February 2016 - A Women in the Crossfire (Syria)

Very excited that this month we'll be reading a book that shares a personal account on Syria through the book "A Woman in the Crossfire; Diaries of the Syrian Revolution, "by Samar Yazbek.
 
Here's the Book Summary:
 
A well-known novelist and journalist from the coastal city of Jableh, Samar Yazbek witnessed the beginning four months of the uprising first-hand and actively participated in a variety of public actions and budding social movements. Throughout this period she kept a diary of personal reflections on, and observations of, this historic time. Because of the outspoken views she published in print and online, Yazbek quickly attracted the attention and fury of the regime, vicious rumours started to spread about her disloyalty to the homeland and the Alawite community to which she belongs.
 
The lyrical narrative describes her struggle to protect herself and her young daughter, even as her activism propels her into a horrifying labyrinth of insecurity after she is forced into living on the run and detained multiple times, excluded from the Alawite community and renounced by her family, her hometown and even her childhood friends. With rare empathy and journalistic prowess Samar Yazbek compiled oral testimonies from ordinary Syrians all over the country.
 
These diaries will inspire all those who read them, and challenge the world to look anew at the trials and tribulations of the Syrian uprising.
 
We'll be meeting in the West Portal neighborhood on Sunday February 28 at 2pm.
 
Next Books To read:
March: Zami, A new Spelling of my Name by Audre Lorde
April: Compañeras Zapatistas Women Stories by Hilary Klein

January 2016 - The Beauty of Humanity Movement

Welcome 2016!
 
We are starting 2016 with a discussion on Vietname through the book "The Beauty of

Humanity Movement" by Camilla Gibb.
 
Here's a Book Summary:
 
Tu’ is a young tour guide working in Hanoi for a company called New Dawn. While he leads tourists through the city, including American vets on “war tours,” he starts to wonder what it is they are seeing of Vietnam–and what they miss entirely.
 
Maggie, who is Vietnamese by birth but has lived most her life in the U.S., has returned to her country of origin in search of clues to her dissident father’s disappearance during the war. Holding the story together is Old Man Hung, who has lived through decades of political upheaval and has still found a way to feed hope to his community of pondside dwellers.
 
This is a keenly observed and skillfully wrought novel about the reverberation of conflict through generations, the enduring legacy of art, and the redemption and renewal of long-lost love.
 
We will be discussing in the Russian Hill neighborhood on Sunday January 24 at 2pm.
 
Next Books to Read:
February: A woman in the crossfires: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution by Samar Yazbek
March: Zami, A new Spelling of my Name by Audre Lorde
April: Compañeras Zapatistas Women Stories by Hilary Klein