Space Station Mir

23. The People of Forever Are Not Afraid by Shani Boianjiu What I noticed most about my time in Israel last month was the overwhelming sense of community-that and (not coincidentally) everyone's tendency to force-feed me. In that vein, a friend of mine teaching in Israel for the year lent this book to me during my travels. "You'll give it back to me when I see you again," he said vaguely, and because both of us were feeling just confident enough in our Israeli-Jewish bubble, I knew that I would. That sense of community persists in this book about three contemporary Israeli women, but in a weird and not quite as comforting way. The blurb on the back of the book is misleading. It begins, "Yael, Avishag, and Lea grow up together in a tiny dusty Israeli village...passing notes to each other to alleviate the universal boredom of teenage life." The blurb implies a togetherness that the characters technically experience, but as the writing makes quite evident...

22. The Best American Travel Writing 2013 Edited by Elizabeth Gilbert Travel and short stories make a marvelous combination in my book, and so when I found out that Elizabeth Gilbert had edited a compilation of travel short stories, it seemed like a magical combination. In her thoughtful introduction, Gilbert promises "you will not be bored"-and I was not disappointed. Every single one of these stories is unique and meaningful. I liked some better than others, but I did not skip or skim a single one. For example, bull-running and rooster-eyeball-licking are not really elements I look for in my stories, but I can think of quite a few students who'd get a kick out of it. The story that appealed most to me included "Blot Out" by Colleen Kinder about what it's really like to wear a niqab , a full head and body covering with a grille for eyes to see through. When one of the characters says "the best part was looking strangers square in the eye," I...

After Israel, I spent some time in San Francisco and Chicago. I thought I'd have time for blog posts, but apparently not. Before my travels, I read: 21. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin I finally finished the extant Song of Ice and Fire oeuvre. I have to say, I like where the series is going much better now. Nothing surprised me terribly (because with Martin, you are expecting the most terrible events), and the arc the books have followed has become more consistent with predictions I made after reading the third book. So, basically, let's all breathe a sigh of relief that Tyrion is still okay (though things look bad on HBO right now), and look forward to Baelish and Varys wreaking havoc that won't matter so much when the White Walkers come 'round.... Enjoy the season finale tonight!

Litlove's post about Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" got me thinking about pieces of writing that I had to read repeatedly in the American school system. Now, I think some of these may have been regional, others national, and perhaps others the product of particular teachers I had, but I'm curious: what are the most commonly read works of literature in schools, and why? In my own experience, these are the writings I have been asked to read more than once in school: 1. "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor 2. "Much Ado About Nothing" by William Shakespeare 3. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot 4. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 5. Elizabeth I's Armada speech 6. Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech 7. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 8. The Odyssey by Homer 9. "Ode to a Grecian Urn" by John Keats 10. ...

If you've been wondering why there have been no posts of late, I've been away for the past two weeks, visiting Israel. I'll put up some pictures in a future post, along with my review of The People of Forever Are Not Afraid , by Israeli author Shani Boianjiu. In the meantime, here are some books I finished before the trip. 19. Under the Jeweled Sky by Alison McQueen In my post on book topics I wanted to see more of, I included the India/Pakistan conflict. Then, I came across this book in the library. It's a story set against the backdrop of the India/Pakistan Partition, although that does not at first seem to be its main focus. At first glance, it's a fairly simple star-crossed lovers' tale, but the basic plot takes on a deeper significance within the larger context of the time period. This is a story about what it really means for people to be ripped apart, about what happens when you can't change the past, and there are no easy answers. 20. The...

17. Behind the Gem by Ken Hart An ordinary man finds himself suddenly transported across space and time and romantically pursued by a beautiful, gentle alien. Such is the conceit of Behind the Gem , and the plot's fast pace and simple wording make it read at first like bizarre fantasy. But it is so fast and easy to read, with event piling cleanly upon event, that one is drawn in. Gradually, explanations are revealed for the hasty beginning and the plot becomes both more interesting and more subtle. The outdoorsy, outspoken protagonist, Ray, is hard not to sympathize with. He is a masculine everyman with plenty of heart, soul,and brain. The female protagonist, known as Amber, is sympathetic, but less interesting aside from her alien nature. Despite her odd appearance, stereotypical femininity is her chief trait. This apparent stark delineation of the sexes is called into sharp relief when Hart pulls a twist that undermines the very structure of gender. I wish that more had be...

16. The Last Empress by Anchee Min There was a reason the ending to Empress Orchid felt abrupt. The story wasn't over yet! I have to say, this was definitely a story that needed to be told in full, though I think the second book was a little weaker in places than the first. Towards the end though, it perks up a lot. And Min's powerful metaphors continue to adorn the text. Empress Orchid, now Cixi, describes her relationship with her son as "trying to hold onto a kite in a capricious wind." The death of her best friend is like having "[her] heart shattered and the pieces pickled in sadness." Cixi is a woman who inspires incredible loyalty and immeasurable loathing. In this book, Min more directly addresses the many criticisms of Cixi's character and reign that proliferated in the foreign press in her later years. Some of the accusations, according to the novel, are true, but the most heinous ones are not. Cixi is painted as, above all, a patriot, ...

15. A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin So, I went on a Song of Ice and Fire binge a couple years ago, but ultimately stopped reading because of my frustration with the violence and the knowledge that everyone would be killed off (or hideously maimed). Since then, I've been watching the HBO show "Game of Thrones," which, honestly, I like better than the books (and I am the kind of person who almost never says that). But now Season 4 has started, and I don't know what's coming! So to prepare myself, I read the fourth book, and am "up" on half of the upcoming storylines. I'll have to read A Dance with Dragons soon to be fully prepared. And then, well, I'm no worse prepared than anyone else, at least. The events of the fourth book were fairly in keeping with those of previous books. I know fans complained that there were a lot of new viewpoints and lack of older viewpoints, but honestly, it didn't bother me that much. It just meant...