Market Roulette

books
The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 2:
Right Ho, Jeeves: skipped bc I just read it in another volume.
Joy in the Morning: 1947. Eh. Not his best work.
Carry On, Jeeves: 1925. MY FAVORITE! SO GOOD!

The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East by Kim Ghattas. 2026. ARC. Read twice so I could write a coherent review. This book is a tour de force of investigative journalism, an extraordinary journey covering the last 50-ish years in the Middle East, from the Carter Administration to the current Trump regime. Structured around the murder of Malcolm Kerr, the president of American University Beirut, by Iranian-controlled assassins, and the story of his family, it explores a wildly complicated conflict centered on Lebanon, but involving Israel, Iran, Syria, France, the US, Germany, and others. Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and various splinter groups are contextualized in their struggle against Israeli and Western powers. Most importantly, Ghattas is unbiased, putting blame where it's due in all corners. Contains multiple murders, kidnappings, hijackings, and episodes of torture -- war on many levels -- but also the search for justice through the courts for the Kerr family. Highly recommended.

The Cloak and Its Wizard by R.Z. Nicolet. 2026. Magical sentient cloak chooses a middle-aged female neurosurgeon as its new wearer. I did not see the superheroes coming and thus did not care...until suddenly I did. The last half of the novel is pretty great, but it takes a bit to get rolling.

Israel: What Went Wrong? by Omer Bartov. 2026. Excellent contextualization of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from 1948 through the cease fire of late last year. Includes the October 7 attacks & Israel's retaliation. Goes into Israel's lack of a constitution and the consequences of that. Discusses the charges of apartheid, brought by South Africa, against Israel in the International Criminal Court. Finally, suggests 4 different plans for peace between Israel and Palestine. My opinion: Israel desperately needs a constitution, and Bibi desperately needs to spend the rest of his life in prison for war crimes. Which aligns me with Israeli leftists. This is a grim book, but it's relatively short. There's a bibliography, but no notes.

currently reading: The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 3: The Mating Season (1949) / Ring for Jeeves (1953) / Very Good, Jeeves! (1930).

healthcrap
left hand + wrist still hurt a great deal, so no yarning. Didn't go to yarn group. Have been sleeping really a lot and not getting up until way too late, despite four alarms. Replaced coffee with tea. Sleep disorders suck.

astrology
full moon in Scorpio this Friday just as the protests are kicking off. Later in the day, Mercury conjoins Chiron in Aries. An apt time for airing grievances. A bit more potential for violence than I'm entirely happy with, but I'm hoping for the best.

#resist
May 1: No Kings 4!

I hope all of you are doing well! <333