It's been a long time since I've talked about actually reading something. It's a little bit of a hit or miss right now, so I try to soak it up when I'm in the mood for it.
Currently Reading...I've spent the better part of last two weeks reading The Underground Girls of Kabul, and nothing else. It's a well-written book, mind you, but also littered with generalizations and a tone of something I can't put a word to yet. It's not condescension exactly (the author's tone is way too neutral for that) but there is a sense that the women in the West are better than Afghan women (better, not just better off). I'll need to think through that more. I know for sure that if I were Afghan and reading it, I would be .. maybe annoyed? frustrated? But how much of it is because of that sense of being looked down upon versus the subject of the book, is not clear yet. Hopefully after a few days of absent pondering, I'll have gotten to my point.
Just before I star…
Currently Reading...I've spent the better part of last two weeks reading The Underground Girls of Kabul, and nothing else. It's a well-written book, mind you, but also littered with generalizations and a tone of something I can't put a word to yet. It's not condescension exactly (the author's tone is way too neutral for that) but there is a sense that the women in the West are better than Afghan women (better, not just better off). I'll need to think through that more. I know for sure that if I were Afghan and reading it, I would be .. maybe annoyed? frustrated? But how much of it is because of that sense of being looked down upon versus the subject of the book, is not clear yet. Hopefully after a few days of absent pondering, I'll have gotten to my point.
Just before I star…
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Sunday so far is going well. Reading Sunday Salon posts as always and hopefully a little reading this afternoon. Not going anywhere here because we're having subzero temperatures and wind chills. Don't have to go anywhere until tomorrow afternoon.
Have fun visiting your friends :)
I do remember being pregnant though and the rampant ups and downs. I cried over everything. And if I saw a Hallmark commercial, it was just a snot fest. :-)
I tend to over-analyze too. It's both a help and a hindrance, isn't it? I remember some of the feelings I had during my pregnancy--little things would set me off crying and then I would burst out laughing about it at the same time because I knew it was so silly to be crying over such trivial things. My husband thought it was the funniest thing.
I hope you have a great week!
May I suggest Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way from
Chicago for some amusing, well-written, quick reading? They're written
for middle-schoolers but adults will definitely enjoy them. Although
tied together in a story arch, each chapter in the books is a
stand-alone short story.