May 2024 Wrap Up
scifi, sheep, thrillers, and pirates. Plus what I want to read in June, and something else that's on my mind, Palestine.
May was a great reading month for me! I hope life is going well for you, wherever you are.
I’ve decided to change how I post my reviews. Instead of monthly, I will organize them by theme, genre, or author, and post them as I finish each set. About 3-4 reviews each post.
This month I read:
2 books by Emily St. John Mandel
One was charming and the other almost put me to sleep.
2 books by Ottessa Moshfegh
One’s a new favorite and the other was… okay.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Tragic. Heart-breaking. Powerful.
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Loved it. Too short. Want more.
(6 books all by women!) From these, I plan on posting author reviews on Moshfegh, Mandel, and Flynn; and another post focused on feminist fiction by different authors, including Kang.
I’m excited to get through the sets I’ve put together, and I think it’ll make it easier for readers to find what they’re interested in. I’ll also try to be spoiler-free, while still talking in-depth about the themes and effectiveness of the books. I might post reviews twice a week or once every 3 months. We’ll see. Going with the flow.
June Reading List
Rouge by Mona Awad
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
The Guest by Emma Cline
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
If I end up reading none of these… oh well.
I set a goal of reading 30 books this year, and if I keep up the pace, I’ll meet that goal a lot sooner than I thought. Exciting! I’m proud of myself.
Now, what else is on my mind?
Free Palestine. Permanent Ceasefire Now.
I'm more comfortable reading about paranormal activity and fictional killers. It feels less real, less common, less likely to happen and so I can detach myself.
It is harder to feel detached if I am reading about the Nakba and the destruction of Gaza, when the Internet is flooded every day with horrifying images of what is still happening. It can't be ignored. It's real.
I feel powerless. I don’t have a big platform. I am reminded that I live in a country whose wealth is partly created by causing suffering around the globe. I am reminded that my country does not want us to think about these things - they try to censor information - and if I was living a few generations ago I would be mostly ignorant.
My country has given billions of dollars to Israel to carry out their apartheid, settler, and ethnic cleansing projects for decades. To kill children, aid workers, and doctors. To bomb hospitals, schools, and refugee camps. To trap and starve people. This cannot be reconciled. The world is fucked, life is fucked, governments are fucked, that's how I feel.
All this to say.... I want to read more books by Palestinian authors, and I want to share them with you. Most of what I've found so far is focused on suffering, and that's important, but it's not good for my mental health right now. I want to read about Palestinian joy, and spirit, and dreams. I want to read poetry. I want to meet lovable characters. I want to read sci-fi. I want to see a vision of the future. Here’s a few I’ve been looking at:
Palestine + 100 (2019) edited by Basma Ghalayini
The Twenty-Ninth Year (2019) by Hala Alyan
A River Dies of Thirst (2009) by Mahmoud Darwish
Wondrous Stories in Strange Lands (2013) by Sonia Nimr
Lately I've been playing videos of DJ performances in Palestine. Mostly from the 2010s, still a time under occupation, but it is nice to watch people dance and have fun together. Just partying and having a good time. I hope the people in these videos are somewhere safe, or that they’ll be safe soon. And for those no longer with us, may they rest in peace.
Sama' Abdulhadi | Boiler Room Palestine (youtube.com)
If you have any more suggestions for books by Palestinian authors, please leave a comment. Thanks for reading. ❤️