Books in a book shop
What does it mean to read books? And what shall we choose to read? Does it matter to read things to improve the inner knowledge or to listen to other voices? Which voices matter? You can go to a bookstore and see what books are available, and let yourself be inspired by them. But this is always a matter of luck—it depends on the focus of a bookstore. And so what you find in a bookstore and the perspectives you can broaden vary from region to region, country to country, and continent to continent. I was recently in Paris and visited English bookshops—I looked around, especially in the “society” section. It's always interesting to see how books repeat themselves, but the most interesting ones are those that I can't find in the English section of German bookshops, for example. _ Right there at a table at the Smith & Son bookstore in Paris, I found Plestia Alaqad's book "The Eyes of Gaza: A Diary of Resilience". A book describing the first days in Gaza from October 7 onwards from her perspective. I read the book and followed her Instagram stories, which she also published. In another English bookstore, “Librairie Galignani,” I also looked for books on the genocide of the Palestinians, and I found "Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal" by Mohammed El-Kurd. Two Palestinian writers, two voices, which should be heard. But who is choosing, which voices are being heard? Neither book is available in German, nor are many people aware that they exist. One sentence by Mohammed El-Kurd is going through my mind, "West's refusal to look us in the eye." This sentence sticks with me—because it's so true. Not because I experience it myself, but because I can see how people talk about “Arabs.”*
*It was written in quotation marks because I want to emphasize the cliché that they are all just “Arabs.”