could this year be the year? reading related

A couple of months ago, I blogged that I had over 1500 books in my home. After Christmas, I have more. BUT I signed up for the GoodReads reading challenge, and could this be the year I FINALLY go thru my 'to be read' pile? I only signed up for 24 books this year, in the challenge, thinking 2 books a month is progress. And I'm a li'l ahead of target now, reading book #4...

So far, I've read Decision Points by George W. Bush...very good read
Pearl in the Sand (a fictionalized acct of Rahab and Salmon of the Bible) good read
Queen Hereafter (fictionalized acct of Queen Margaret of Scotland) not so good

and in the Midst of The Bookseller of Kabul...will p*ss you off!

I've been 'collecting' books about being a Muslim woman for a while; Reading Lolita, Behind the Veil, Prisoners of Hope (the 2 missionary women held hostage for a while in Afghanastan)...I think I've got a variety of perspectives.

However, Bookseller will very much upset us Western women about how women are viewed and treated in these countries run by regimes like the Taliban. I told a co-worker, "if every American woman read this book, We'd be taking up arms and fighting". Even in legal matters a woman is considered 'half a man'.

BUT I have to remember, the author did don a burkha and live with this family for a period of time, she was only able to interview the English speaking members of the family, think it was the father and one son...but not the women. As all but one have not had any education and I don't recall if the one that had an education (she was a schoolteacher before the Taliban closed down the girl schools) could speak English.

So, the chapters about being in the burkha, being sold to marriage, being 'set aside' in Pakistan...are not from the women's point of view but hers. The protagonist, who is in many ways a 'forward thinker', is still not above setting aside his first wife, 'because she is old', in favor of a 16 year old he bought. grrrrrrrrrrrr


So, this book, though I do get emotional about it, is only one point of view.

I also joined the Pea group (that's 2 peas in a bucket for you non-scrappers) on GoodReads. They are going to do a book of the month for March. The book Unbroken was selected.

sooo, perhaps this is the year, I get thru that pile. If only I would stop adding to it!!!