing, it's attention-grabbing. In the sea of greys, blues and reds that is the politics section of the bookstore, No Silly Questions stands out.
Those popping shades of green, red, purple and yellow certainly made me reach for the book.
Having The Daily Aus logo on the cover is also a win in my eyes - anyone who reads the journalism publication (like me!) is drawn to the familiar logo and intrigued to see why they've written a book.
My only complaint is aesthetically motivated; the colours on the cover don't fit with many blog aesthetics, hence why I put a black and white filter over the book in my recent Instagram post.
Overall, the cover is Alana approved!
Publication context
The Daily Aus (TDA) is a social media-first news service targeted towards young Australians.
It aims to make news accessible to young people and to anyone who isn't always familiar with the jargon that pops up in news. I have TDA to thank for my knowledge about bank interest rates.
Put simply, they're renowned for explaining the news in a simple, non-condescending way, and for featuring a positive story each day to make following the news less overwhelming (yay!).
The founders of TDA, Seidler and Koslowski, decided to take TDA's work a step further by publishing a pocket guide to the world around us.
This year, that guide was born - hi there, No Silly Questions!
Seidler and Koslowski said "[their] intention for this book is for it to be the world's best cheat sheet for understanding how the world works".
Reasons to love this book
1. There is no assumed knowledge for readers - so anyone can enjoy it.
If you've been thinking: "But what if I don't know enough about politics or finance to understand the book?", have no fear.
No Silly Questions strips everything back to the basics, as if you were a student showing up to your first class of Intro to Politics 101.
It explains how the Australian political system works - from what the major parties stand for, to how a politician is elected, to where the government gets money from.
It explains what stocks are, and how to buy them. It explains how vaccines work.
And it does so in plain, simple English - jargon is banished! And so is being condescending!
The title is to be taken literally; there are no silly questions while reading. Even the most basic facts are covered, because not everyone has had the opportunity to learn about these topics until now.
2. Those who know a bit more still have something to gain
Just because this book goes back to the basics, doesn't mean it isn't of value to those who are more learned in politics, finance and science.
Through my journalism studies, I've learnt a bit about politics and finance. I also studied science in high school and for one semester at university (until I did a 180 and switched to writing, because chemistry sucked).
Despite that, there was still a plethora of facts in this book I hadn't come across before; I have at least 30 sticky notes in No Silly Questions to mark things I didn't know but now do.
So, regardless of whether you've never read the news, or are a bit of a news guru, you'll learn something new in No Silly Questions.
3. It's entertaining in that Gen Z/millennial sort of way
No Silly Questions is no textbook, that's for sure.
I finished this book in four days, between my fiction reads. You can smash out 30 pages in twenty minutes, unlike my evil chemistry textbook, which was denser than concrete.
Aside from being informative, No Silly Questions is actually fun to read (although maybe that's partially because I'm a news nerd).
Why? I'd say it's because Seidler and Koslowski know how to write how a millennial/Gen Z reader wants to read.
No Silly Questions is packed with quips, diagrams, analogies and colloquial language; at one point they exclaim: "So what the hell is net zero?"
Just quietly, it seems like some politicians are also a bit confused on what "net zero" means. Why else would they keep approving new coal mine projects?
Anyway, the book talks to you like a friend, providing fun anecdotes, jokes and resources to keep you entertained as you learn.
They even have QR codes on some pages, so that you have the choice to find out more about a topic or keep reading the more basic version of events.
No Silly Questions is your ultimate news-reading companion. Whether you're in need of some Politics 101 or are a journalist wanting to brush up on your knowledge, it will help you make more sense of the news and the world around you.
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