Weekly Reading: Leaping Lines, Revolutionary Baby Jesus, Repo Men at Sea and Great! Post Offices

I read a lot over the holidays so I am still catching up with my summaries of all my December reading.

Reading Is About the Lines That Leap Off the Pages
Much of what you read in the Times you read without giving a thought to who the author is.  I couldn't make that mistake after reading this year-end gem by Dwight Garner, literary critic extraordinaire.  In it he deftly leaps through about twenty different book recommendations, lifting delicious quotes from each of them.

The Christmas Revolution
Smart, well-written article on just how revolutionary Jesus was.  "He saw the inestimable worth of human life, regardless of social status, wealth and worldly achievements, intelligence or national origin. So should we."

ISIS’ War on Christmas
Interesting and thoughtful article on how Salafists think about Christmas theologically.  The author also draws parallels between Islamists' "origin' state and that of the far right en France.


MARITIME ‘REPO MEN’: A LAST RESORT FOR STOLEN SHIPS
Wow, fascinating report on the gritty underbelly of maritime repossessors.  This has to get made into a movie.

What’s Your Favorite Poem?
A round table of authors discuss their favorite poems--what's not to like!

How I Escaped Vietnam
Incredible untold story of the flood of children that escaped Vietnam in the midst of escalating violence and mayhem.

In Chile, Where Pablo Neruda Lived and Loved
Beautiful writing about the homes of Neruda in Chile.  Essential reading for any Pablophile.

The Deported
I feel like it's all too easy for both sides of the immigration debate to make sweeping statements one way or the other.  Articles like these should hopefully give one pause to consider the actual human lives behind whatever the policies enacted are.

Why the Post Office Makes America Great
Having lived overseas for more than two years in a third-world country I appreciate the author's sentiment.  As Americans we take things like being able to send a letter that arrives where it is supposed to for granted.  

Weekly Reading List: Mosquito nets and fishermen, Papa's Letters, A Century of Immigration and Italy in Africa

Why trying to help poor countries might actually hurt them

This is a bit more of Moyo's "Dead Aid" redux...foreign aid comes in so many shapes and flavors it is quite difficult to quantify on a purely economic/quantitative basis. For example, you can't really quantify the economic effect of 15 million mosquito nets for example. On the other end of the spectrum sometimes those nets are used by fishermen instead...the best aspect that the author highlights is the difficult of quantifying aid since so many of the variables are micro (i.e., local) ones.

Ernest Hemingway as Ravenous Reader and Gossip

The third installment of an expected 17 volumes of Hemingway's letters.  Hemingway is one of my favorite writers (along with Salter and Markham) so this volume will automatically get added to my Amazon wish list.  Evidently Hemingway was not as stoic and guarded in his letters as he was in his fiction.

From Germany to Mexico: How America’s source of immigrants has changed over a century
A fascinating look at the poor tired huddled masses that have come to the US from around the world over the past 100 years.  Who knew that the largest immigrant population group in South Dakota is Ethiopia...and in PA is China.

Igiaba Scego’s novel ‘Adua’ intertwines Afro-Italy’s historic phases

For whatever reason I've been coming across a lot of Libya-Italy articles/literature.  Unfortunately, Scego's novel has yet to be translated into English.  BUT, I'm currently reading another Italian-Libyan author named Spina's newly-ish translated The Confines of the Shadow--a century long look at life and colonization in Italy.

In the meantime you can read one of Scega's translated short stories: Sausages

What I Read Last Week: Pro-life means pro-gun control, a missile's aftermath, Yakuza photos, Contempt in Marriage and Politics in Madagascar

How one evangelical activist changed his mind on gun violence
A preacher's journey toward an expansive understanding of pro-life the grew from one focused on protecting the unborn to also protecting life in general through gun control.  Personally, I tend to agree that protecting the unborn goes hand in hand with fighting gun violence from a consistency aspect.


In Yemen, Death From Above, Grief Below
While we're reading about the value of life, this is a sober account of what the aftermath of a missile strike looks like for civilians.  So often, the actuality of these events are masked behind passive headlines--it's important to remember that a person's value is independent of their country of origin and that government's relationship to another.

This Photographer Was Given Access Inside One Of Japan’s Yakuza Crime Families
An intriguing and frightening glimpse into the seedy underworld of Japan's crime world.  The depth to which the photographer seems to have been lulled into its pull speaks to families' power--he glosses over the deleterious aspects of their existence quickly--ignoring the implications of prostitution, bribery and corruption.

Easier Said Than Done On the elusive quest for political stability in Madagascar
While Soamiely may be pretty much the only person writing in English on Malagasy culture and politics, he's also an incredible talented and interesting writer.  He's on my weekly reading list.  This article is a great example from June this year in which he dissects the (in)efficacy of the government in Madagascar to make concrete progress.

Couples Who Stay Together Follow This One Rule
I will just give you the rule: "If an argument crosses over from anger to contempt, it needs to stop immediately."