2023 has come to an end as has my reading for the year. In 2022, I was on fire and was able to read 69 books, but this year's reading was not quite as prolific. I was only able to read 35 books during 2023. In my defense, many of the books I read in '22 were fairly short and I had several lengthy books on my list the past year. If I were to guess, I would say that my actual reading page count in '23 wasn't that far behind '22, but who's to know? I certainly am not going to count the pages of all the books I've read to prove my point. I can be anal at times, but certainly not that much.
This final group of books represent my reading for November and December (not including the two books I read about Israelis that I discussed in a separate post) and what a diverse group of titles it is. To say I have eclectic reading interests is quite an understatement indeed.
As a reminder, here is the scale I use when reviewing books.
***** An extraordinary book: one of my Top 15 all-time favorites
**** An outstanding book: highly recommended
*** A good book: worth the read
** An OK read, but you'd be better off finding something else
* Not worth the read; avoid at all costs
Persepolis, The Story of a Childhood and The Story of a Return, by Marjane Satrapi (****)
This volume of Persepolis contains the first two graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi of the four she eventually wrote. Persepolis is the illustrated story of her life in Iran as the Islamic Revolution unfolded. It's a delightful, yet sorrowful, account told through the lens of an innocent child's eyes as gradually the narrator becomes aware of the cruel reality in which her family is living. Perepolis is humorous, insightful, and shows how a graphic novel can be an extraordinary vehicle for conveying the truth. I am probably the last person on the planet to pick up this work, but I'm glad I finally did. Highly recommended.
The Making of the Modern Philippines; Pieces of a Jigsaw State, by Philip Bowring (*** 1/2)
Whenever I visit a new country I make every effort to go to a bookstore and find a text that helps me understand the history of that country. This is the book I picked up when I visited Manila. The Philippines has had a complicated, and often tragic, history, which Bowring covers in detail. The last third of the book delves into the intricacies of individual regions and provinces, but the initial overview of Filipino history in the first two-thirds was incredibly insightful and helped me make sense of my brief visit to this interesting nation.
The Accidental Further Adventures of the Hundred-Year-Old Man, by Jonas Jonasson (***)
That exclusive and tiny group who've read my book reviews over the years will recognize this author's name as this is the 5th of his books I have read. It's the sequel to the massive international bestseller, The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Like the original novel, the sequel is a madcap and wild adventure involving a crazy dash around the world; this time the 100-year-old man visits everyone from Donald Trump to Kim Jong-un to Angela Merkel, who actually plays a significant role in the plot, all in an effort to prevent the Korean dictator from obtaining advanced nuclear weapons. Is this novel insane? Yes. Is it completely ridiculous? Yes. Is it outrageously entertaining and funny? Yes to that too. And as a bonus it mocks Donald Trump and the absurdities of the world's feeble efforts at diplomacy. I would recommend reading the original first because it has information that informs this novel, but the sequel is a nice. funny piece of escapism to brighten one's day.
Why I Write, by George Orwell (***)
This is actually a collection of four pieces gathered together by Penguin Books Great Ideas series. The title piece is interesting, the longest piece in the collection (The Lion and the Unicorn) is dated and mis-predicts the future of socialism in Great Britain, and the shortest piece (The Hanging) is a poignant psychological account of a public execution Orwell witnessed while living as a British bureaucrat in Burma. The last piece was my favorite. Politics and the English Language reflects many of the concerns we notice in Orwell's most-noted works like 1984. The four pieces aren't coherently connected to each other, but separately form an interesting glimpse into Orwell's thinking.
Caravanserai, by Rio Johan (***)
This is another of the wonderful BTW series of modern Indonesian literature published by Lontar (this one is bilingual in English and Indonesian, omitting the German translation this series usually also features). I think the BTW series might be out of print now as I no longer see them at Books Kinokuniya as I had during my first couple of years in Jakarta. This particular novella is especially interesting as it represents a rare work examining a taboo topic in Indonesia--homosexuality. The author, Rio Jahan, places this story in the distant past, as the Middle East/Iran of several centuries ago is the setting. The plot revolves around a young boy and his sexual relationship with an older caravan trader who takes the boy and his sister under his wing. Soon the story becomes complicated by the trader's marriage to the sister, while he still maintains a relationship with the brother. Though the plot is removed in time and space from Indonesia, the issues raised by Caravanserai are completely relevant to the contemporary realities of Indonesian society nevertheless. A challenging and provocative text.
Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu (***)
The Tao Te Ching is a Chinese classic text and foundational work of Taoism written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Lao Tzu, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are uncertain. The text is a series of paradoxes designed to help a person find their way on the path toward peace. One of the work's major concerns is how an emperor should act to best lead their kingdom. The Tao Te Ching is filled with wisdom, yet people like me who have not yet fully discovered their own spiritual path might get lost in the weeds while taking the journey through this guide where the answers are subtle and sometimes wrapped in layers of riddles.
Anarchist Communism, by Peter Kropotkin (***)
This is also another of the Penguin Books Great Idea series and therein lies the problem. I think Penguin just grabs essays and pieces from works where they hold the copyright and shoves them together into one text. The four pieces in this collection suffer from a disjointedness that makes it a challenge to read. In my opinion, Kropotkin, a 19th/early 20th Century Russian philosopher is an amazing thinker who is still relevant today. I would recommend reading his masterpiece, Mutual Aid, instead if you are interested in anarchist thinking. (No, not "anarchist" in the way the media misuses the word today as a synonym for complete chaos, but in the original philosophical sense that decries authoritarian systems like nation-states and capitalism that coerce and exploit the masses and advocates for systems promoting human freedom.) Despite the disjointed nature of this Penguin amalgamation, Kropotkin's critique of capitalism remains relevant today as the social ills he describes are still with us 150 years later as outlined here and there throughout this volume. Avoid this work and find complete versions of Kropotkin's works rather than this fragmentary collection. Still worth a look, though, as Kropotkin always writes in a compelling manner.
Leaders Eat Last, by Simon Sinek (** 1/2)
I was so intrigued by this book which has a title that represents a great paradigm for organizational leadership. But after I checked the book out of SU's library I was disappointed to learn that it uses the United States Marine Corps and the military as its model for organizational behavior. In the end, it's just another of the trillions of books published that are supposed to teach us how to lead. Though it advocates a few good points, nothing particularly interesting beyond the wonderful ethos represented in the title's metaphor.
So, may I wish all of you a wonderful year of reading in 2024. Some people set a goal to read a certain number of books in a given year. I think a better approach is to have no goal at all. Just always read one book at a time, constantly, without stopping. Good luck!
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