When I was on Facebook, I would post reviews of the books I read e
ach month, starting in March of this past year. I won't be doing this in the future, so this will be my final set of book reviews. I will try to keep my reviews extremely short.
My first book is one I actually have been reading all year. My treasured book of wisdom by the 13th Century Muslim philosopher and Sufi mystic, Rumi, has been trapped in my lost suitcases for 1.5 years. So, I purchased a book of Rumi wisdom called the Rumi Daybook at the beginning of this year. Each day of the year has a poem or selection written by Rumi for a person to use a meditation and I have done that through the entire year and now I am done with all 365 readings. It is a beautiful book of extraordinary wisdom. It would be a super daily practice for anyone to embark on for the course of a year.
Next book is Face by Ruth Ozeki. It's a weird book. Ozeki, a Buddhist nun, looks at her image in the mirror for most of a day and notes her observations. Weird, but a highly insightful meditation on our relationship to our physical image. Totally zen. Totally recommended.
August 9 is a book by Charles Emmanuel McCarthy that is out of print and probably not accessible, but would be fantastic if you could find it. It's about the horrible atrocities Christians have committed on August 9 through history, such as the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, all with the full support of most Christian institutions. It's an impassioned plea for Christians to return to the theology of non-violence which the author insists is essential to being a Christian (including the need to jettison the misguided notion of the "Just War Theory"). Highly recommended--and a reminder of how Christians have totally abandoned this crucial element of Christ's teachings. You could probably find it online via Thrift Books or some other used book seller and if not I am sure you can find a book that examines Christian non-violence, a key part of the religion that has unfortunately been ignored by almost all Christians over time.
Zelfri Alkitiri is a contemporary Indonesian poet. His book, Batavia to Jakarta in Poetry, is a collection of poems that looks at the harmful impact of Dutch colonization over the past few centuries until today. Powerful poetry. Another great book from Lontar Publishing, which features undiscovered Indonesian literary works. Any book from this publisher, including these insightful poems, would be a worthwhile read.
Turbulence, by David Szalay, is a book where each chapter looks at the life of someone on an airline flight. Then someone from that chapter is linked to someone on a different flight in the next chapter. Eventually, the final chapter, is linked back to the story in the first chapter. I had fun reading this book on my flight from Jakarta to Doha in December, especially because one of the chapters was about someone flying to Doha. It's a fun and interesting book that shows how all our lives are interlinked and connected, even though we don't realize it.
Finally I read, Indonesia Etc. In this book, the author, Elizabeth Pisani, spends over a year making a full circle around the Indonesian archipelago, visiting dozens of islands. This chronicle of her journey is a fantastic introduction to Indonesian culture and society. I enjoyed it tremendously because I had visited some of the places and experienced some of the cultural aspects she discussed. But anyone who enjoys learning about other cultures would find this an interesting book, even if they've never stepped foot in Indonesia.
Wow, I read lots of books this year. I haven't read this much since I was in graduate school. Look for my end-of-year post, where I feature and recommend the very best books I read this year.
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