I've been doing a lot of reading this year; my new job doesn't start until next month, so I'm trying to learn everything I can before then. I'm trying to focus on feminism as well as dictatorships, which has led to me reading much less fiction than nonfiction. I thought I might put some suggestions and a list of what I hope to read before I move in this post - I'm strongly in the "when in doubt, go to the library" camp.
I just finished reading Leni: The Life and Work of Leni Riefenstahl by Steven Bach. Tina Fey suggested that everyone read Riefenstahl's autobiography, but my library system doesn't have a copy of it so I settled for another biography. The TL;DR of Riefenstahl's life is that she made Triumph of the Will among other films for the NSDAP and spent the rest of her life (she died at 101) denying that she knew what the party was up to.
Why you should read it now: Riefenstahl put herself and her career before literally everything. She did whatever it took to get what she wanted, then pretended to be blind to the consequences of her actions. We need to remember that many actions cannot be justified, and history will judge us if we fail to intervene.
This is Paradise: My North Korean Childhood by Hyok Kang does what it says on the tin. The author recounts his experiences growing up in North Korea before and during the famine in the '90s, which ultimately resulted in his family's escape to South Korea via China. I found the account of North Korean schools especially fascinating and horrifying.
Why you should read it now: The world cannot forget North Korea. People are suffering under a horrible dictatorship which stifles every freedom imaginable. The United States cannot only put itself first while we have the power to influence the rest of the world for good.
The File and The Magic Lantern by Timothy Garton Ash are two of my all-time favorite books. The File is about how the East German security system functioned, while The Magic Lantern depicts the final days of dictatorships in Eastern Europe and shows how the protests were successful.
Why you should read it now: Some people think protesting can't do any good. They forget that peaceful protests in Leipzig and across Eastern Europe in the 1980s helped end a dictatorship. Never let anyone tell you that protests are inconsequential - those people have forgotten their history.
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Still to be read: Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright, The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, When the Earth Was Young by David Yeadon, and Without You, There is No Us by Suki Kim.
Shouts out to my local library, which has handled my many books on hold without annoyance. I kinda want to use the hashtag #ResistanceReading for this project, but I'm on the fence. What other books should I read as part of my 2017 education?
- 8:10 PM
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