Ibrahim Nasrallah’s Palestinian Comedy is a series of novels covering 125 years of Palestinian history. Yet besides being an important book to me, it’s one of the most major works of post-colonial studies, and it’s still as powerful today as when it was first released. Said’s clear deconstruction of the whole idea of “us” and “them” is very crucial to me. This is one of the most important books I have ever read. This scholarly study is the root of all colonialist and imperialist work and action, and it created power structures that exist until today. You see, what Said shows is how the scholarly study of “the Orient” by “Western” scholars ended up creating this imaginary representation of the Orient/East where its destiny is to be dominated by the West. Most of all, it changed how I view myself coming from the heart of this place commonly referred to as “The Orient” as a Palestinianand and as an Arab. Re-reading Edward Said’s major work, Orientalism, I am reminded how much this book has a huge influence on me. And above all, it reminds me to take care of our home, which might be the only home we’ll ever know. It’s not always that I’m inspired by a book. Sagan is a brilliant author and educator. I couldn’t stop reading it once I picked it up. As much as space travel seems either far fetched or unnecessary to many of us, Sagan passionately argues how such a voyage is not only crucial for the human species, but natural.

Our journey in this planet might end going beyond it. Yet, there’s a real possibility that our species might be the only one to try and venture in the cosmos. The Pale Blue Dot, Earth, seems trivial in the cosmos. Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot is an ode and love letter to us as voyagers. Who knows? As traveling across continents and oceans once seemed impossible, it became possible. Humans, only recently in their life time, truly started discovering all that I’d beyond Earth. Humans have been roaming around, voyaging, wandering Earth, and many of us have been wondering about the stars. It’s a great feeling to know that many of us humans since the dawn of time looked at the stars with wonder.

Pale Blue Dot: A vision of the Human Future in Space - Carl SaganĮver since I was a child, I always looked at the stars with wonder.

أهل الكهف by Tawfiq Al-Hakim