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11.03.09
Feather in the Storm
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I never tire learning about individuals who survived in China during Mao’s regime. Before traveling there recently, I read Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos by Larry Englemann and Emily Wu. On one China Air flight recently, I sat next to a young woman whose grandparents told her they endured hardships similar to these Chinese authors and only stayed alive to care for her mother and aunt. Many stories like this won’t become books but touch my heart as much as the published works.
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I never tire learning about individuals who survived in China during Mao’s regime. Before traveling there recently, I read Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos by Larry Englemann and Emily Wu. On one China Air flight recently, I sat next to a young woman whose grandparents told her they endured hardships similar to these Chinese authors and only stayed alive to care for her mother and aunt. Many stories like this won’t become books but touch my heart as much as the published works.
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10.30.09
The Muslim Next Door
“ With the distrust of Muslims and the ignorance of Islam current in our society, I’m enjoying reading The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and that Veil Thing by Sumbul Ali-Karamali, an attorney who grew up in Southern California. The book deals with the big issues like “jihad,” Sunni-Shite” differences, and “The Qur’an,” but also has many charming details about her attempts to follow Muslim practices in an overwhelmingly Christian (or secular) environment. It is very readable and informative for those who want to know more about this second-largest world faith.
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10.29.09
The Bomb
“ I just finished The Bomb: The Classic Novel of Anarchist Violence by Frank Harris for the second time. It’s one of my favorite books to read for leisure, where you get a good dose of social justice without having to take notes as if it’s an academic book. The story is based on the 1886 Haymarket riots in Chicago, with the narrator being an educated German immigrant who landed in New York first, struggled with finding the roughest of labor jobs, all while being a writer/journalist. This eventually brought him where he discovered the circle of socialist, communist and anarchists that made up much of the working class laborers; as well as mentors, comrades and love. It’s a beautiful story, with many historical facts, but also personal stories, and the idea of love being more than lust, and social justice being more than politics.
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