Tag: Palestine

July Reading Wrapup

It’s been a busy summer and I’ve been struggling to find time to blog, but July was a great month for reading with a couple of books that will definitely be in my end of year favourites.

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

This is such a hard book to describe, it’s a love story but also a story of survival and resistance. Against the Loveless World follows Nahr reflecting on her life up to the present where she is serving a sentence in an Israeli prison for acts of terrorism, and looking back at all the twists and turns through life that brought her there. It is dark in places with descriptions of rape and prostitution as Nahr struggles to survive in the Palestinian diaspora scattered around the middle East before she eventually found her way back to the West Bank. Against the Loveless World is such a powerful story, and one that was surprisingly uplifting and inspiring about family, friendship, love, survival, ordinary and revolutionary acts of resistance.

Keedie by Elle McNicoll

Set five years before A Kind of Spark, the prequel focuses on Addie’s bold, impulsive and forthright autistic sister, Keedie. I didn’t love this quite as much as A Kind Of Spark because in some ways Keedie is a bit more prickly, uncompromising and impulsive than Addie but it’s still a captivating story that I thoroughly enjoyed full of friendships and bullying, family dynamics, self-acceptance and disability-positivity, and the claustrophobia of small Scottish towns that reminded me so much of my own adolescence.

They Called Me A Lioness by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri

This is the short autobiography of a 16 year old Palestinian girl, Ahed Tamimi, who was arrested and imprisoned for 8 months for slapping an Israeli soldier. It offers such a fascinating insight into the reality of life under occupation from the checkpoints, separate roads, walls carving up the West Bank to the military raids, arrests and beatings. Despite everything she endures, this is such a hopeful book with the writer imagining a future where Muslims, Christians and Jews can all live together peacefully as equals in one whole country. What really shines is that beyond the organised forms of protest like weekly marches in her village or the violent clashes between protesters and soldiers, so much of the resistance is just refusing to give up and continuing to find joy, love and carrying on with ordinary life under the brutal military occupation.

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

This has been on my TBR for a while but this summer seemed like the perfect time to read it as the story starts in July 2024. Published in 1993, Parable of the Sower describes a nightmarish, dystopian future where climate change has ravaged the world causing droughts, wildfires and mass migration as people attempt to flee further and further north to find safety. The story is narrated by Lauren who lives in a small walled off community in Southern California as her family tries to stay safe behind their walls fending off incursions from burglars, rapists and arsonists, she frets about what will happen when their safety is breached, and how she reacts when her worst fears come true. I was absolutely captivated by this story of survival, resilience, friendship and community against the odds and this is easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.

Have a lovely week. X

February Reading Wrapup

February turned out to be a quick, hectic month and unusually I found myself reading all non-fiction.

Ten Myths About Israel by Ilan Pappe

Frustrated by mainstream journalism coverage of the most recent conflict between Israel and Palestine, I picked up this book by Israeli historian, Ilan Pappe, to try to learn more. Ten Myths About Israel challenges the narrative many of us have been taught to believe about Israel as a land without a people for a people without a land, Israel being the only democracy in the middle east, that zionism is Judaism, and the two state solution is the only hope for lasting peace. It’s not without controversy, as Ilan Pappe argues that consecutive Israeli governments have undermined the peace process by refusing to negotiate with Palestinian leaders and allowing illegal settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. Ten Myths About Israel provided the context that I was seeking and I appreciated that this offers a secular history which doesn’t hold all Jewish people or Israeli citizens responsible for the actions of extremists in government or the Zionist movement.

Scattered Minds by Gabor Mate

A really interesting read (or in my case, listen) from a psychiatrist who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, which includes anecdotes and reflection from his own experiences as well as those of patients he’s worked with.
Scattered Minds explains the symptoms and signs of ADHD, and examines the links between genetics, early childhood environment and neurobiology in individuals with ADHD.
Gabor Mate argues that while there is a neurobiological aspect, that impaired parent-child attachment and environmental stress during the  early years can also have an impact on the development of ADHD, and that we live in a fast-paced culture and society that exacerbates ADHD symptoms.
This also contains advice on how to parent a child with adhd, such as how to build attunement and attachment, overcome oppositionality and stubbornness, and how to motivate a child with ADHD.

Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis

This is an collection of speeches, articles and interviews on related themes and topics from the prison industrial complex, the militarization of the police and institutional racism which has lead to so many black people being killed by the police force, the power of collective action and intersectional feminism, and the struggle for freedom and abolition from the United States of America to Palestine. Freedom is a Constant Struggle is an interesting, informative and thought-provoking little book that really left me wanting to read more of Angela Y. Davis’ work.

It’s Not That Radical by Mikaela Loach

This is a really interesting book by a young, black female environmental activist that draws connections between exploitation of land and resources that lead to climate breakdown and social issues like the exploitation of workers and racism. One thing I found really inspiring was the idea that climate justice means more than just preserving the status quo with green capitalism alternatives, and the climate emergency provides an opportunity to create a fairer, cleaner and healthier world for everyone, but I was a little disappointed that there weren’t more practical steps to take beyond joining a trade union or protesting.

Have a lovely week all. X