My Reading List Begins

  
A Doctor in Galilee: The Life and Struggle of a Palestinian in Isreal

A friend bought this for my birthday. So far I've read the first 3 chapters. So many issues, so many social struggles, so much to learn. My bookshelf is growing and although I want to understand the world, and injustice, to not be ignorant, there's too much and I seem to struggle to force myself to read the words, I have a kind of block. So it may take me a while to read. Not that it stops me from recommending things to friends and insisting they read the stuff because it's brilliant. The plight of these people is awful though, and so misunderstood, deliberately spread to be misunderstood and causing such a divide. Anyway, this book is the memories of a doctor from Galilee :). He tells of his time growing up there and working there, trying to put in public health systems and the resistance and discrimination he faces all the way by Israel. One hot topic. But I can't see how people can't be moved by the story when they actually know the details and not just the rhetoric. The introduction, by Jonathan Cook, is heartbreaking though, as he goes through the systemic discrimination and the historic details and policies of Israel.

The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical


This is another amazing book. A random guy, or sort of friend, acquaintance I met once and never likely to meet again gave it to me. Though he was nice, and I wouldn't mind seeing him again. He was living with a guy on my course. He was a printer, and his philosophy in life was simply love I think. That and he got involved in everything, he tried things, he rambled through life, was creative and took part in campaigns. The friend who gave me the above book met him randomly on a protest for No Borders, he'd seen a leaflet calling for help and thought why not, seems something worthy, even though it was at 8am (eek, for me at least). But he's not a christian, even though this book is the sort of journal of a christian. Anyway, it's about a different type of christian or person. A different way to live. And get involved in great things. One of my favourite tales is when he stood up at the Republican conference when G. Bush Jnr. was about to give a speech (before he was elected) and ripped of his suit to reveal a t-shirt with a quote on it, at the same time as shouting the quote (basically don't steal from the poor) before getting dragged of stage and put in a closet by the secret service. He then hilariously overhears them discussing what to do: they can arrest him if he is an activist, so when confronted and they ask him if he is one, he replies no, I'm a prophet. And they have to let him go.

Lots more books that have inspired my last year, but for now, chow.