IslandMix

Was in the city on Thursday w/out a thing to do (had to take my son to a workshop and wait all day for him) so of course I end up shopping One stop on my spree was Barnes & Nobles and I picked up a few titles I been meaning to get to, then I spent from Fri to Sun relaxing and reading. Finished these two and highly reccommend them -

Obama's "Dreams from My Father": I thought it was gonna be a slow read but its completely engrossing. I'm really shocked about how much he revealed about himself in this book and that so much of the book deals w/ race/racism. I guess because I always pictured him as much more "neutral" or maybe the term I'm looking for is less nationalist when it comes to race issues and therefore deemed "safer" than say an Al or a Jesse. At first when his family drama unfolded I thought that it was so typically west indian (the absent father, the 1/2 brothers and sisters, the wife's acceptance and love of the "outside children", the million unspoken family secrets, the attitudes of the men etc.) but I guess its simply african diasporic. There is no way to finish reading this book and not feel that Obama represents the "real america" of today. I think EVERYONE should read it.

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali : Its the autobiography of the Somalian woman who escaped an arranged marrage and ends up serving on the Dutch Parliament. Excellent read and spans her family's migration from Somalia at the beginning of the civil war to Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, then follows her to a Dutch refugee camp where she gets citizenship, builds a life for herself and becomes a political activist. Gives a great look at the race, class and tribal divisions in africa as well as the division throughout Islam. I cried at the part where her and her sister were circumcised The important gist of the book though is that her "mission" is to "wake the western world up" from thinking that Islam is about peace and tolerance and that its only some fringe groups that spit hate and violence. According from her the violence comes directly from prophet mohammed and the quaran, a book that reflects the harsh, violent culture of the Saudi Desert centuries ago and hence should not be taken literally anymore.