Hi,
Today’s eliminations are books that I felt contained great insights yet remained difficult works for me to relate to given the experiences that formed the foundations of these works. This is a consistent challenge for any reader, of course, and one of my long-term reading goals is to become better at absorbing such books. For now, I struggle on, accepting that although there is nothing wrong with enjoying books I relate to, there is much untapped wisdom for me if I learn to reach a similar understanding with books that do not speak so directly to my experiences (1).
The Raqqa Diaries by Samer (February 2018)
This astonishing book somehow emerged from Syria despite the constant oppression of Daesh. Samer’s book is an easy read from a technical perspective but there is hardly a light syllable in its pages. I consider this among a class of books that is especially important for voracious readers and thinkers because this type of book reminds us that what we so often consider as ‘in the past’ has no bearing on whether similar events can happen ‘right now’. The Raqqa Diaries proves something important – just because it’s in a history book doesn’t mean the event can never happen again, or that it stopped happening at all. We in the present cannot become complacent with progress so long as others in the world are denied basic human rights as an indirect consequence of our inaction, ignorance, or indifference.
Parting thought: Is it really the Islamic State?
I clarified my thoughts in this post.
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (September 2018)
It took me a long time to put together a reading review about this work. At its basic level, Baldwin wrote this book to consider his experiences in the context of the USA’s ongoing struggle with bigotry, prejudice, and injustice. More generally speaking, the book’s release in the early years of the civil rights movement combined with Baldwin’s prose, perspective, and profile place this among the great works of American literature. Baldwin’s themes about the legacy of racism remains very much a central concern for millions of my fellow Americans and this will remain the case indefinitely until people act on one of this book’s most important ideas – the great challenge of changing the status quo is to convince those who benefit from it to nevertheless do what they know is right and just.
Parting thought: America has never dealt with problems until they become politically necessary.
I tried to analyze this thought from a number of perspectives but quickly discovered that each new line of investigation led me into messy dead ends crowded with contradictions and exceptions.
I must admit that this thought has come to me from time to time since last September, mostly in the context of politicized issues that to me have no hope of a political resolution. I suspect people think of debate as a prelude to a resolution but I disagree with this point of view because I believe a debate is usually a way to pass the time during a spell of inaction. For me, political necessity means one of two things - either one party deals with a problem as a way to get with the times or both parties come together to redirect resources toward common goals that emerge from existing consensus. Those interested in progress should look for these opportunities and strike while the iron is hot rather than worry over, say, what an opponent who rides around in private jets has to say about climate change.
Footnotes
1. How I related to past TOA Book Award winners
Pachinko spoke to me because I found its insight into the influence of Japanese culture on native outsiders matched certain perceptions, intuitions, and experiences I had regarding the same topic. Eureka Street was a little trickier but it helped that the protagonist was my age and maintained certain self-doubts and internal dialogue that felt familiar to me. I relate to many of the leadership and management books I read because they often seem to be describing my personality, worldview, or past behaviors.
