Welcome to Litsy!

I talk about my top ten reads of 2023 in my latest booktube video:
https://youtu.be/rFH2XGAOWmI
And a longer list of best books is on my blog:
https://lindypratch.blogspot.com/2023/12/best-books-of-2023.html?m=1

I miss Jenny. 💔

This is the face of Boochani, a Kurdish man who fled Iran and then Indonesia by boat, only to be placed on an island in an Australian-run prison upon arrival. A journalist and a poet, Boochani writes of his five years under intolerable conditions alongside fellow refugees. This book was written text by text to the outside, a feat that seems unimaginable. There really are no words for how his writing and his stories have impacted me. (continued)...

I tried this in print last year but got bogged down in the extensive translator notes at the beginning. This time, I listened to the audio, performed by 10 different narrators, including Richard Flanagan (who wrote the foreword) & Omid Tofighian, who translated the work from Farsi. Kurdish Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani was illegally imprisoned by the Australian govt. This book was smuggled out in text messages. An AMAZING call for justice.

I was painfully reminded, in his descriptions, of the Australian officials‘ behaviour on Manus of my father‘s descriptions of the Japanese commander‘s behaviour in the POW camps where he and fellow Australian POWs suffered so much. What has become of us when it is we who now commit such crimes?
—Richard Flanagan, in the foreword to the tagged book.

Rather than categorize his writing as refugee narrative or refugee memoir, the book is better situated in other traditions: clandestine philosophical literature, prison narratives, philosophical fiction, Australian dissident writing, Iranian political art, decolonial writing, and the Kurdish literary tradition.
—from translator Omid Tofighian‘s notes

#SavvySettings Day 6: Still my favorite #mountain of all time - Jebel Hafeet in Al Ain while reading Boochani‘s book.

My #bookspin, which I am absolutely without-doubt definitely going to read this month, and my #doublespin which I‘m not even going to consider reading, not even going to look at. Let‘s see how this plays out, shall we?!

I‘m pretty sure both have been pulled before. And I *really* can‘t start NFBTM until I finish A River in Darkness. Seem to be on a horrifically sad and angry-making real-life-stories thing.

Compelling and gruelling. The Kurdish author starts in Indonesia and narrates his precarious journey in a crowded boat to an PNG island that is an Australian prison for refugee claimants: graphic depiction of subhuman treatment and abuse of people desperate for safety, dignity, and basic needs. It was written in text messages, sent secretly one by one then translated. A wakeup call.
#Nonfiction2021 #AboutNewcomers
#Booked2021 #Translated

#CuriousCovers Day 28: #Mountains

War is one of quadruplets. War is born with destitution, poverty, and terror. Life always means much more than war, much more than destitution, much more than deprivation. Life for me always emerges from within desolation. Life for me always emerges from out of the beauties hidden within desolation, and the bloodiness of desolation is laid there for all to see.

I hate the moon...it tells me we are lost.Sometimes ignorance of the truth brings tranquility. Recognition of the truth of any situation conjures up a kind of fear or anxiety deep within the innermost places that humans conceal. The truth-telling of the moon, its magical brightness, tells me we are gone astray.

#InspiredNewYear Day 28: It was quite the #Powerful experience hearing Behrouz Boochani speak and being able to ask him a question too during this weekend‘s workshop with the international school teacher-librarians from all over the world.

A pretty direct but very important look into the Australian refugee prisons on Nauru and Manus Islands. Following the dangerous boat journey, and the initial rescue and subsequent imprisonment of the displaced people, it then details the conditions on the islands, until riots broke out. Eventually the prison was deemed illegal and closed.
Australia continues to disregard asylum seekers, including those now detained on the mainland.

#7books7days Day 5
Books that made a deep impression on me.

@Jeg would you like to have a go at posting a book a day for seven days that made a deep impression on you?

What are you reading this weekend? Mine is Behrouz Boochani‘s “No Friend But The Mountains” at Jebel Hafeet Mountain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a perfect 15-17 degrees this morning. Fridays/Saturdays are the weekend here in the Middle East so husband drove all the way up this mountain peak that borders Oman and United Arab Emirates. The place is gorgeous and reminded us a teeny bit of Grand Canyon, but different. 💕🧚🏼‍♀️#ReadIntl2020

#ReallyRandomFebruary Day 1: It was no small #Favor to ask my husband to drive all the way to the top of Jebel Hafeet mountain (a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the city where we live) where this photo was taken. The road was torturous and winding. He had to stop for a bit to use his 4 wheel drive, but it was so worth it when we reached the top. And yes, we brought food and chips with us.

This is a somber, heart-wrenching winter read, and I am only in the third chapter. My cushy 15-lb weighted blanket is in direct contrast to everything that Boochani has documented here in all its harrowing truths. Yet he manages to find glimpses of joy, beauty, transcendence in a stranger‘s nod of greeting, a boy clinging to his mother, the luminous moon against dark unforgiving skies. #ReadIntl2020

More #bookmail. I‘ve been wanting to read this for ages, but hadn‘t found a copy.

I‘m now banned from spending any money until November 🙄

Just finished my last 2019 Read Harder Challenge book. Woo hoo! This one was a book written from prison. It would be a good pick for the 2020 Read Harder prompt for a book by a refugee. Excellent book.
#readharder @bookriot

Just starting this and I‘m already riveted.

After 5 CRAZY days working at the post office I slept 13 hours and am now going to spend the afternoon reading. I have one more book to finish my Read Harder Challenge for 2019! Anyone else doing #ReadHarder?

This is the week that I finish this amazing book. Told by a Kurdish poet that is being held on an island off the coast of Australia. How the world deals with war refugees is the question of this moment in history. #NFNov #nonfictionnovember

The fact that this book even exists is a remarkable feat of determination and inner strength. Boochani write this entirely on a contraband mobile phone send as 100,000s what‘s app messages in Farsi to his interpreter. It‘s poetic and devastating I‘m and shows the cruelty with which the Australian government set out to break already traumatised and desperate refugees.

The fact that this book even exists is a remarkable feat of determination and inner strength. Boochani write this entirely on a contraband mobile phone send as 100,000s what‘s app messages in Farsi to his interpreter. It‘s poetic and devastating and shows the cruelty with which the Australian government set out to break already traumatised and desperate refugees.

#readingproblem when almost all your holds come into the library at one time. I know what I will be doing this weekend!! This is why I need to retire...so many great books to read!

Oh man I could not be more angry or ashamed of my own government as I‘ve been listening to this audiobook. The cruelty for cruelty‘s sake is breathtaking.

Another book on my ‘want-to-read‘ list, after seeing @MrsMalaprop and @Abailliekaras reviews.
Behrouz Boochani spent almost five years typing passages of his book into a mobile phone! ‘The book was written in Farsi during the years in which Boochani was held in the now-closed detention centre, mostly through WhatsApp messages sent to the translator, Omid Tofighian.‘

#LetsTravelJuly #Mountains

#WanderingJune Yesterday‘s #BookMail works perfectly for today‘s #DownUnder prompt #kismet Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish journalist, seeks refuge in Australia but is held in Manus Island Prison for no cause. He secretly smuggled out his harrowing account which is this book. I was first made aware of this memoir from @Abailliekaras who wrote a beautiful review on Litsy.

*From Behrouz‘s Facebook page today.

For those in Canada & the US.

This first hand account of the impact of Australia‘s offshore detention policy is definitely worth a read. 😢😡

Read for #readharder2019. Smuggled out as WhatsApp messages, the book is a mythic, poetic, harsh close up look of life in Manus Prison. The author is a Kurdish asylum seeker locked up for no crime.

With the horrifying uptick in self harm amongst concentration camp inmates since the election, all Australians should read this book. But I'm guessing they won't. #aussiesrule2019 #readharder2019

Behrouz Boochani seeks refuge in Australia but is held in Manus Island Prison. Horrifying, shameful for us Australians & a harrowing read, but also beautiful & compelling. We‘re lucky to have an intellectual, creative voice telling us his story. I was shocked by the cruelty (worse than I expected) & Kafkaesque way no guard is accountable (it‘s ‘the Boss‘). Worst is the uncertainty of their status: it causes stress, hopelessness & a wish to die.

I dare anyone to read this first hand account of the impact if Australia‘s “offshore processing” regime and not be moved; not be utterly convinced of how unjust and inhumane it is.

Boochani writes beautiful prose interspersed with poetry. He writes of his perilous journey from Indonesia by boat, his arrival on Australian land & then his time detained on Manus Island. He now lives in the community on Manus in terrible limbo. So so wrong. 😞

Monday #booknlunch 😋.

There have been times while reading this book and eating that I‘ve had to put the book aside as the subject matter is so distressing or disgusting.

Let‘s see how we go today...

#currentlyreading #currentlyeating

😢 Stuck on Manus Island. Trauma on top of trauma.

I just don‘t understand Australia‘s tough and inhumane refugee policies. We have so much here and so much to share.

#currentlyreading

#upnext Had to bump this up the list. It has just won a literary prize here in Australia and the story behind the writing of the book is extraordinary (see link below if you‘d like to find out more).

Our government‘s refugee policies make me hang my head in shame 😓.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2019/feb/01/a-victory-for-humanity-behr...

Read this and weep. Composed by texting lines at a time. Wake up Australia. Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/31/behrouz-boochani-asylum-seeker-man...

it feels inappropriate to give a star rating to someone‘s story of human suffering like this. So in that sense, my rating is not an expression of the quality of this narrative, but the significance of this text. No Friend But the Mountains is an important story, about refugee experience in Australia. It is a harrowing story, and one which we must engage with critically, in order to restore humanity, to the way we treat those who need it most.

This is why this book is so important

The writing in this book is 🔥

This is it.

Next up- a book written in prison for #readharder2019 this one comes sponsored by the book voucher my favourite student gifted me at the end of last year 💕

#bookhaul from tonight‘s after dinner Indi bookshop visit. I really neeeeded these two. I see @Sue is onto them both.

The tagged book has popped up a number of times lately as a ‘must read‘ and Too Much Lip is the latest novel by Aboriginal Australian author of Mullumbimby, Melissa Lucashenko. #ozfiction👏😍📚

Repost for @Sue :
Attention Aussie and particularly Brissie Littens!

I‘ve been working with the local office of Amnesty International to put together a book club! This book will be out first one, and we will be meeting on Nov 10 at @avidreader at 2 pm to have a chat about it. I have a Facebook page called Amnesty Bookclub - Qld if you would like to check it out.

Attention Aussie and particularly Brissie Littens!

I‘ve been working with the local office of Amnesty International to put together a book club! This book will be out first one, and we will be meeting on Nov 10 at @avidreader at 2 pm to have a chat about it. I have a Facebook page called Amnesty Bookclub - Qld if you would like to check it out.

I should not start reading this tonight ....

(thanks for the lightning fast delivery @avidreader !)

Saw this tweet the other day & not only liked and retweeted it, but took a screenshot so that I could use it for #AugustIsATrip #Mountains