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My 2023 in Books: From Satisfying Mysteries to Quirky Sci-Fi
This was a strange reading year, because hiking the PCT had a massive impact on what kind of books I was reading and how I was reading them. For example, I read almost 20 books on my kindle, which was a new experience for me, and one I didn’t hate, although nothing can replace the joys of paper books. I haven’t opened my kindle since getting off the trail, but the appeal of library books I can’t get anywhere else my end up changing that. Similarly, I listened to a lot of books. This isn’t necessarily new, but the proportion of books I listened to while on the trail was…
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Dangerous Fiction: Stories of the Displaced and Placeless – A Reading List by Omar El Akkad
A few months ago, I got the opportunity to attend a talk by Omar El Akkad, the author of the incredible book American War. We were in a small room with about 10 people, and I was in heaven. His talk was fascinating and centered on the ways that displacement and disruption can fracture personal identities. In addition, he did something that will always win me over. He gave us a book list. Some of the books I had read, some I had heard of, and some were completely new. I wanted to share this list with you. It is for those who read American War, and also for those…