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It was a delight to reread Ursula Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness for my reading group. There was a lot that I didn’t remember, and some of her characterizations now strike me as very dated. But that doesn’t negate the good story-telling and provocative social and psychological ideas.
The social/sexual amgibuities are still high [...]

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By Susan Gordon Lydon.
I loved Lydon’s The Knitting Sutra. She has a beautiful writing style. But this book just doesn’t do it for me (others, of course will find it just what they need).
Here’s an example of the very best of the writing in the book:
It has occurred to me that I am helping to [...]

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The Half-Blood Prince is spectacular. Full of intrigue and surprise. Harry, although once again more likeable, is still a right prat.
I recommend that you not start Chapter 26, The Cave, unless you have time to finish the book.

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Just last night I completed a re-read of the first five Harry Potter books, in preparation for The Half-Blood Prince. As a fan of both fantasy in general and the series in particular, I think they hold up rather well to re-reading. There were several bits in each volume that I hadn’t remembered, and the [...]

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This from Ha’aretz:
In a step seen as a watershed moment in his disengagement plan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday morning ordered the Gaza Strip closed to Israeli visitors, declaring it a closed military area in order to blunt plans by anti-pullout activists to flood the Strip with protesters.

The article also samples the expected quotes accusing [...]

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More bombing coverage in the Guardian: Marie Fatayi-Williams’s plea to know what has happened to her son Anthony. Her speech is the second half of the article. Here are a couple of pieces:
Which cause has been served? Certainly not the cause of God, not the cause of Allah because God Almighty only gives life and [...]

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Great commentary in the Guardian Unlimited by Karen Armstrong. She argues that we must find a better label than "Islamic terrorists." Here’s a quote that puts the matter into high perspective.
We rarely, if ever, called the IRA bombings "Catholic" terrorism because we knew enough to realise that this was not essentially a religious campaign. Indeed, [...]

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How’s this for a lead headline from England: Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Bush says: I put US interests first.

George Bush sounds a warning today to those hoping for a significant deal on Africa and climate change at Wednesday’s G8 summit, making clear that when he arrives at Gleneagles he will dedicate his efforts [...]

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Fresh on the heels of Live8: Make prejudice history by Sir Elton John in The Observer (on the Guardian website).

I strongly believe that when thousands of us refuse to look away and stay silent, we make a difference to what politicians do and say. The sheer force of our numbers will ultimately help those who [...]

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