Reviews with TLC

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi is a must-read for anyone striving to better understand not only Palestine/Israel/Middle East history but the history of the world. Khalidi dives into the history of settler colonialism, war, antisemitism, anti-Arab sentiment, and the power brokers that make the deals to promote all of the above. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine traces the violence and the failed attempts at peace alongside the excuses for cruelty. He shares his own family's history in Palestine and as refugees including their attempts to negotiate for the Palestinian people over the years. Khalidi holds a large number of historical figures and powerful people accountable for their handling of Palestine using facts and documents that show how the decisions were made without giving any thought to the people who lived in Palestine at the time. It's a fascinating book that comes through mo

My Voice Sought the Wind by Susan Abulhawa is beautifully intense and intensely beautiful in its honesty and expression. The poems often seem simple at first glance but contain quite a bit of depth, often in only a few lines. Abulhawa expresses her experiences and her observations with an openness that is touching and engaging. Within her poems lies the humanity that  lives inside all of us and reminds us all that we can find more in common than we think if we just stop to see each other. I thoroughly enjoyed My Voice Sought the Wind and was a little sad when I got to the end because there wasn't more to read. Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including: The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017   by Rashid Khalidi Reviews will be posted as I finish these books. Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additiona

Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books by Ursula K. Le Guin is a mix of essays, book reviews, and journaling about a writers retreat. Le Guin offers some interesting points of view throughout Words Are My Matter . I was a bit hesitant about the book reviews, but she handled them more like essays than the kind of reviews typically seen on book websites. Words Are My Matter was engaging, but a few parts were less appealing than others. I enjoyed the essays more than the reviews. The journal entries about the writers retreat sparked my curiosity about the retreat enough that I researched it. Words Are My Matter managed to both feel disjointed and cohesive with the various sections compiled as they are, but overall was a satisfying read. Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including: The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017   by Rashid Khalidi My Voice Sought the Wind  by Susan Abulhawa Reviews wil

The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes surprised me. I confess I had multiple false starts reading this novel. I'm not sure why, but it wasn't the story itself. Once I really started it, I quickly found myself immersed in the story, rooting for March, empathizing with his mother, and really, really wanting to hug the tree at the center of the story. I loved every moment March spent in the forest even when he wasn't supposed to be there and even when I feared he might get hurt. Hayes weaves together a story that explores many topics with a deft hand that feels inclusive and urgent but at the same time nuanced. The Eagle Tree is a beautiful story with characters that I wasn't quite ready to let go of at the end of the story. Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including: Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books  by Ursula K. Le Guin The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017   by Rashid Khalidi M

Petals of the Moon: A Poetry Collection by C. Churchill offers short lyrical poetry that left me feeling both melancholy and hopeful. There's a thread that runs through even the saddest of these poems that weaves feeling of positivity awaiting. Using the moon as an anchor, Churchill tells the story of life, love, loss, and renewal in these poems. Petals of the Moon feels like a journey and an immersion all at once even on the poems that feel easy to gloss over in the moment. Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including: Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books  by Ursula K. Le Guin The Eagle Tree  by Ned Hayes The Hundred Years War on Palestine: A history of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi Reviews will be posted as I finish these books. Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. If you'd like to foll

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears surprised me not in its bombshells or its revelations but in its humanity. Reading it felt like sitting across from a friend who is catching you up on their life. To be clear, Spears really appealed to a younger generation than me as I'm a bit older than her, so I didn't follow her career that closely even though I did enjoy some of her songs when I would hear them. The Woman in Me feels both like it is guarded and vulnerable, which I believe tells us something in and of itself. Spears has always had to be careful about what she shares and what she holds close. The Woman in Me is a powerful reminder of how damaging and devastating the paparazzi was in the 1990s and early 2000s. There is a strong message here about the public's insatiable desire for the salacious. I felt Spears's pain and her fear as the paparazzi surrounded her, especially when she had her children, babies at the time, with her wanting that money shot and not caring

Capitalism Calls Poetry Lazy by Wyatt Welch challenged me to think a bit more than I expected, but I liked the way it challenged me. It made me think and made me feel a range of emotions. Welch uses language and form in creative and interesting ways. The play on words often made me question my assumptions. As a poet, I appreciated Welch's exploration of modern society through a poetic lens. As a reader, I found the poems kept pulling me back to explore what came next. Capitalism Calls Poetry Lazy is an interesting read that examines society, what society values, and how society expresses what it values. Check back soon for my thoughts on other books I'm reading including: The Woman in Me  by Brittany Spears Words Are My Matter: Writings on Life and Books  by Ursula K. Le Guin Petals of the Moon: A Poetry Collection  by C. Churchill The Eagle Tree  by Ned Hayes Reviews will be posted as I finish these books. Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click o

Pity the Reader: On Writing with Style by Kurt Vonnegut and Suzanne McConnell vacillated between feeling engagingly insightful and annoyingly repetitive yet even the repetition felt like it served a purpose. Pity the Reader is part biography, part examination of Vonnegut's work, and part elaboration on Vonnegut's opinions and teachings. I thought I'd read some of Vonnegut's work years ago - like high school or college, but as I read through the descriptions of his work I became increasingly convinced I didn't. Somehow, that realization made Pity the Reader more intriguing to me than it was when I started. I'm very glad I read Pity the Reader , but I do believe it is a book that won't appeal to everyone. Also, I want to point out that I read the exercises included at the end but opted not to do them for a variety of reasons - mostly that I'd done some version of most of them at some other point in my life. I do think they could be very helpful and I mi