Don’t mind me, I’m just sobbing on the bus.

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Good book alert!

I’m reading an incredible book right now called “The Flying Carpet of Small Miracles” By Hala Jaber, and it’s so moving and sad and wonderful, that I thought I’d let all of you lovely terry readers in on this great read.

I’m only on page 60 so it might turn out disappointing later on, but so far all is well. I’m reading it very slowly because I can only read a few pages at a time before my throat gets all lumpy, tears sting my eyes and if I’m not careful, my eyes overflow.  (Which is fine if you’re  curled up reading at home, but more often than not, I’m reading at bus stops and on the daily commute, and it gets a bit awkward for the person beside me).

The book is about a foreign journalist named Hala and her husband Steve (it’s a true story) who go to Baghdad in 2003 to report on the invasion and subsequent occupation, and how the stories of the children they meet impact them on a deeply personal level. (I know that’s not a very detailed description, but I always find book jackets reveal too much information and prefer it when stories unfold as I read).

You can find it at local bookshops and at VPL as well (that’s where I ordered it). Three cheers for journalists who tell truthful stories, publishers who take a chance, and public libraries that make stories accessible to a wide audience.

More thoughts to come as I delve deeper in the book.

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Shagufta is a UBC Political Science graduate with a passion for interdisciplinary thinking, writing, travel, reading, tea, and interesting conversations. She hopes to combine all of these things in her life work someday. For now though, she studies social policy and planning at the University of Toronto and shares her adventures in and out of the classroom at http://seriouslyplanning.wordpress.com.