Hi all,
A few of my January 2017 reads that I did not extend into full-length reading reviews.
Tim
Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
A collection of Kashua's articles for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, all originally published between 2006 and 2014. Kashua's column explored his experience living as a Palestinian minority in his country.
One up: My understanding of daily living in Israel is approximately zero. Despite that background, I found the stories here easy to relate to and my reactions to a lot of his writing were much rawer than I anticipated when I first opened Native. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this book.
One down: There is certainly a narrative arc to these stories because most are written from a shared basic premise- relate the story of an Arab-Israeli with humor, insight, and truth. But it remains a collection of articles originally published in a magazine and thus the ability of the author to open up at length about a particular angle or aspect of a given situation is limited.
Just saying: I picked this out at the library one night because I was browsing for a possible light read- the type of book I would read before going to bed. It fit the bill because of the collection format and the author's sense of humor. But I would not go so far to classify it as a 'light read' given the weight of the content.
Women In Science by Rachel Ignotofsky
This not quite picture book profiles fifty famous women in various scientific fields.
One up: It is chock full of interesting facts and anecdotes (none of which I will recall for this post). Someone interested in the history of science or seeking to inspire a future science major will probably feel very good about picking this book out.
One down: There is not much science here, I suppose, like how most sports movies are a bit light on pure sports scenes. But I doubt anyone is picking this book out for the science.
Just saying: I'm in a bit of a 'Goldilocks' spot with these science books. The shorter stuff (like this book) tends to settle for acknowledging how scientists succeeded while the more in-depth works often either get caught up in the excitement of the 'nuts-and-bolts' detail involved in the actual science or broaden the scope to include the news-bulletin themes that the author cherry picks to make the topic 'relevant'.
What would be 'just right'? I think a work that really explored how a scientist scoped out a project or built their research career would be an interesting starting point. When I consider the strange popularity of books from related fields (like medicine) I see examples of this type of focus.
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The third Virginia Woolf novel I've read of late, To The Lighthouse explores family dynamics, the nature of consciousness, and themes of love and loss with Woolf's trademark writing style. The lighthouse is ever-present throughout- sometimes bringing light, at other times casting shadow, sometimes the topic of conversation, at others completely ignored.
One up: I think Woolf fans will love this book. There was nothing unexpected for me after having finished two of her other works in the space of the past few months. Some of the imagery will force the reader to pause and a few of the ideas introduced will stick in the mind long after the bookmark has been replaced.
One down: This book took a little while, for me, to get going. Unlike her other recent work I've read, it was not quite clear what Woolf was doing here until I got some part into it.
Just saying: I did not get sucked into this one quite as much as The Waves or Mrs. Dalloway. It's never fair to compare a book to a Virginia Woolf novel (even including, I suppose, other Virginia Woolf novels) but I think my hunch that reading three is enough for now is confirmed by how I responded to this work.
