I like an unusual thesis. A book called On Kindness by psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and historian Barbara Taylor, reviewed by Peter Stevenson in this weekend's New York Times Book Review, offers an appealing spin on human nature:

I've been working hard, and I really need this three-day weekend coming my way. Hell yeah!

Another surprise guest will be writing this weekend's review of the New York Times Book Review. Check back on Sunday for, I hope, a wholly new perspective.

Till then, just a few links for a happy Spring day.

You all know how I feel about "theme issues" of the New York Times Book Review: they disappoint many readers who wish for a reliable source of general literary edification each weekend.

Occasionally this summer I've posted some observations inspired by my experience in an intensive Arabic language program (here and here, to be specific.) Well, I am happy to report that after a final exam (complete with a somewhat nerve-wracking oral exam wherein my professor asked questions about what I wanted to do with my future, and, lacking the vocabulary to say "I want to be a diva superstar" I had to settle for saying some stuff about teaching English as a second language) I finished the program on F

Hello, boys and girls. It's your friendly neighborhood Jamelah here this week to make sure that while Levi is away on vacation, nobody sets fire to the couch. Oh, and also, I'm going to write some things. So on all counts, I'm sure we can all agree that it's going to be an exciting time.

A few months ago, I wrote a post about language, which was inspired by the fact that I was, at the time, applying to a summer language program. I never did any follow up to that post, but yes, I did make it into that program, and so I have been a student of the Arabic language for a week and a half. And what a week and a half it has been. Other than the fact that I've been out of school for six years, so having to retrain myself to think academically has been a bit of a challenge.

This week, I'm working frantically to get my application finished for this summer language program I want to get into, so I am incapable of thinking about anything other than this. As such, I thought I'd write about language. We all love language, right? Okay then.

I recently received a generous package of review copies from Archipelago Books, a fast-growing Brooklyn-based publisher of international titles. This came in handy because I had been trying to find Elias Khoury's Gate of the Sun since hearing the Palestinian author speak at a PEN conference in March, and no bookstore was carrying it. I'm glad that companies like Archipelago exist, because we'd never hear of these books otherwise.