I am WAY behind my reading this year. I spend a considerably larger portion of my time sitting in traffic and unfortunately, it isn't the kind of traffic you can read in. Other annual goals are on track, but I've documented them poorly. I will make some effort to try to get some stuff updated this week, but time is still scarce. Longer workdays, bigger workloads, longer driving times, all unavoidably monopolize what would normally be "free" time. I do have a nice little queue of 8 or so books waiting for when the moment is ripe.
Due to erhm, "suggestions" of some readers last year, I realize that my reading list can be a bit klunky. As a result, I will be dividing the reading by category and only list what is finished.
Total: 14
Arabs/MENA
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture, and Religion by Birgul Acikyildiz
Total: 14
Arabs/MENA
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture, and Religion by Birgul Acikyildiz
The Olive and the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze by Dr. Westheimer and Gil Sedan
An Introduction to Shi'i Islam by Moojan Momen
The Essentials of Ibadi Islam by Valerie Hoffman
Food
Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human by Richard Wrangham
How Carrots Won the Trojan War by Rebecca Rupp
Design for Tea: Tea Wares from the Dragon Court to Afternoon Tea by Jane Pettigrew
Religious/Culture Studies
Fields of Blood: The History of Religion and Violence by Karen Armstrong
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture, and Religion by Birgul Acikyildiz
The Olive and the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze by Dr. Westheimer and Gil Sedan
An Introduction to Shi'i Islam by Moojan Momen
The Essentials of Ibadi Islam by Valerie Hoffman
Xenophobe's Guide to the Israelis by Aviv Ben Zeev
War/Armed Conflict
Lair, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Women/Gender/Gender-based Violence
Lair, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
MISC
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling
* I met Giles Hilton at the specialty tea counter at Fortnum & Mason in London who helped me understand some basics about different types of tea. I told him it was really precious knowledge and asked if he had written a book or could recommend any. He did recommend one by his friend Jane Pettigrew and then finally admitted he had also published something. While it was out of print, I was able to turn up a copy and found it to be really informative, illustrated, and a pleasant read. He was a lovely person who clearly had fine tastes and I felt lucky to have had the interaction.
