Arab & Middle Eastern – Cannonball Read 17

Thoughts of Home

The Flavors of Iraq: Impressions of My Vanished Homeland by Feurat Alani and Léonard Cohen

December 20, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The old “I was looking at my saved online reader links” comes into play with how I found The Flavors of Iraq: Impressions of My Vanished Homeland by Feurat Alani and Léonard Cohen. I saw that it was the only one in that email (how I save the links) and figured it was a sign to read it. From May 2024, the history I grew up with comes back into play. However, instead of seeing it from an American or Western point of view, we […]

And you think your travels had bumps

Hakim's Odyssey: Book 2: From Turkey to Greece by Fabien Toulme

January 26, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

CBR15Passport book set in and author from another country (from Syria, living in Turkey, trying to get to Greece and France)I was going to wait until I read volume three of Hakim’s Odyssey by French author Fabien Toulme (translation by Hannah Chute) before writing the review of Volume Two: From Turkey to Greece but was not sure when that would happen. And besides, Hakim’s Odyssey fills each book with enough so you do not have to know about three, you will just go to the […]

War can make anyone a refugee.

Hakim's Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey by Fabien Toulmé

November 29, 2022 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Hakim’s Odyssey: Book 1: From Syria to Turkey by Fabien Toulmé, and translated by Hannah Chute, is a straight forward and complicated read. This is not the usual refugee/displaced person story that we think we know. Usually, we are watching them on boats, trying to escape whatever the tragic events are in their homeland. This time, in the (as close as humanly possible) words of one refugee, the “before that” is told. From Syria to Turkey, Hakim’s story unfolds, and while no two stories are alike, […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

Help Our Mission