workweek; imaginative sympathy

My first week at work is over: jumbled but largely positive impressions. My position is a brand-new one and the ambit still somewhat uncertain, but the things I've been involved with thus far have been very interesting, and the people I'm working for and with are amazing. I hope that this isn't the start of a weekend-only posting regime, though. Once I get some other holdover projects done and my evenings clear up again, I'll be back more regularly and substantively. In the meantime, I did leave a long comment over at modal minority in response to a request for book recommendations that might help Americans develop "imaginative sympathy" with the lived experience of peoples in the modern Middle East--I was thinking about posting the list here, but Teju's lifted it up into a following post, so go add your further recommendations/comments over there. I've also been jotting down reflections on the anniversaries of this past week, and will end them into some sort of palatable shape and post them here tomorrow or Sunday.