Currently sitting through Eichmann in Jerusalem. It's kind of a slog, really really pinned down by the insanely quotidian details of the horror of the Holocaust, but Arendt is trying to put a face on the bureaucratic insanity, and it gets across her point very well. I now know far far more about the orchestration of the Holocaust than I ever thought I would, and it really makes the entire event more mundane but also more horrifying at the same time.

For instance, the renewed interest in Zionism wasn't merely a response to the horrors of the Holocaust, but was actively pursued by the Nazi regime before the final solution was undertaken, and the brutal Romanian anti-semitic campaign (arguably even worse than the Nazi regime's, who actually told Romania to chill the fuck out) was capped off, after massacring half the jewish population, by deporting (directly and indirectly) the rest to Palestine, setting off mass emigration from all over Europe and sparking the fire of the Israeli state. In no way shape or form is this even a half-hearted attempt at apologetics, nor is this an indictment of Zionism, mind you, but Zionism had been viewed as an academic curiosity amongst Jews in Europe up until Fascism was a rising power, and The Nazi govt. colluded with Zionists to sell this idea to long-standing populations of European Jews.

Standouts from the past year:

King Leopold's Ghost

The Power Broker I love me some good old fashioned politicking. Kinda like a early 1900s House of Cards, only real.

The Devil Finds Work Made me fall in love with James Baldwin, an, incredible author and soul.

Complexity I finished up East of Eden a month ago, I've been trying to find the time to do something special for the next reader, but I've been bogged down lately :(

Any idea about how I should put out a call for the next interested party?