Two new book acquisitions

This weekend brought two new books to add to my collection:
1. Standing Alone: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam by Asra Q. Nomani
2. Links by Nuruddin Farah

Standing Alone, an early birthday gift from a good friend, is about a single mother who is Muslim, and embarks on the pilgrimmage to Mecca with her infant son. She also happens to be a friend of Daniel Pearl (the American reporter kidnapped and killed a few years ago in Pakistan). The hajj becomes her journey of empowerment. It looks like a really interesting book.

The second book, Links, I picked up at Daedalus Bookstore in Belvedere Square, one of my favorite eating and food shopping destinations in Baltimore. Written by Nuruddin Farah, he tells the fictionalized story of a Somali man, Jeebleh, and his journey from New York back to his homeland, Mogadishu, Somalia for the first time in 20 years. The story takes place in the 90's, not that long after the American peacekeepers up and left.

I am very tempted to skip the Super Bowl party and be a hermit, reading all night. :)