Happy Thursday everyone! I'd just like to take a moment to say "Welcome!" to all of my new followers! Quite a few of you have joined up in the last few weeks, and I'm glad you're here. Thank you for leaving such sweet comments. (And, let's face it, for making me feel pretty darn good about myself!)
For those of you who don't know, I was an English literature major in college, so I love to read. I have an absurdly large book collection, and I get new books from the library every week. (And how awesome is the library?! I didn't realize what a wonderful resource it was until student loan payments kicked in, and I had to stop buying books.) Here are some truly excellent ones that I've been reading over the past few months...
Growing up Bin Laden
by Najwa bin Laden, Omar bin Laden, and Jean Sasson
Growing up Bin Laden
by Najwa bin Laden, Omar bin Laden, and Jean Sasson
Yes, this book was written by bin Laden family members - Osama's first wife and fourth son. It tells the tale of their family life, from Najwa's first memories of her husband (who is also her cousin), to their last when Najwa and Omar fled Afghanistan right before the 9/11 attacks. It gives a fascinating account of Osama bin Laden's descent into terrorism. Several things I found interesting in this book:
-Osama wouldn't let his family use modern conveniences like refrigerators, because they came from the West, and he believed the West to be evil
-his wives loved each other like sisters and relied on each other for company and comfort
-bin Laden is shockingly similar to some of the strict, fundamentalist Christians that I know (which scares me)
***
The Year of Living Biblically
by A.J. Jacobs
A.J. Jacobs is a writer for Esquire magazine, and if you've read it you know how raunchy and morally questionable it can be sometimes. That's why I'm glad he was the one who wrote this book, and not someone who appreciated religion more from the beginning: he brought a fresh perspective to the topic. Jacobs comes from a Jewish family, but was never really interested in religion until he decided one day that he didn't want his children to grow up without an appreciation of spirituality. So he opened a spreadsheet on his computer, opened his Bible to the beginning, and made a list of every law or rule mentioned in the Bible. (There are thousands.) Then he set out to follow all of them over the course of a year. His experience is alternately hilarious and thought-provoking, and by far the best-written out of all the "my year of doing ____" books that I've read. (Including The One-Week Job Project, A Year Without "Made in China", and No Impact Man.) He doesn't follow every law constantly, but rather takes some of them and tries them out once or twice, like the law about stoning adulterers (tip: choose small pebbles, and throw softly so they don't notice what you're doing), or the law about sacrificing a lamb. There are beautiful moments in this story, and it certainly enriched my understanding of the Bible.
***
I'm Proud of You
by Tim Madigan
This book is more "Christian" than the others, but it's a beautiful story about how a news reporter formed a friendship with Mr. Rogers (yes, that Mr. Rogers), and how that friendship helped him through difficult periods of his life (family deaths, depression, separation from his wife). It's a sweet, heartwarming story that makes one thing very clear: Mr. Rogers was an incredible human being. I never knew just how awesome Mr. Rogers was until I read this book. (For an excellent review and summation of the book, check out this article.)
***
My Life in France
by Julia Child
This is a book for all you Francophiles and gastronomes out there. Julia Child put together this memoir with the help of her grandnephew Alex Prud'homme, and it was published posthumously. It tells the story of Julia and her husband Paul's move to France in the 1940's, and how she grew to deeply love the French people, as well as how she became the famous cook that she's known as today. It's a delightful story that completely transported my mind to Paris when I read it.
-Osama wouldn't let his family use modern conveniences like refrigerators, because they came from the West, and he believed the West to be evil
-his wives loved each other like sisters and relied on each other for company and comfort
-bin Laden is shockingly similar to some of the strict, fundamentalist Christians that I know (which scares me)
***
The Year of Living Biblically
by A.J. Jacobs
A.J. Jacobs is a writer for Esquire magazine, and if you've read it you know how raunchy and morally questionable it can be sometimes. That's why I'm glad he was the one who wrote this book, and not someone who appreciated religion more from the beginning: he brought a fresh perspective to the topic. Jacobs comes from a Jewish family, but was never really interested in religion until he decided one day that he didn't want his children to grow up without an appreciation of spirituality. So he opened a spreadsheet on his computer, opened his Bible to the beginning, and made a list of every law or rule mentioned in the Bible. (There are thousands.) Then he set out to follow all of them over the course of a year. His experience is alternately hilarious and thought-provoking, and by far the best-written out of all the "my year of doing ____" books that I've read. (Including The One-Week Job Project, A Year Without "Made in China", and No Impact Man.) He doesn't follow every law constantly, but rather takes some of them and tries them out once or twice, like the law about stoning adulterers (tip: choose small pebbles, and throw softly so they don't notice what you're doing), or the law about sacrificing a lamb. There are beautiful moments in this story, and it certainly enriched my understanding of the Bible.
***
I'm Proud of You
by Tim Madigan
This book is more "Christian" than the others, but it's a beautiful story about how a news reporter formed a friendship with Mr. Rogers (yes, that Mr. Rogers), and how that friendship helped him through difficult periods of his life (family deaths, depression, separation from his wife). It's a sweet, heartwarming story that makes one thing very clear: Mr. Rogers was an incredible human being. I never knew just how awesome Mr. Rogers was until I read this book. (For an excellent review and summation of the book, check out this article.)
***
My Life in France
by Julia Child
This is a book for all you Francophiles and gastronomes out there. Julia Child put together this memoir with the help of her grandnephew Alex Prud'homme, and it was published posthumously. It tells the story of Julia and her husband Paul's move to France in the 1940's, and how she grew to deeply love the French people, as well as how she became the famous cook that she's known as today. It's a delightful story that completely transported my mind to Paris when I read it.
Hi! What a fun website! And, so glad you found Growing Up Bin Laden interesting -- I agree with you completely. When I was writing Najwa and Omar's stories I simply found some of them so amazing that my jaw was hanging as I was writing. For certain, I discovered that Osama's wife Najwa and her son Omar are two extremely lovely people who did the best the could with a situation they could not control.
ReplyDeleteOh, my name is Jean Sasson... I didn't put that on earlier message. It's great to meet an avid reader. What do you think of digital books? I'm not a fan although I could see the purpose if traveling so one does not have to carry around a ton of books.
ReplyDeleteHi Jean! Thanks for visiting and commenting!
ReplyDeleteAs for digital books - I love the feel of having a book in my hands, and being able to curl up on the couch with it, so I don't think I'd ever use a digital reader. But I agree with you, I can see how it's useful if you travel a lot and don't want to carry around a suitcase of books to satisfy your reading needs!
Stacey, you're making me feel incredibly guilty about all of the fluff I've been reading lately.
ReplyDelete