Subjective Atlas of Palestine
Sometimes, book publishers and authors solicit KABOBfest to write book reviews in exchange for a free book. Books — I don’t need to tell you — are always best when they’re free. Indeed, the best things in life always are. You receive a fun package in the mail, you get to reading, and if you’re anything like me, spend hours upon hours writing, editing, re-READING and then re-writing and re-editing because you don’t want the author to think that you didn’t get it, that you’re an idiot, and that you probably didn’t bother to read the book and maybe you should have just told them you suck at book reviews before you made them spend the $3.95 on the shipping and handling in the first place.
So you allot 173 hours from your busy schedule on the book review, forget to feed your dog, break up your marriage, make your kids hate you — all in exchange for the free $20 book.
And then, several months later, the author writes you a nice e-mail telling you how yours was one of the best reviews he/she ever read and that you actually understood what he/she was saying and put it into 1000 words or less so well. And then you feel like replying that the only reason why he/she liked your review is because you didn’t diss the book, but that’s only because you genuinely liked it and not because you can be bought or anything — which is actually untrue but it really didn’t need to happen this time because the book really was good.
Unfortunately, word of this invaluable KABOBfest book review service has not yet reached the Dutch, which means that of the publishers of the new Subjective Atlas of Palestine, due to come out this month, have not sent QuiQui a free book. This, suckssssssssss. I’m not sure I can write that phonetically enough for you to understand how I’m feeeeeeeling right now. This book looks amaaaaaazing. And it’s going to cost QuiQui € 46.50 including shipping and handling to purchase — that’s Euros — as in $63.35 USD — as in the dollar sucks!!
FROM THE PUBLISHER: Sublime landscapes, tranquil urban scenes, frolicking children; who would associate these images with Palestine? All too often the Western media show the country’s gloomy side, and Palestinians as aggressors. It is this that makes identifying with them virtually impossible. If we are to relate to the Palestinians other images are needed, images seen from a cultural and more human vantage point.
The Dutch designer Annelys de Vet invited Palestinian artists, photographers and designers to map their country as they see it. Given their closeness to the subject, this has resulted in unconventional, very human impressions of the landscape and the architecture, the cuisine, the music and the poetry of thought and expression. The drawings, photographs, maps and narratives made for this atlas reveal individual life experiences, from preparing chickpeas to a manual on water pipe smoking, from historic dress to modern music. Pages containing humorous and caustic newspaper cartoons and invented Palestinian currency followed by colourful cultural diaries and moving letters from prisoners. All in all, the contributions give an entirely different angle on a nation in occupied territory. In this subjective atlas it is the Palestinians themselves who show the disarming reverse side of the black-and-white image generally resorted to by the media.
010 Publishers, it’s not too late to send QuiQui a free copy of the Subjective Atlas of Palestine! Along with the Subjective Atlas of Palestine receiving additional attention on KABOBfest — one of the leading Arab-American blogs in the U.S. in case you didn’t know over in the NL — she promises to peddle it in front of her geographer friends at the next Association of American Geographers conference. Geographers love atlases! Do you know what that means? That’s at least five more customers for you. My complimentary copy of the Subjective Atlas of Palestine will pay for itself in no time. Think about it.
In the meantime, KABOBreaders should stay tuned for the upcoming KABOBreview of Gay Travels in the Muslim World, a collection of true stories by Muslim and non-Muslim gay men writing on their travels, countries of origin, and even life in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Clearly, you’re not going to want to miss it.
Dear QuiQui,
My name is Annelys de Vet and I’m the editor of the ‘Subjective atlas of Palestine’. I came across your site and am delighted to read how much you’re looking forward to see/read the book. The main reason why you didn’t receive a copy yet, is that the book hasn’t been printed yet. It will come out by the end of the month. By then, please send the publishers a mail (www.010publishers.com) and ask them for a free copy. Hopefully that will work.
Send me a message through http://www.annelysdevet.nl (select contact) and I can give you a link to a preview of the atlas. Since the main purpose of the atlas is to spread other images of Palestine as wide as possible. Images seen from a more human and cultural point of view. So all help is needed…
Dear regards,
Annelys de Vet