Two books to read: The Power of One and Mornings in Jenin
January 11, 2013 by Emily
I have two books I recently read that I recommend. Oh and by the way I read over 100,000 pages of just fun books in 2012 aka not the school books I had to read. And that was since March. Thanks Goodreads for tracking such statistics.
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
When I told my mom I was reading this book, she assumed I had already read it. It isn’t a new novel by any means and I read most books my mom reads and she read it years ago. But nope, I hadn’t read it.
Here is a description from Amazon:
I absolutely loved the character development of Peekay. The story is told from the point of view of Peekay as he grows up and understands more and more of the world around him. The author does an amazing job of telling the story first from the head of a 5-year-old and later from the head of a young adult. The novel is also full of history about South Africa. I don’t know about you, but school sorta cheated me out of the history of South Africa. There were times in the novel that made me stop and think. I liked this page so much I took a picture of it. The other characters are so complex. Especially Doc. Read it.
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
This was another really good book. I was into from the beginning and flew through it.
Here is a description from Amazon: 
First of all, I am so painfully ignorant about Palestine and Israel. Painfully ignorant. I try, try, try to keep up with everything (I’m a news and policy junkie) but the truth is that I have a hard time following the news because, like South Africa, my education cheated me out of history on the Middle East. Unlike the book above, I didn’t particularly love any of the characters or the development of the characters in general. What I did love about this book was that it questioned the sense of normalcy. It is amazing to me, someone who never has been anywhere near a bomb, what can become normal in life. For the characters in this book, bombs were normal. Death was normal. Life went on during destruction. Babies were born (and killed), people fell in love, formal education happened. I also love how the author defines (and questions) the concept of family and home. Also made me remember that no matter what happens I have book my wonderful childhood and my education. Two things that never can be taken away.
Yup. Read this book too while you’re at it!
Have you read either of these books? What good books are you reading? Are you painfully ignorant about Palestine and Israel?
XoXo
Emily
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I absolutely loved the character development of Peekay. The story is told from the point of view of Peekay as he grows up and understands more and more of the world around him. The author does an amazing job of telling the story first from the head of a 5-year-old and later from the head of a young adult. The novel is also full of history about South Africa. I don’t know about you, but school sorta cheated me out of the history of South Africa. There were times in the novel that made me stop and think. I liked this page so much I took a picture of it. The other characters are so complex. Especially Doc. Read it.
Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
This was another really good book. I was into from the beginning and flew through it.
Here is a description from Amazon: 
First of all, I am so painfully ignorant about Palestine and Israel. Painfully ignorant. I try, try, try to keep up with everything (I’m a news and policy junkie) but the truth is that I have a hard time following the news because, like South Africa, my education cheated me out of history on the Middle East. Unlike the book above, I didn’t particularly love any of the characters or the development of the characters in general. What I did love about this book was that it questioned the sense of normalcy. It is amazing to me, someone who never has been anywhere near a bomb, what can become normal in life. For the characters in this book, bombs were normal. Death was normal. Life went on during destruction. Babies were born (and killed), people fell in love, formal education happened. I also love how the author defines (and questions) the concept of family and home. Also made me remember that no matter what happens I have book my wonderful childhood and my education. Two things that never can be taken away.
Yup. Read this book too while you’re at it!
Have you read either of these books? What good books are you reading? Are you painfully ignorant about Palestine and Israel?
XoXo
Emily
I haven’t read either one of these, but they both sound really interesting! I used to read a lot of historical fiction when I was younger, so The Power of One in particular seems like something I’d enjoy. I just need to finish the three books I have right now first…haha.
These both sound like really good books. I’m like Bethany…I’m currently reading 3 books.
I consider Mornings in Jenin to be one of the most important books I have read, because I, too, am a news and policy junky, and this book informed my humanity about the inhumanity of what has been happening in Palestine since 1948.
I’ve not read either of those, but I’m always looking for something out of the genre I normally stick to…
I’m officially starting Divergent on my commute this morning (Happy Friday to me, indeed!) and next on my list is Stiffed. I think I’ll be giving Erin the stank eye for that one… jk… sorta….