52 Books in 52 Weeks (2011) discussion

Never Let Me Go
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Rating: 4/5

I must admit it was slow at the beginning where I thought it might be a wrong idea for being so excited to read it. By reading it page by page, I started getting into it. The book was beautiful in a really sad way. I didn't get the concept of this imaginary school, where clones are made especially to donate their organs, but the idea grew to me. The book was exciting in the sense of getting under layers and layers of Kathy's memories of her life at that school and of her closest friends, Ruth and Tommy. Beside the sad love story and strange friendship, there was the story about power, authorities and the conflict between fair and unfair, at least it's how I saw it. The book might seem mysterious and weird at first but the process of digging deep into memories with Kathy was worth the read. I must say I wasn't so pleased with the ending but that didn't keep me from tearing up at how beautiful they have accepted their sad destiny.

City of Fear
Alafair Burke
3/5

This book was a free download from Amazon and as such was enjoyable but I would have been cross if I had paid £6 or £7 for it. It is an average murder mystery detective story and I though the bad guy was obvious. I liked the New York setting and the descriptions of the city. I liked the way the relationships between characters was explored.

I did spend a lot of time while reading this thinking that the author has a long way to go before she matches her father in style and talent

Title: The Iliad
Author: Homer
Rating: 2/5



I came into this book with only the vaugest of ideas as to what the actual plot was about. I expected the seduction of Helen by Paris, some fighting, and then the murder of Achilles. Interestingly enough, both the abduction of Helen and Achilles's death happen outside the actual spectrum of the plot, as it deals mostly with Achilles' wrath and the consequences of his anger.

Even so, I liked this. It wasn't spectacular to me, but not horrid. A war-type epic doesn't really interest me too much, and about ninety percent of this book was about the war. I didn't think that the constant reptition of battle scenes was necessary to get the plot's point across, and Homer threw far too many names out there for a reader to thoroughly understand and keep characters' personalities and positions in mind after just one reading. This is the sort of book that requires a lot of time to relish and understand the complexities of the plot. I am not that sort of reader.

Considering that Helen and Paris were the reason for the war in the first place, they were surpisingly absent for most of the book. When they did appear, I liked the personalities Homer gave them. Paris, a selfish little prince who ran away from battles straight to Helen's bed. And Helen, a woman who had long ago realised the mistake she made in marrying Paris, suffered through his presence and loathed him all the while. Certainly not the love-story one would think.

And to me, far more interesting than the actual goings on in Ilium were the gods' actions and their side of the plot. I found Hera and Athena's support of the Achaeans in spite of everything to be interesting. By far, Hera was my favourite character. I loved the scene where she seduced her husband, Zeus, in order to distract him from the war going raging on the earth. Her intelligence and cunning were much more interesting than Paris's stupid ideals.

Of all the mortals in the story, I enjoyed Diomedes the most. He seemed to be the wisest and most capable man of all the Achaeans. Little Ajax and Big Ajax as a pair were lovely, too. And of the Trojans, I enjoyed Andromache, Hector's wife, the most. Her plight and her emotions were especially vivid to me.

Basically, I thought the concept of the story was brilliant, but there should have been more time spent on the plot and less on battle. I realise that the battle was the plot, for all intents and purposes, but still.

Not bad, but certainly not anything to write home about. I think that the epic style caused my interest to wane in some places.

Link: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Good morning everybody ^^

Name of book.
من سيرة حنظلة الشجري - قصص قصيرة
Author.
سليمان الشيخ
n/5 stars. 3
غشّأني هذا الكتاب بلفحة من الحزن ، فحمدت الله على الأمن و الأمان . يصف بعض من الأحداث في المخيّم الفلسطيني كما لو كنتَ هُناك ، و قد تعرّض للعقدة العربية بالاتّهام في إحدى القصص ، و أسبقها بقصّة التجريم ليُدّم الدليل قبل القضية . و قد أورد قصّة حنظلة الشجراوي ، الاسم الرمزي لناجي العلي الرسام الكاريكاتوري الفلسطيني المشهور بشخصية الطفل ذي العشر سنوات المبدي ظهره للعالم ، قصّة غريبة تجمع متناقضات غير مفهومة نيّتها سليمة غريبة التطبيق . وختم المجموعة القصصية بقصص موجّهة للأطفال أبطالها أشياء؛ غيمة ، و جبل ، و نسر ، موجة . يقول عنها الناشر " هل أراد أن يقرأ الطفولة للناشرين ، أو يقرأ الرُّشد للأطفال ؟ " لا أظن هذه و لا تلك ، ما أراه أنّها قصص رمزية ، حملت جميع المبادئ التي يعيش عليها الفلسطيني الذي أهدانا جُزء من أجزائه المبعثرة حول العالم المجتمعة في فلسطين . مأخذي على الكتاب كثرة إيراد اللعن و لفظة الشتائم . الكتاب قديم نوعاً ما ، نُشر قبل عشرة أعوام ، و يحمل أسلوبه روح تلك الأيّام خاصّة مع التوثيق التاريخي للقصص الذي أظن أنّه عادة كُتّاب تلك الحقبة و المتأثرين بهم .
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

ثلاثيه غرناطه
رضوي عاشور

5/5


غصه يشعر بها من ينهي هذه الروايه علي ضياع الاندلس ..
تناولت الكاتبه قصه سقوط غرناطه في ثلاث اجيال .. ابو جعفر , مريمه ثم علي ..
اسبوع عشته في الاندلس بين مالقا و غرناطه وبالنسيه ..
راائعه وانصح الجميع بقراءتها ..

الكتاب: لا تأخذ الفطيرة الأخيرة
المؤلف: جوديث بومان
ترجمة، تحقيق: مروان البواب - سعيد الأسعد
الناشر: مكتبة العبيكان

4/5
من نبذة الناشر:
كتاب لا تأخذ الفطيرة الأخيرة يزوّدك بالأدوات التي تحتاج إليها لتكون واثقاً من نفسك، وبالِغَ الدقة في أيِّ موقفٍ من مواقف العمل - بدءاً من الإعلان إلى العرض، ومن لقاء العمل الجماعي إلى مفاوضات توقيع العقد، وما بين ذلك، وبإستعمالك لهذا الكتاب، ستُجيد بسهولةٍ فنّ حديث المجاملة، وأصولَ تقديم الأشخاص في العمل، وكثيراً من الأمور الدقيقة في غداء العمل، ولن تشعر بإرتباكٍ في أيّ موقفٍ من مواقف العمل ثانياً لا تأخذ الفطيرة الأخيرة يكشف أسرار آداب السلوك في العمل ويبيِّن فوائدها وأساليب إتقانها.

تعلّم:
-أصولَ التقديم الصحيح للأشخاص في العمل.
-فنّ تكوين الإنطباع الإيجابي الأول.
-إرشاداتٍ سهلةً جداً في حديث المجاملة.
-كيف تتدبّر المواقف الصعبة.
-كيف تعمل في قاعة الإجتماعات ببراعة.
-الإختلافاتِ الواسعةَ في قواعد آداب السلوك في مختلف أرجاء العالم.

رأيي في الكتاب:
الكتاب جميل من ناحية تعليم بروتوكولات وآداب السلوك في العمل، وقد أخلصت واجتهدت المؤلفة في ذكر دقائق الأمور التي من شأنهاأم تجعل من صاحبها شخصا محترفا في مجال عمله

أعطيها 4نجوم ..فقدت نجمة عندي بسبب الذكر المتكرر لبعض النقاط

At Home: A Short History of Private Life
by Bill Bryson

Besides enjoying Bryson's gentle ironic style of observation, I am very interested in history, England, residential architecture, and human behavior. Book is full of fascinating trivia.

The Shack
By William P. Young

I tried, but I couldn't do it. Just awful. I agree with everything negative that has been said before about this book. Got as far as Mac meeting the occupants of the shack and went another page or two. Felt like I was being led to a place I did not want to go. No, not led, manipulated.

الخليفة الزاهد عمر بن عبدالعزيز
الكاتب: عبدالعزيز سيد الأهل

4.5/5

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

أعجبني جدا
<3

I'm bad when it comes to reviewing books but yeah, at least i wrote something.

Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda by Noam Chomsky

My rating: 4/5 Stars

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


A couple of my twitter buddies, recommended reading this book.. I decided to read it after watching The Arrivals..

I remember a friend once said to me: "Never estimate the power of media." I couldn't agree more with her.
This book is an eyeopener to know how people are manipulated through media to believe certain lies that serve hidden agendas. People take what you give them as facts when you use the right words and images.. It is a quite interesting read.

The book is small (around 100 pages), but it's juicy when it comes to information about media manipulation over the past years and how wars we started in the name of fighting terrorism.

مغامرات سيف بن ذي يزن
by فاروق خورشيد

4/5

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


الكتاب القادم سيكون بإذن الله
ماجدولين للمنفلوطي

الكتاب: مسافر إلى فرانكفورت
تأليف : أغاثا كريستي
2\5

القصة مملة رغم ان بدايتها كانت مشوقه
الحبكة سياسية أكثر من انها بوليسية , بالنسبة لي السياسة عندما تكون خيالية تكون أسوأ بمراحل منها عندما تكون حقيقية
ليس أفضل ما كتبت أغاثا كريستي وهذا رأيي

title:النبطي
by:youssif zydan
rating:4/5

لقد احببت هذا الكتاب حيث انه يوصف بدقة ليس فقط الاحداث ولكن ايضا هذه الحقبة الزمنية،حيث احسست و انا اقرأها كأني في هذا الزمن و في هذا المكان،كما ان اذخال شخصيات من التاريخ كمارية القبطية او عمر بن العاص اضفي مصدقيه علي القصة.ولكن يؤخذ عليه كثرة الوصف التي في بعض الاحيان تصيب بالملل.

Noah's Compass
Anne Tyler
3/5 stars

Hope it doesn't matter that I'm a little late in posting (and reading) the book.

To Kill A Mockingbird
2/5 Stars


http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Salem's Lot
King, Stephen
4/5 stars

Very good! A little dated but still a fantastic & chilling vampire story. [audiobook]

Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

A Study in Scarlett by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It is the first series of books that stars the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, and his trusted sidekick Dr.John Watson. i give this book 4 stars. I have enjoyed the book very much, the book is rich with detail i have liked the conversations between Holmes and Watson; and his unusual methods to solve crimes considering the era they're in. I highly recommend the book.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

Title: The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived
By: Allan Lazar, Dan Karlan & Jeremy Salter
Rating: 3/5 stars

I found it befitting to start the New Year’s book challenge with one that emphasizes the influence of fictional characters on our daily lives. From infancy, we are exposed to stories of important historical personae and fairytale characters. Some of the life lessons we begin learning early in our youth are portrayed as conclusions of stories that are told to us by teachers, parents and role models. It is those people who have inspired, lead, challenged, effected and changed thousands of lives through their actions and words. The versions of the stories and backgrounds we hear of these people vary from spoken lips to others, source to source. We may recall different details, but the characters themselves are memorable to all.

In the preface, the authors state “some people are so inspired by what they have read or seen, they set out to remake the world”. But to what degree do we acknowledge the effect of fiction and fictional characters on our lives?

This book is a collection of 101 creations of fiction that have had a huge impact on society. Note that not all of the characters are people. The collection also spans from Greek Gods to cartoons and superheroes. It is quite an interesting collection!

The characters have been arranged in an order of influence (where 1= most influential, 101= least influential within the collection). This order is relative to the authors’ statistical research and judgment, and is based on a ranking system that is explained in the book.

Interestingly enough, the Marlboro Man was ranked as #1!

The characters are organized in 17 chapters, depending on the type of category they fall under. My favorite chapter was “Greek & Roman Myths”. It contained a summary about the most important characters in Greek & Roman Mythology (Prometheus, Apollo & Dionysus, Venus & Cupid, Pandora, Helen… etc) as well as a background on each one’s story. I found it very enjoyable to read!

The sections are divided into nice “bite sized” reading materials, which makes the book great to read during lunch break (no pun intended!).

Although the book’s cover claims that there is an analysis to be presented on how these characters influenced our lives, it turned out to be a list of facts and historical recollections instead. Nevertheless, I found it an amusing and enlightening read!

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Name of book: 10 Days to More Confident Public Speaking
Auther: The Princeton Language Institute
5/5

الكتاب ممتاز جداً.. مرشد للأشخاص الراغبين في التفوق في فن الخطابة.
الكتاب مفيد لكافة الأعمـار.. ولغته بسيطة وسهلة
والمؤلف جزأ الكتاب إلى عشرة أقسام .. لكل قسم يوم واحد
والحصيلة عشرة أيام
يخرج منها القارئ واثقاً بنفسه وعارفاً الألية التي تقوده إلى تقديم خطبة ممتازة ومتفوقة

=)

الوزير المرافق
غازي القصيبي
4/5

كتاب ممتع , وانا عادة لا اقرأ في السياسة ولا أستمتع بها , ولكن غازي -رحمه الله- كعادته ينسيك الممل , كتاب يصف فيه الكاتب مقابلته لشخصيات كبيرة , رأيه فيهم بعد مشاهدتهم عن قرب

الدين هو الصلاة: والسجود لله باب الفرج


إهداء

إلى جموع الشباب والكهول .. ـ

الباحثين عن لمعة أمل .. ـ

إلى الحيارى الضاربين في التيه .. ـ

الباحثين عن مشافي الروح .. ـ

المثقلين بجراح الذنوب مثلي .. ـ

هذا باب الفرج : الصلاة ..! ـ

حق الله العظيم على الناس أجمعين .. ـ

فاكشف الحجاب يا صاح وادخل .. ـ

يتدفق عليك شلال النور بالرحمة والسلام .. ـ


محبكم : فريد الأنصاري

---------------------------------------

بهذه الكلمات الرقيقة الإيمانية أهدى د.فريد الأنصاري رحمه الله رحمة واسعة كتابه الرائع

الحقيقة أنه كتاب -أو كتيب- صغير الحجم قليل الصفحات لكنه - والله - عظيم القدر ، قرأته للمرة الثانية ولن يبتعد عني كثيرا

يتناول المؤلف رحمه الله الصلاة من جوانب إيمانية تقل الإشارة إليها ، وبلغة المغاربة الذين يتذوقون الجمال

ستقرأ في هذا الكتاب حشدا من نصوص الوحيين ، تمر بنا كثيرا وهي غير مباشرة في التأكيد على الصلاة ، والمؤلف هنا يستشهد بها ، كما يذكر المؤلف أوجه استشهاد متنوعة تفيض رقة وجمالا وإيمانا

طريقة المؤلف في الكتاب أنه يضع عنوانا للباب ثم يذكر مجموعة من نصوص الوحيين ويربط بينها بتعليقات بديعة تساعدك على تذوق النص بشكل مختلف ، ومن أمثلة تبويباته : "البيان الخامس عشر : في أن الصلاة عموما -نافلتها وفريضتها- تعريف بالله جل جلاله وهي شفاء للنفس ، وتغذية للقلب ، وقوة للبدن ومعراج للروح ، وباب للتوبة إلى الله ، وأنها ملجأ المؤمن ساعة الشدة ، وبالدخول الخاشع فيها تنفتح أبواب الفرج !"ـ

أنصح بقراءته وبقوة ، مع التأكيد على قراءة نصوص الكتاب والسنة بتأمل أثناء القراءة

وسأحرص على شراء كتب أخرى للمولف رحمه الله

جعلنا الله ممن يتلذذ بالصلاة ويؤديها خالصة لله عزوجل

...

The Last Lecture
Randy Pausch
4/5
This is my review; hope it helps.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Name of book : اكتشف ذاتك
Author : أ.د. بشير صالح البشيري
5/5 stars.

كتاب جميل من كاتب رائع
اكتشف ذاتك ..يساعد على معرفة الذات ومعرفة كيفية تقديرية
أكثر نقطة استفدت منها لما تكلم عن الانفعالات والمشكلات ..
فالانفعالات شي بإرادتي وأقدر أتحكم فيها من خلال العقل ..

شكرا د. بشير كتاب راائع حقاً ويستحق القراءة

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Of Mice and Men
By: John Stienbeck

4/5 stars

Of Mice and Men was my pick for week one. It's a short book for the busy people out there. I loved the ending.
I recommend you guys read this book it's beautifully written and perfectly simple!

Anumal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life.
by Barbara Kingsolver
4/5 stars

I liked the main idea of the book: to think where our food comes from and how the industrial food production affects our communities, health and environment. I gave it four stars only because the author’s tone is often a little preachy and judgmental. I agree that we need more education in food growing and suitability but to say that all people should stop going to supermarkets and start growing, canning and preparing almost all of their food is too idealistic and irrational to me.

Title : عزازيل
Author: يوسف زيدان
Rating : 3\5
Review/Opinion :
"- عزازيل ! جئتَ ..
- يا هيبا ، قلتُ لكَ مراراً إنني لا أجئ ولا أذهب . أنت الذي تجيئ بي حين تشاء . فأنا آتٍ إليك منك ، وبك ، وفيك . إنني أنبعث حين تريد لأصوغ حلمك ، أو أمد بساط خيالك ، أو أقلب ما تدفنه الذكريات . أنا حامل أوزارك وأوهامك ومآسيك ، أنا الذي لا غنى لك عنه ، ولا غنى لغيرك ."

عزازيل.. الكائن المسستر فينا وهو.. منّا
أن تمضع سنواتك دون أن تتوثق من الماهيّة التي تُريد أن تكونها
دون أن تتيقن أنك أنتَ كما تريد لك أن تكون
أو أنك -كما يجب عليك أن تتبع- منهج من سبقك لتكون
أو أنك ...

لكلٍ منّا عزازيله | شيطانه
ولكلٍ منّا القدرة على اتباعه أو تتبعه


Link :
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35...

Arranged Marriage
By Chitra Divakaruni
4/5 stars

Loved this collection of short stories about different takes on arranged marriages. A quick read, highly recommended.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell

This isn't really a book. It's a hand-picked compilation of Gladwell's articles from the New York Times. He put together his favorite pieces in a very compelling way. I do not recommend this book to anyone that has not read any of his previous work. He has posted all these articles in his website: www.gladwell.com if you want to look it over.

At the beginning, I really couldn't stop reading. It was typical Gladwell style, mediocre facts spinned into a very intriguing story with bits and pieces from everywhere. However, at the end, it began derailing and I almost lost interest in finishing it.

Overall, I gave it three stars.

Banker To The Poor
by Muhammad Yunus
5/5 (more like 6/5!)

A highly inspiring book, full of visionary and revolutionary ideas. recommended to all!

selected quotes:
** "..things are never as complicated as they seem. It is only our arrogance that prompts us to find unnecessarily complicated answers to simple problems."
** "Poverty does not belong in civilized human society. Its proper place is in a museum. That's where it will be."
** "I thought, if you can become an angel for 27 dollars. It would be fun to do more of it!"

my review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Marie dancing

Carolyn Meyer (Author)

rate : 3,50 / 5

I liked it :)

The Bible, the Qu'ran and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge

by Maurice Bucaille
4/5

Read the Arabic version of the book.
Translation wasn't that good, in some parts especially.
Nice book though I have some issues with the book that made me give it a 4.

The Hobbit
by Tolkien

3/5

Good book. Always been a fan of tolkien. It's what I expected.

دليل العظمة
روبين شارما
5/4

من الكتب التي يمكنك قرائتها مراراً وتكراراً...
بل أشجع على ذلك لإنه يبعث طاقة إيجابية رائعة،سلس وسهل ومختصر ومن دون تكرار،لا يحتوي على ذلك الحشو المعتاد في كتب تطوير الذات.
توقفت عن قراءة كتب تطوير الذات منذ مدة طويلة،لكن هذا الكتاب أعاد لي الحماس =)

Hi =)

Sorry for the lateness ...

The Age of Orphans
Laleh Khadivi

4/5 stars

It was a good story I liked it a lot, it was very sad but I enjoyed her writing style and the plot of the book very much... although I was hoping for a different ending for him.

Laylah =0)

The Red Pyramid

4/5 Stars

Another hit from Rick Riordan! If you thought his writings of Greek mythology was exciting, you will love the Egyptian mythology in this book. Exciting and mysterious, this book is a winner!

Shiver
Maggie Stievater
I just finished the book SHIVER like 2 minutes ago. It was amazing full of clever details. Maggie Stievater had me hanging at the end of every page. Now I just want to pick up the next book.

5/5 stars.

سقف الكفاية
5 /5
لم يكن الكتآب مجرد قصة .. ولم يكن مجرد عذاب عآشق..
بل هو فلسفة كآتب.. وفكر مؤلف.. وأسلوب مبدع متميز بحق..ـ
تصويره لضعف نآصر بكل نوآحيه بشكل يجعلنا نتعاطف معه أحيآنآ وفي أحيان أخرى نرغب لو أن باستطاعتنا صفعه صفعة توقظه من سبات ضعفه كـ رجل.. وكـ عآشق.. وكـ شرقي..~|

قلم الكآاتب وأسلوبهـ تأخذنآ بعيدا لننسى لوهلة أحداث الرواية لتكون كلماته بكل ماتحتويه من تأثير هي محور الرواية ويكون فكره هو زادهآ..

The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga

4/5 stars

along with the background it provides about the poor socity of india (although I'm not sure if every detail is true), the book was really funny. it came as some sort of a letter (it is a technically a letter)and that made it even more fun. It's simply a trip inside an servant poor Indiana man's "head" !!

really enjoyed it :)

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The Bamboo Sword: And Other Samurai Tales
4/5

A collection of Japanese stories related to samurai families and ancient japan by Shuhei Fujisawa. They're sad and touching and I really enjoyed reading them.

I finished this book back in the first week of January, and I have no idea why I didnt mark it as read!
Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson
2/5
This book is about learning from death! -or pending death anyway- Its the story of prof.Morrie Schwartz, who was diagnosed with ALS and was expected to die soon, so he decided to teach others the lessons he learned through his life. It follows the lecturing way, which I dont like, but the wisdom inside forgives the lecturing.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

3/5
it was very interesting at first , and how the story go on ,,,and then it become boring ,, i wasn't satisfy with the ending ..

Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was quite the amuzing book it was fun at the beginning cute then a little creepy then it was sad then happy then sad happy. In my opinion.



View all my reviews

Shayma wrote: "Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was quite the amuzing book it was fun at the beginning cute then a little creepy then it was sad then happy then sad happy. In my opinion.
..."

Hi Shayma .. This is the 2011 topic, there's a new group for this year's challenge here :)