Read (Books, not Blogs) and Uncover Truth

I will use this soapbox to announce that Dave Eggers is indisputably one of the United States' greatest contemporary writers. For those unfamiliar with him, I suggest starting out with his memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and proceed to What is the What, although I doubt any of the few readers of this blog will take my advice to pick up a 375 page book just because Alex recommended it.

Because Eggers is such a prolific writer, it should come as no surprise that he edits an equally notable series of books, The Best American Nonrequired Reading of 20__ (02-08). This spring break has left me isolated in my room with a shelf of unread books, and I finally got to start chipping away at the 2008 version. Featuring comics, investigative nonfiction, engaging tall tales, and other pieces from journals, magazines, zines, reviews, etc, I recommend this book as well as the volumes from other years because they're perfect for one-sitting reads for the college student that is too burdened by pointless academia to enjoy a full-length novel.

Here, a link to a piece entitled "Searching for Zion," by Emily Raboteau, about a half-white, half-black American woman trying to understand identity in Israel, particularly along racial lines. It was featured in this years BANR and I thoroughly enjoyed it, while imagining how much more my friends that have done Birthright will enjoy it.