My Reading Month: January

Last year, I started slow, but a stressful fall meant that I leaned into reading to keep myself sane, and I ended up finishing over 100 books in 2019. I don’t say this to brag because I do sometimes worry that the quantity of what I read can decrease the quality of my enjoyment. I feel ambivalent about it all, but the truth is, if I love a book, I love a book, no matter how quickly I read it, and that has to count for something.

That reading momentum also meant that I finished the year feeling jazzed and motivated about reading, which is a wonderful feeling to have! This year, in addition to keeping up that enjoyment, I have decided that I want to spend more time with physical books. I read a lot of audiobooks last year, and while I really do enjoy them, there is something so satisfying about actually reading a book cover to cover.

This past month was a fun month for me reading-wise, and I was surprised by how much I was able to read without feeling like I wasn’t able to do other things as well. However, and this is a return to the speed thing, looking back, I had a lot of fun reads but only a couple of standouts. Maybe I read a few books too quickly? Or maybe it is worth being quick so I can move on to better books. I still don’t quite know

Before I get into the two standout books I read in January, I do want to note that I struggled with one of these a little just because, especially in the wake of the recent backlash against American Dirt, I do feel it is important to make sure that we are taking the time to seek stories from the people who lived them rather than the white authors who have the ability to get the book deal. However, much of the criticism comes from the fact that American Dirt has been lauded as THE STORY, and as Chimemanda Ngozi Adichie has so powerfully expressed, the true danger is in thinking one story is THE story, not in having stories written from more than one perspective.

I do think there are times, as in The Buried, when a well-written, insightful and interpretive outside perspective can actually help an outsider audience gain a more nuanced understanding of a situation. I actually think that these books, when used correctly, can serve as great jumping off points to discovering and enjoying “own voices” work about the same subject with a greater appreciation and understanding of what is being said.

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The Buried: An Archeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter Hessler

This was a super interesting book I picked out of my Book of the Month options a while back, and because it was so large, it had sort of intimidated me. Hessler writes about his time in Egypt during the Egyptian Arab Spring with such honest curiosity and, while I usually am wary of books by foreigners about other countries, particularly during conflict, I found this to be an exception.

I imagine that an Egyptian might find generalities, and I want to seek out Egyptians writing about the same time period for future reading. However, as long as Hessler’s story is not the ONLY story you read about this time period, I think it is an incredibly insightful and interesting part of the whole.

I can say that as an introduction into a period of time I am familiar with but not very knowledgeable about, I loved that this book provided a lens and some guidance and interpretation to a culture that is very unfamiliar to me, and I felt that Hessler was able to navigate this with a critical yet empathetic eye.

The other thing is that this book is also incredibly well written, and the way that Hessler manages to weave in Egyptian history, his family life and the characters he encounters while reporting on these historic events is a master class in high-quality narrative nonfiction.

A few more books I have either been recommended or have read that touch on the Arab Spring and are written by Arab authors are below

The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz – Aziz is an Egyptian author and this surreal, 1984-esque book was written in 2012, right around the time that Hessler was living in Cairo. It is a fictional book, but captures much of the same circularity and absurdity that Hessler often comments on.

Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi – This is actually about the occupation of Baghdad, rather than the Arab Spring, but I found it to be another very interesting surrealist take on social movements and power in chaotic and violent times.

Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World, edited by Zahra Hankir – I haven’t yet read this one, but it was recommended to be by my mom and I look forward to reading it to gain a non-fiction perspective from Arab authors to complement the Hessler book.

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Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

I had lapsed in blogging late last fall when I first discovered Becky Chambers, so let me take this opportunity to tell you all about one of the most enjoyable, happy science fiction series I have ever read. Chambers builds a sci-fi world that manages to balance the necessary conflict that makes good story with a feel-good atmosphere that just makes me happy. Her characters are fundamentally good people, and her stories are positive and inclusive without ever feeling too utopian.

Record of a Spaceborn Few is the third book in her Wayfarers series, and while it isn’t the best of the three, it is pretty great. The first book in the series, the exceptional A Long Way to A Small Angry Planet, follows a young woman with a secret as she joins the crew of a Firefly-eque ship on a dangerous mission, visiting multiple planets on the way. A Closed and Common Orbit, the second book, is arguably even better, and it follows some of the tangential characters from the first book, as we explore themes of love, belonging and what intelligence and sentience truly are.

I just hope these become a TV show sometime, because they deserve one!

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I hope you all find something to enjoy here, even if long narrative nonfiction and science fiction are not your thing. I am working on some award updates and more specific posts right now as well, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy hearing more from me, and I hope you all are finding some amazing stories!