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Occasionally, I receive a message from someone who’s angry with me. This happened again yesterday. There’s no need to share her identity, although you can find her and others in the comments.
I’ll let you read her words for yourself:
“All white. All men. All western. Read well? Yeh. No.”
She’s attacking me on several accounts here. As you can tell, I’m apparently guilty of only discussing white books from men in the Western school of thought. I asked her how she came to such a grim assessment of my work (to which she hasn’t responded), given that I’ve spent enormous amounts of time speaking about some of my favorite authors, including Virginia Woolf, Hannah Arendt, Maya Angelou, Frederick Douglas, and Gabriel García Márquez. In fact, next week, I’m excited to announce that Yasmine Mohammed will be a guest on my podcast. We’ll be speaking about her book, Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam.
Here’s the thing: I’m not upset with the woman who thought she understood my content and tried to smear me. I’m upset that she didn’t take the time to do her homework before doing so. I’m all ears if you have a problem with my work, but please have some reasoning behind it. Yes, I’m a white male. And yes, I love Western philosophy enough to have gone back to school for it. But no, the color of my skin does not automatically make me an “all white, all men, all western” advocate. I’m capable of loving and supporting everyone. Alright, my rant is over. I’ll be back tomorrow to speak about books as always.
Until next week, read slowly – take notes – apply the ideas.
-Eddy
New This Week:
Book Recommendation
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
The Weekly Poll
How Do You Enjoy Your Coffee When Reading?
Listen to the Podcast
Fix Your Reading Brain: A 14-Day Challenge
Master Class
The 30-Day Focused Reader Challenge
Book Recommendation
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
First of all, I absolutely love the picture of Corrie Ten Boom above. I found it on the internet and immediately felt happier. She's beautiful in every way, and her book is worth a read. In fact, if you want to read it with a group, my book club has it on the schedule.
The Hiding Place is a true story of Corrie and her family's experience under Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. This incredible family risked everything to hide Jewish refugees in their home. It's a memoir that takes you into the lives of real people suffering in concentration camps and shows you just how powerful our spirit to love, live, and forgive can be.
In this episode, I'll introduce you to Maryanne Wolf's insightful book, "Reader Come Home," which is a fantastic resource for anyone looking to improve their reading skills. I'll also share a simple yet effective two-week exercise to help you focus better while reading. Together, we'll explore how neural plasticity can keep your reading muscles strong and your mind agile. With just a little effort each day, you can become a much more focused reader in just two weeks.
Sometimes it's nice to have a quiet space full of friends who love to read. Our private reading community is a great way to attend live events, meet other readers, and learn new ideas.
Every day, I'm asked, "How do I read more books?" Many people want to read but feel like they can't sit for longer than a few minutes without checking on the phone, the kids, and the email. That's why I created the 30-Day Focused Reader Challenge.
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Weekly Newsletter on Great Books, Reading Habits, and Literary Appreciation.
Subscribe to my newsletter for tips on close reading, detailed note-taking, and applying bookish wisdom to your life. I talk about fiction and non-fiction, interview literary experts, and host The Read Well Podcast. Subscribe today and build better reading habits.