What We Are Reading Today: ‘Browsings’

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Updated 17 June 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Browsings’

Author: Michael Dirda

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Dirda compiled a year’s worth of literary essays in his 2015 book about books, aptly titled, “Browsings: A Year of Reading, Collecting and Living with Books.”

Written on Fridays between February 2012 and February 2013, the essays started out as 600-word columns in The American Scholar that combined the literary and personal. Soon, Dirda found that the word counts naturally ballooned, sometimes doubling and even tripling due to what he referred to as his “natural garrulousness.”

In the intro, he writes: “These are … very much personal pieces, the meandering reflections of a literary sybarite. The essays themselves vary widely in subject matter, and rarely stick closely to their stated titles.”

A longtime book columnist for The Washington Post, Dirda also writes regularly for many literary sections in publications such as the New York Review of Books. The Washingtonian Magazine once listed him as one of the 25 smartest people in the nation’s capital.

This collection of essays serves as a true celebration of American literature. Dirda explores his serendipitous discoveries and the joy of reading for its own sake. His passion goes beyond bibliophilism; the compilation is his love letter to all the books he has encountered along his journey.

The writer’s quick wit is demonstrated clearly on the page, and he comes across as that bookworm friend who can talk endlessly about books with enough passion to make you fall in love with reading again.

“I hope ‘Browsings’ as a whole will communicate some sense of a year in the life of an especially bookish literary journalist. I also hope that it will encourage readers to seek out some of the many titles I mention or discuss,” Dirda writes.

The books he examines are diverse, and he provides readers with insights that jump off the page. The essays are short enough, but he requests that one read only a few at a time.

“Allow me to make two small recommendations: First, don’t read more than two or three of the pieces at one sitting. Space them out. That way ‘Browsings’ will take longer to get through and you’ll enjoy each essay more. Trust me on this.

“Second, consider reading the columns in the order they appear. Each is meant to stand on its own, but I did aim for a pleasing variety in my choice of topics, as well as a seasonal arc to the series as a whole.”

 


Henry V by Dan Jones

Updated 2 min 42 sec ago
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Henry V by Dan Jones

Dan Jones’ “Henry V” examines the life and leadership of England’s greatest medieval king.
In 1413, when Henry V ascended to the English throne, his kingdom was hopelessly torn apart by political faction but in less than ten years, he turns it all around. By common consensus in his day, and for hundreds of years afterward, Henry was the greatest medieval king that ever lived.
A historical titan, Henry V transcends the Middle Ages which produced him, and his life story has much to teach us today.

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Following the Bend’ by Ellen Wohl

Updated 13 November 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Following the Bend’ by Ellen Wohl

When we look at a river, either up close or while flying over a river valley, what are we really seeing?

“Following the Bend” takes readers on a majestic journey by water to find answers, along the way shedding light on the key concepts of modern river science, from hydrology and water chemistry to stream and wetland ecology.

In this accessible and uniquely personal book, Ellen Wohl explains how to “read” a river, blending the latest science with her own personal experiences as a geologist and naturalist who has worked on rivers for more than three decades. 


UK writer Samantha Harvey wins 2024 Booker with space novel

Updated 13 November 2024
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UK writer Samantha Harvey wins 2024 Booker with space novel

  • The prize is seen as a talent spotter of names not necessarily widely known to the general public

LONDON: British writer Samantha Harvey on Tuesday won the 2024 Booker Prize, a prestigious English-language literary award, for her novel tracking six astronauts in space for 24 hours.
Harvey’s “Orbital” follows two men and four women from Japan, Russia, the United States, Britain and Italy aboard the International Space Station and touches on mourning, desire and the climate crisis.
The 49-year-old Harvey previously made the longlist for the Booker Prize in 2009 with her debut novel “The Wilderness.”
Harvey dedicated the prize to “all the people who speak for and not against the earth and work for and not against peace.”
Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, said “everyone and no one is the subject” of the novel, “as six astronauts in the International Space Station circle the earth observing the passages of weather across the fragility of borders and time zones.”
“With her language of lyricism and acuity Harvey makes our world strange and new for us.”
A record five women were in the running for the £50,000 ($64,500) prize which was announced at a glitzy ceremony in London.
Previous winners include Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood.
The prize is seen as a talent spotter of names not necessarily widely known to the general public.
The Booker is open to works of fiction by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK or Ireland between October 1, 2023 and September 30, 2024.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World’ by Klass-Douwe B. Dijkstra

Updated 12 November 2024
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What We Are Reading Today: ‘Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World’ by Klass-Douwe B. Dijkstra

Airily dancing over rivers and ponds, the thousands of colorful dragonfly and damselfly species that cohabit our planet may seem of little importance.

Few life-forms, however, convey the condition of the most limiting resource on land and life’s most bountiful environment as well as they can: While the adults are exceptional aerial hunters, their nymphs are all confined to freshwater.

“Dragonflies and Damselflies of the World” showcases their beauty and diversity while shedding light on how they evolved into the vital symbols of planetary health we celebrate today.


Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces 2025 lineup

Updated 13 November 2024
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Emirates Airline Festival of Literature announces 2025 lineup

DUBAI: The Emirates Literature Foundation has revealed the speaker lineup and programme details for the upcoming Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2025, officially marking the countdown to the 17th edition of the event. Set to take place from Jan. 29 to Feb. 3, 2025 at the newly renovated InterContinental Dubai Festival City, the LitFest will offer attendees over 150 incomparable experiences, including fan-favourites: Desert Stanzas, LitFest After Hours, Discovery Talks, and the LitFest Families programme.

Leading the list of authors is US-Indian writer and Stanford University professor Abraham Verghese, author of “The Covenant of Water,” which rose to fame when it was chosen for Oprah Winfrey’s book club.

Other anticipated names include Emmy Award-winning journalist Hala Gorani, the best-selling author and illustrator of the wildly popular “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series Jeff Kinney, multi-talented author and screenwriter Daniel Handler (also known as Lemony Snicket, creator of “A Series of Unfortunate Events”), Booker Prize-nominated author Chigozie Obioma, best-selling travel writer and author Dr Mohamed Mansi Qandil, scholar and researcher Abdel Illah Benarafa, Cultural Personality of the Year Waciny Laredj, poet and author Khalid Albudoor, and celebrated Palestinian chef and cookbook author Fadi Kattan.

Closer to home, Saudi author Faisal J. Abbas will talk about his new book, “Anecdotes of an Arab Anglophile,” a witty and thoughtful take on what it is like being an Arab in London.

“As we navigate a world of uncertainty and change, the Emirates LitFest serves as a vital platform for dialogue, understanding, and reflection,” said Ahlam Bolooki, CEO of Emirates Literature Foundation, Director of Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, and Managing Director of ELF Publishing.

“Global conversations around identity and culture have never been more crucial, and we are honoured to welcome literary icons from across the globe whose works speak to the heart of these issues. Through our Festival’s dynamic programme, sessions that are set to inspire future generations and events that celebrate our shared experiences, we are building a community based on empathy and understanding. Now, more than ever, we need stories that connect us to our shared humanity, and the Emirates LitFest is where those stories happen” she added.

Dubai Culture is sponsoring this year’s Emirati Strand, which celebrates the culture of the UAE and provides an opportunity for Emirati and international authors to grace the Emirates LitFest stage together. The Emirati Strand features a diverse range of experiences and a distinguished line-up of Emirati writers including poet Adel Khozam, Dr Noura Alkarbi, artist Asmaa Al-Remithi, poet Ali Al-Shaali, author and scholar Salha Ghabish, author and trainer Hamdan Bin Shfayan Alameri, author Nadia Al Najjar, filmmaker Nahla Al Fahad, and many more.

“With everything going on in the world, now more than ever, we need stories. We need human connection. We need to come together in the ‘sanctuary of dreams’ … which the festival offers,” Tamreez Inam, head of programming, told Arab News.

“The festival welcomes people who want to dream and imagine a world that celebrates our shared humanity and offers a place where people can tell their own stories, find themselves in other stories and connect at that very human level. And I think that’s why the 2025 festival is so important; it’s needed more than ever now,” she added.

Dania Droubi, the festival’s chief operating officer, revealed that the event will also host an international youth program.

“We have 150 university students from around the world coming to participate in our program, and they are going to be here in Dubai,” she said.

“They’re all students who speak Arabic and who study Arabic. They are going to be here to meet with another 150 from the UAE-based universities, and they’re here to attend and see the authors and the speakers … and just participate in these discussions, because the youth are the future.”

For information on the full programme and tickets, visit https://emirateslitfest.com.