Category Archives: Book Reviews

Review: They Called Me a Lioness (Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri)

Ahed Tamimi and her family have spent their whole lives fighting for a free Palestine. From the village of Nabi Salih in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Tamimi has been an icon of resistance since she was a young girl but gained international attention in 2017 after she was arrested and jailed for eight months at the age of 16 for slapping an Israeli soldier who had just shot her cousin in the head. A video of the slap spread on social media, bringing much-needed attention to the violence in the West Bank. 

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History (Nur Masalha)

Palestine: A Four Thousand Year History by Nur Masalha ambitiously traces, as the name suggests, four thousand years of Palestinian history, from the beginning of recorded history to the modern Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Masalha is a professor of Palestinian history, former Director of the Centre for Religion and History at St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, and editor of “The Journal of Holy Land and Palestine Studies,” published by Edinburgh University Press. He studies, among other things, memory, social activism, and decolonizing methodologies.

Review: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Pappé)

You cannot read 336 pages of Israel committing ethnic cleansing over 70+ years without having to come to terms with the fact that not having a strong opinion on some things is just being a coward. As it turns out, the situation is really, really simple. 

I read 100 books in 2023, some of which were important. 

It has taken me a while after New Year to figure out how to present this list, primarily because it’s actually two lists. I read 87 books for pleasure, and I read 15 books (and counting) to wrap my head around the genocide in Palestine.

Review: The Lost Apothecary (Sarah Penner)

An apothecary named Nella sells poisons to wronged women in 1791 London. Twelve-year-old Eliza seeks her help on behalf of her employer, a woman who wants her husband dead, and soon after, Nella’s world begins to crumble around her. In present-day London, history enthusiast Caroline Parcewell spends her 10th wedding anniversary alone, trying to figureContinue reading “Review: The Lost Apothecary (Sarah Penner)”

Review: The Humans (Matt Haig) 

The Humans is a novel that could only have come from Matt Haig. I’ve been reading a LOT in these past months, but there is something about Haig’s work that makes turning the page feel as easy as taking the next breath.  The Humans is about an alien sent to Earth to stunt human development by replacingContinue reading “Review: The Humans (Matt Haig) “

Thoughts on How to Stop Time (Matt Haig)

I have often wondered what it would be like never to die. I wouldn’t have to worry about illness, aging, or the slow but inevitable cognitive decline that leads one with varying degrees of dignity into the grave. There would be no sense of personal urgency, but I would live in fear of losing people.Continue reading “Thoughts on How to Stop Time (Matt Haig)”

Review: The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)

It has been a couple of years since I’ve made the time to delve into serious science fiction, but I find it hard to believe I could have chosen a better book to get myself back into the genre. Liu Cixin’s novel is the sort of read that completely absorbs your week. From its heartbreakingContinue reading “Review: The Three-Body Problem (Liu Cixin)”

Review: The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)

The scope of this book is not, nor could it be, big enough to encompass the experiences of everyone who has dealt with depression. There are as many flavors of depression as people who suffer from it. And because of that, this book may be perfect for some while utterly useless to others. And that’s okay.