52 Books in 52 Weeks (2011) discussion

'Week: 3' reviews already, yay!

Ignorance by Milan Kundera

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I was thinking while reading this book about the rating I'll give it… I was going to give it a 4-star rating wishing it could it be 4.5 stars. But while reading the last 50 pages, I definitely knew I was going to give it a 5, and quite easily, too. The ideas represented about art, history, music, writing, and philosophy in this book are probably more worthy of attention and reading than the main story. And the main story got amazingly better near the end which made me wish the story would go on; nevertheless, the ending was perfect even though it doesn't give closure. I LOVED reading the book and at a point, I wished it was longer. Yes. That almost never happens.

The story is about two people - separate stories at first - who decide to return to their home, Prague after living abroad for about two decades during the Russian invasion, and then they meet by coincidence on their way home. I loved LOVED loved how the author reworked bits of Homer's Odyssey in the story with astute comparisons to ponder upon even though I hadn't had the slightest idea what the Odyssey was about (but now I do, thanks to Kundera's brilliant writing and story-telling.)



Really beautifully written. And a recommended read. Note that this is not a popular novel of his but it is the latest one. Therefore, it might be a better idea to start with something known and lovable, such as The Unbearable Lightness of Being or The Joke (I haven't ready any yet.)



I added quotes I found interesting to this page from the book: http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/342...


Now, excuse me while I go buy the rest of Kundera's books.





View this review.

The Rapper's Handbook: A Guide to Freestyling, Writing Rhymes, and Battling

by Flocabulary (Emcee Escher with Alex Rappaport)

3/5

An e-book about rapping. Didn't learn much from it, hence the three. But it's a nice, simple, and quick guide to understand what is rap; and also it's a nice handbook for those who want to start rapping!

Brazzaville Beach by William Boyd

My rating: 4 of 5 stars




This is the story of Hope Clearwater. It looks at three phases of her life. Her short lived marriage in England, her work studying wild chimps in Africa and her current existence living in a beach hut on the beach of the title. All three strands weave in and around each other, moving back and forward in time. The overall theme of struggle and resistance runs through all the different parts of the story, making links that apply to life in general



View all my reviews

أثير عبدالله

4/5

لحد نصف الرواية كانت الاحداث مثيرة و ما قدرت اوقف قراءتها، بس بعد كذا نوعا ما كرهت البطلة!

...unfinished business...
by Lee Kravitz
1/5

Privileged, educated, self indulgent man looses interesting job because can't get along with bosses. Decides to write a book about making amends. Instead spends another year indulging himself and, writes a self congratulatory book about five of his experiences that he and his editor think would sell. Unlikeable person, boring stories, badly written.

.
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Title: For One More Day
Author: Mitch Albom
3/5

"An easy read.
It's like as if it's speaking directly to our thoughts
Because for sure everyone of us did at one time -at least- had similar "thoughts"

The chapters titled " time I did not stand up for my mother" was touching !

What could happen if you had one more day
More time with your loved ones
One must appreciate the time they have now before it is too late , and a one more day is far from possible . "

Link to review

العنوان:
غاندي ابو الهند
التقييم:
5/5
كأول كتاب اقرأه عن المهاتما غاندي فقد كنت مندهشة جدا من صبر و ثبات و ايمان هذه الشخصية العظيمة
كتاب رائع عن سيرة نضال غاندي

"يصعب على الاجيال الآتية ان تصدق ان رجلا كغاندي قد وجد بلحمه و عظامه على كوكبنا"
اينشتاين-

Title - Matched
Author - Ally Condie
Rating - 4/5

I wanted to give this a 3.5 but I leaned more toward the 4 than the 3. This book is being touted as the next Twilight or Hunger Games phenomenon and while I can't say that I agree that it was as good as either of those, I did like it a lot! Its very very similar to parts of the Hunger Games trilogy, and I hear this is the first book in a trilogy as well. The beginning was really good, the middle kind of got a little boring, but the end was really good too. I will definitely read the sequel!

الوزير المرافق
by غازي بن عبد الرحمن القصيبي

4/5


الكتاب جميل جدا وطالما انتظرته منذ أن قرأت كتاب حياة في الإدارة منذ شهرين تقريبا وهو يقول أنه سيفرد كتابا لمرافقات الوزير
الوضع هذه الأيام وما نشهده من ثورة تونس ولجوء رئيسها إلى السعودية وغيره أعطى للكتاب جمالا آخر
فقد ورد فيه ذكر الحبيب بو رقيبة ومعمر القذافي وعيدي أمين والفصل الأخير الذي تحدث عن القمة العربية
الكتاب خفيف وجميل ومقسم بحسب الشخصيات بعضها به بعض الفوائد وبعضها الآخر لا شيء سوى معرفة انطباع القصيبي عن هذه الشخصية ، أعجبني :)

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

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting
by Milan Kundera
4.5/5

There are literally not words for how much I love Milan Kundera. While he didn't write my favourite book, over a body of work, he's my favourite author. I have never hated any of his works (Slowness is my least favourite of his books and it was still much better than average).

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting is an interesting case. Like in most of his books, the Prague Spring and his subsequent flight to France play heavily in this work, and like a lot of his works, this one intertwines stories. But sometimes the stories are just vignettes (as with Marik and Zedna whose sole appearance is the first chapter) and sometimes they get dropped only to be picked up 50 pages later. But the theme is consistent; at its heart, it is a book about memory -- why we hold on so tightly to some memories and how memory sometimes cheats us both in what we forget, and why, and in what we remember inaccurately (even though sometimes it saves us from ourselves) -- and the importance of living a life full of laughter because, after all, "to laugh is to live profoundly." Well, that and life is comically absurd.

My personal review of this just read simply: "Kundera, better than any other author, knows how to kill me. And I love him for it." Because, honestly, I didn't know how else to review it.

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


At first i thought this book was good -For a romance- especially that it's been recommended by a friend, To be honest some parts were good and they made me feel like i knew New York.

But overall it wasn't, Especially he last part, It's creepy, Cheesy and lame. I don't recommend this to anyone.



View all my reviews

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World 2011

4/5 stars

إذا كنت تخطط لزيارة منتجع عالم ديزني فاسمح لي أن أنبهك لحقيقة ربما غابت عن ذهنك: منتجع عالم والت ديزني أو ما يعرف اختصاراً باسم "عالم ديزني" ضخم .. فعلاً ضخم .. لحظة لحظة .. يبدو أنك لم تقتنع بعد ... اسمح لي بالتكرار: منتجع عالم والت ديزني فعلاً ضخم .. حسناً, دعني أقرب لك الصورة أكثر .. مساحة منتجع عالم والت ديزني قريبه جداً من مساحة مدينة الدوحة .. إقتنعت الآن؟ .. منتجع عالم ديزني هو المنتجع الموجود في ولاية فلوريدا, اما المنتجع الموجود في ولاية كاليفورنيا اسمه ( ديزني لاند ) .. وهو يختلف كثيراَ عن المنتجع الذي سوف أتحدث عنه هنا


رغم كل هذه الضخامة, فإن مهندسي ديزني ( يُعرفون باسم "الإماجنيرز" كخلط بين كلمتي إماجنيشن "خيال" وإنجنير "هندسة") مهووسون بالتفاصيل إلى درجة تستعصي على الوصف .. لن تصدق أبداً مستوى اهتمامهم بأدق أدق أدق التفاصيل حتى تشاهد ما فعلوه بنفسك .. كل قطعة, كل حجر, كل صبغة لون, متناسقة مع الأخرى, وصممت بطريقة لتحكي حكاية لزوار المنتجع


حقيقة أنه وبعد أول زيارة لعالم ديزني لم أصدق ان وراء هذا جهد بشر يأكلون ويشربون وينامون ... مستحيل!! .. دعني فقط احكي لك بسرعة قصة قصيرة عن أحد أسرار عالم ديزني قبل أن اعود لمراجعة هذا الكتاب


هل تعرف قلعة سندريلا الشهيرة؟ القلعة التي ترمز لمنتجع عالم ديزني؟ ... انظر لهذه الصوره حتى تتذكرها


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co...


عندما دخلت للمنتجع شدني شيء لا أدري كنهه في هذه القلعة .. لا أدري ما هو .. شيء لم استطع أن أصفه ... القلعة كانت جميلة وخلابه وذات تصميم قوطي يذكرك بقلعة شامبور الفرنسية .. لكن لالا .. هناك شيء أخر غريب في هذه القلعة .. بعد يوم أو يومين من زيارتي ذهبت لإحدى المكاتب العامة ووجدت كتاب عن عالم ديزني اسمه (السحر الخفي لعالم ديزني ) .. ليس هذا الكتاب الذي أكتب مراجعته الآن .. بل هو كتاب على وشك أن انتهي منه حالياً وسوف أكتب عنه مراجعة أخرى قريباً جداً .. وأنا في المكتبة فتحت الفهرس بسرعة وبحثت عن فصل ( قلعة سندريلا ) وبعد قراءة بضعة أسطر اكتشفت السر


القلعة تم تصميمها باستخدام خدعة بصرية اسمها ( المنظور القصري ) في هذه الخدعة يتم تصميم المبنى على ثلاث أقسام .. القسم الأدنى من القلعة يكون حجمه 80% من حجم القلعة المراد إيهام المشاهد برؤياتها .. القسم المتوسط يكون حجمه 60% .. والأعلى يكون حجمه 40% فقط .. بهذه الطريقة ينخدع الزائر ويعتقد ان القلعة أضخم مما هي فعلاً عليه؛ لأنه يظن أن الجزء الأعلى من القلعة صغير لأنه بعيد عنه, بينما في الحقيقة أنه بالفعل صغير .. طبعا هناك مشكلة جذريه بهذا الشكل في التصميم .. وهي أن الطيور لو اقتربت من القلعة سوف تنفضح الخدعة, سوف يكتشف الزوار الخدعة بمقارنة حجم الطيور بحجم القلعة ... فلتجاوز هذا المطب ( كما قلت لكم اهتمام لا يصدق بالتفاصيل ) دهنوا القلعة بمادة نسيت اسمها تنفّر الطيور كي لا تقترب من المبنى وتنكشف الحيلة


هذا كان مثال على أحد أسرار عالم ديزني التي تجدها في كل مكان في منتجعه ويوجد غيره الكثير الكثير, والآن دعونا نعود لكتابنا


كما قلت لكم منتجع عالم ديزني ضخم جدا .. وفي نفس الوقت طافح لآخر حد بالتفاصيل .. لذلك أمامك ثلاث خيارات عند زيارتك لمنتجع عالم ديزني:


1 – الخيار الأول أن تذهب مباشرة وتستمع .. كل شيء هناك مرتب ومنظم بطريقة مذهلة .. قبل الدخول سوف يعطونك خريطة ومواعيد العروض .. سوف تستمتع بزيارتك وأمورك سوف تكون عال العال


2 – الخيار الثاني هو أن تشتري هذا الكتاب .. وهو عبارة عن دليل سنوي يصدر من ديزني فيه كل صغيرة وكبيرة عن المنتجع .. وباستخدامه تخطط لزيارتك .. بالمناسبه من المستحيل أن تنهي عالم ديزني في يوم أو حتى في عدة أيام .. بشيء من التخطيط السليم سوف تتمكن من أن ترى أهم الأشياء, لكن حتماً سوف يكون هناك اشياء كثيرة لن يسعفك الوقت لرؤيتها (آسف لإخبارك هذا, لكن هذه حقيقة يجب أن تتعايش معها) .. في أول زيارة لي لعالم ديزني
امضيت أربعة عشر ساعة فقط من أجل مشاهدة التصاميم الهندسية وبعض عروض المملكة السحرية – إحدى مدن عالم ديزني


3 – الخيار الثالث .. هو أن تشتري هذا الكتاب والكتاب التالي الي سوف أكتب عنه قريباً( السحر الخفي لعالم ديزني ) .. تخطط رحلتك أولاً باستخدام هذا الكتاب وبعد كل زيارة لأي مدينة في عالم ديزني تعود للكتاب الآخر ( السحر الخفي لعالم ديزني ) وتقرأ عن خفايا وأسرار المكان الذي زرته ... لا تقرأ الأسرار قبل الذهاب حتى تعطي نفسك فرصة اكتشافها بنفسك


قبل أن أعرض على عجل فصول الكتاب دعني أذكرك بأن تتأكد من حصولك على على أحدث نسخة من الكتاب ( يصدر من الكتاب نسخة جديدة سنوياً ) فالمدينة يتم تطويرها باستمرار, والدليل يتم تحديثه كل عام. بالمناسبة هذا الدليل رسمي لذلك تستطيع ان تضع في بطنك بطيخ صيفي أثناء تخطيطك, لكن هناك شيء صغير احتاج أن أنبهك له, وهو ان مواعيد العمل اليومية والعروض الأسبوعية لن تستطيع الحصول عليها إلا من خلال الموقع الرسمي


http://disneyworld.disney.go.com


الكتاب مقسم إلى تسعة فصول. الفصل الأول والثاني عبارة عن مقدمة عن عالم ديزني. أسعار التذاكر, طريقة الوصول, أسعار الإقامة في المنتجعات, أسعار المواقف .. وكل ما تحتاجه لتخطيط رحلتك


الفصل الثالث عن مدينة ( المملكة السحرية ), الفصل الرابع عن مدينة ( إيبكوت ), الفصل الخامس عن مدينة ( ديزني هوليود ), والفصل السادس عن مدينة ( مملكة الحيوانات ). في كل فصل من هذه الفصول الأربعة تجد خريطة للمدينة, وتفصيل لكل لعبة من الألعاب فيها, مع تنبيه للألعاب المميزة, والألعاب التي يمكنك فيها ان تحصل على تذكرة المرور السريع - نوع من التذاكر تحصل عليه للألعاب التي لا تريد ان تقف في طابورها, وهي أحد الأفكار الرائعة لمهندسي ديزني


الفصل السابع يغطي المدن المائية, وديزني داون تاون, وأماكن التسوق. الفصل الثامن بخصوص المرافق الرياضية, والفصل التاسع عن المطاعم


من الأشياء الرائعة في هذا الكتاب هي جداول وضعوها في أول الكتاب عبارة عن أنشطة مقترحة إذا لم يكن لديك سوى يوم واحد أو نصف يوم لزيارة منتجع عالم ديزني. كل مدينة لها جدول مقترح للأنشطة. مفيد جداً


لماذا أربع نجمات وليس خمساً؟


مشكلة الكتاب الوحيدة انه صادر من جهة رسمية ( عيب وميزة في نفس الوقت ) ولذلك سوف تغيب بعض الاقتراحات الماكرة ( نص كم ) الذي ربما يجدها الزائر مفيده .. وكونه رسمي فهو شيء جيد بحيث يعطي القارئ شيء من الثقة لكن تظل مشكلة التضليل التسويقي هاجس لا يمكن تجاوزه


تمنياتي لكم بقراءة ممتعة وبزيارة أسطورية لمنتجع عالم ديزني

Title: Boffinology: The Real Stories Behind Our Greatest Scientific Discoveries
Author: Justin Pollard
Rating: 3.75/5

An interesting book, with an interesting title!

Justin Pollard is a well known historian and writer. He also consults on movies to verify the historical accuracy of scenes and details presented in them.
For example, he worked on “Alice in Wonderland”, “Elizabeth” and “Atonement”. Although he has written many books about history -specifically about events not commonly known- this was the first book of his that I have read.

The title instantly drew me (with the alluring key words being: Real Stories and Scientific Discoveries). The introduction, opening quote and table of contents of the book were quite appealing as well. It is always fun to read the real stories behind acclaimed scientific discoveries and revered boffins*.

The stories are organized in 10 sections. They were a refreshing collection and did not include boring repetitions of the falsehood of Newton being hit by an apple nor Tycho Brahe’s metallic nose for a change! I do not agree with the order they are placed in though, as I found some stories more fitting under a different section. In any case, the author did an amazing job with the data collection and sorting. It took him years of research to have the material published in this book; such commendable work indeed!

The book can be read continuously or by occasionally going back to it for an entertaining “packet” or two. However, being one that prefers the preceding method, I personally think that the only drawback from reading about ≈100 characters at one go, is that once you finish with the book, you will most probably not be able to remember all names, dates and anecdotes!

Whichever way you choose, it is a book worth reading for scientists and non-scientists alike!

*Boffin: A British slang term for scientist, engineers, medical doctors or those engaged in scientific research. The closest American equivalent to the word “boffin” is “egghead”. Hence, the picture of the cute glasses-clad eggs on the cover of the book (or at least, I assume!) :-)


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

للاسف انتهيت من قراءة كتاب واحد فقط !
لكن لي عودة تعويضية للاسابيع الفائتة ..

قرأت ..
ذاكرة الجسد لـ أحلام مستغانمي !
كتاب مذهل .. ولغة مبهرة !
كتجربة اولى لقراءة احلام .. سأدمنها !

It feels like it has been a long time since I finished a book,, many thanks to finals :s

"The book is really deep. It provoke many thoughts and makes people start wondering about their sanity. It starts by telling the story of young women who feels something is missing from her life, so she decides to commit suicide, but it doesn't work, and she lives..
How does she cope with life? and how people around her cope with death?

one of the things I liked most about the book is its a good Quotes material, full of wisdom, and you are free to see the events the way you want to.."


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

Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
4/5 Stars

I usually don't like dystopias, but this one was excellent. The concept of becoming perfect, in your own ways and means, is thrilling and frightening.

About a Boy
by Nick Hornby
3/5 Stars

"liked it. it's very well-written with a good humor"

my review contains minor spoilers

by Dr. Ben Goldacre

5/5 Stars


This is an eyeopener book, I find it very interesting and informative.. the stories the author mentioned in the book are unbelievable!

Part of the scientific things he talked about like study design, randomization and statistics are what I do for a living nowadays and I can't stress how important it is to have a valid data and information as it's going to be generalized to the worldwide population.

The pharmaceutical industry and the media along with scientists wannabies are manipulating the public through misrepresenting and misinterpreting data.

This is a great book! I recommend it to all those who are interested in medical science and clinical research.


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

نزار قباني
5/5
Political poems by the phenomenal Nizar Qabbani. Enjoyable and easy read.

Title: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Author: Steig Larson
Rating: 3.5/5

I FINALLY managed to finish this book! It took me a little over 2 weeks lol. It dragged on about the Swedish governmental organization which did not really relate to the story itself nor did it contribute much to it. The story starts to get moving at a faster pace once Blomkvist and Salander come back into the picture.

I must say it was a good climax to a VERY long story. I thought the ending was too dramatic but they did have to give us closure eh? :D

All i can say is: I will miss you Lisbeth!

Now off to my next book: The Secret Life of Bees. YAY!

The Uncommon Reader
by Alan Bennett
3/5 stars

A short and sweet book, fun to read.

Think and Grow Rich
by Napoleon Hill

2/5

OK. They said this was a classic book, and that might be evident, because you will realize that the popular book 'The Secret' also shares some common topics with it (borrowed maybe?). It's supposed to be a motivator. Well, I didn't enjoy it that much. To be honest, I even skipped the last 50 pages just to finish it!

I'm not saying the principles included here are wrong; they might be great! But they seemed kinda old and obvious to me, so I didn't get much out of it. I did, however, get a good grasp on the author's idea.

I also felt that the book deviated a little from its main course; not at all what I expected from the title. Perhaps I'm being a little too harsh, but the book might be good for you if you're not too much into motivators and stuff.

I gave the book 2 stars because I still got some ideas and tips from it nonetheless. In terms of content, it might get a 3 from me.

Goal setting, desire and persistence will lead to a fortune ... Sorry Napoleon, but I already knew that!

And yeah, the whole book can be summarized into one statement: Believe .. and you WILL achieve .. !

This review on my blog:
http://fewthoughtz.wordpress.com/2011...

Stargate Atlantis: Angelus by Peter J. Evans

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


For me this worked as both a tie in to one of my favourite tv series and a decent stand alone sic fi novel. It's the first SGA novel I have read and I will be reading more based on how much I enjoyed this one.



View all my reviews

This book isn't just another story, or another novel about life. This book is real. And what will make you understand more & actually want to learn more is that Morrie was dying, I don't think I'd pay much attention if he was just another man who talked about life and how to live it. I enjoyed reading every part of it. It made me appreciate the little things even more than I already do.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A.w.e.s.o.m.e I recommend everyone to read it!



View all my reviews

Title : خوراق اللاشعور
Author: علي الوردي

5/5

يجب أن يقتنيه كل من به فضول لمعرفة مافي النفس البشرية من قدرات هائلة.

My Review

Mark Haddon
2.5/5

The Curios Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time , is a novel that goes into the life of Christopher Boone, a 15 year old boy with "Behavioral Problems". Although on the back cover of the book it mentions that Christopher suffers from Aspergers which is a form of Autism , the actual story lines never contain the words Aspergers , nor autism. And because whenever I read a fictional novel containing Sceintific or historical information I tend to research the topic , just to make sure the author got his facts straight , and to cut Haddon some slack I am quoting what has been posted on his website : "curious incident is not a book about asperger’s. it’s a novel whose central character describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties’. indeed he never uses the words ‘asperger’s’ or ‘autism’ (i slightly regret that fact that the word ‘asperger’s’ was used on the cover). if anything it’s a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. it’s as much a novel about us as it is about christopher."
href="http://http://markhaddon.com/asperger... link text


and so I will discuss the book not as a autism book, but a book about a boy with behavioral difficulties.
I really didn't enjoy the book , I wasn't bored by it either but it isn't something I will recommend, The dullness of the plot and the somewhat unbelievable facts (such as christopher going to London I saw very unrealistic , I could elaborate a bit more but wouldn't want to be a spoiler.
Haddon also didn't make a good point of showing us the transformation of the character's , and near the end things just happened in a way I can describe as random. The ending was more of a fairy tale ending.

نِتاج الأسبوع الثالث = 5 كتب
،
ثلاثة منها سيئة كما يجبّ
أو ربما فضفاضة عليّ كما يجبّ
،
وربما على مدى الأيام القادمة تتعرقل مسيرتي القرائية
فها أناذا .. خطوتُ بعيداً قليلاً لأنجو من السقوط
،
01:

فلسفة الفن | جان لاكوست
1\5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

يُفترض أن يأخذنا هذا الكتاب لفهم مشكلة الفن منذ اليونانيين، " أفلاطون " تحديداً إلى أن نصل للفن المعاصر ونفهم

العلاقة بين الفن والفنان، بين الفن والخيال والإبداع والأعمال الفنية .

يقول المترجم في مُقدمته:
" إن الفنّ هو بحد ذاته واحد وكثير، قديم وجديد، صامت و متكلم. هو المرئي واللامرئي، هو الأنا والآخر، هو الجسد

وما بعد الجسد، هو القدر ومخالف القدر. بعبارة أخرى هو الغريب والأليف معاً "
...
كما رأى نيتشه أن الموسيقى هي أم الفنون، فقد رأى هايدجر أن الشعر له الأولوية، واعتبر أفلاطون أن الهندسة هي

المعبرة عن الفن والإبداع. ومن الممكن أن نتوصل في آخر المطاف أن كل فن لغة، يجمع في ذاته بقية اللغات ويتضمن

كل الفنون.
،
" الفنّ هو أن نخلق ما ليس بالموجود، أن نجمع كل لغات القلب والعقل، وأن نكتب فيها و بها ماهو خارج عن النفس،

ماهو ليس في النفس، وما هو خارج عن العالم وليس فيه. لعل أهم ما في الفن أنه يعلمنا أهمية لحظة الخلق والإبداع،

تلك اللحظة التي أخرج فيها عن نفسي للقاء الآخر، وكأنها لحظة "غزل" لا نهائية، لحظة عشق وتوحد،لحظة اتصال لا

حدود لها.
أليس الإبداع أن نكون ماليس نحن عليه، وإلا ما الفرق بين المبدع واللامبدع؟ ما الفرق بين الفنان واللافنان؟ ليس كل من

قال شعراً أو رسم لوحة أو صنع فيلماً أونحت منحوتة بفنان.. لأن الفن ليس بمهنة نتعلمها ونمارسها. الفن ليس بعمل

الفن، ليس بشهادة.
الأبداع يكمن بالخروج عن المألوف.. "
،
،
بقدر ما كانت مُقدمّة المُترجم مُحفزّة للدخول في أجواء الفن وفلسفته،
فقد كانت الخيبة التي خرجتُ بها بعد طيّ أوراقه أكبرُ وأعمق

.............................................................................................
02:

المصطنع والاصطناع | جان بودريار
1\5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

،
لم يكن يعنيني حديث بوديار

المعذرة ولكن.. لم يتوافق و مزاجيتي

، كان فضفاضاً عليّ
فـ ضِعتُ فيه !

.....................................................................

03:

مدخل لفهم اللسانيات | روبير مارتان
2\5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...

يتناول هذا الكتاب- بلغة عامة الناس، ومن دون أن يقتضي معارفَ سابقة- ما تحدّده اللسانيات لنفسها من غايات، وما

تُلقيه من أنماط الأسئلة، وما تتوخاه من طرقٍ لتوفّر لها بعض الأجوبة". إجمالاً، إنه يسعى "إلى إعطاء فكرة صائبة قدر

المستطاع عن فنٍّ معقّد وعن أهدافه ومناهجه
،
وكما افتتاحية الكتاب:
" الواقع أننا جميعاً لسانيون إن قليلاً أو كثيراً. من الأكيد أن مَلَكة استعمال اللغة لا تكفي لذلك؛ يمكن للمرء أن يتحكم

بلسان من الألسن فيوفّق في استعماله ويمكن أن يتكلم بإتقان لسانين بل عديد الألسن، ولا يكون مع ذلك لسانياً؛

فاللساني هو الذي اكتسب معرفة عن الألسن وعُني وظيفة اللغة "
وعليه..

" إن اكتساب لسان أجنبي هو قبل كل شيء رهين الاستعمال والانغماس كما يقال الآن. لكن التعليم المنتظم أي حفظ

مجموعات الصيغ والتطبيق الواعي للقواعد التي يصيرها الاستعمال تلقائياً تدريجياً قد برهن منذ زمان بعيد على نجاته،

وتلزمه أدوات خاصة -من قبيل الكتب أو الوسائل السمعية البصرية- تسمح اللسانيات بتحسينها، وتقتضي اختيارات

قائمة على التواتر ( تواتر الأشكال واللفاظات والتراكيب ...) وقواعد صيغت بدقة وقابلة لتطبيق آلي، وتدرج محكم

التسيير "
،
" يتساءل الفيلسوف أكثر من اللساني الذي يصل هنا إلى حدود اختصاصه عن طبيعة اللغة. هل اللغة فطرية أم مكتسبة؟
هل للغة الكائنات البشرية طبيعة مخالفة لطبيعة ما يلاحظ من اللغات عند أجناس أخرى؟
بم تختلف الألسن الطبيعية عن أشكال أخرى من اللغات- اللغات الصورية ( كاللغات المنطقيةأولغات البرمجة)
واللغات الاصطلاحية ( كقانون الطرقات ) واللغات المشتقة ( كأشكال رسم الألسن أو ترجمتها بالإشارات )؟
،
إن اتقان لسان من الألسن معناه القدرة على التعبير عن الشيء الواحد بأشكال متنوعة

..................................................................

04:

بضعة أشياء | بسام حجار
3\5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/71...

بسّام حجّار "،
الصديق الذي يكتبُ لي،
يُثرثرُ معي ويُؤنِسُ وحدتي،
الذي يتركُ لي قنديلاً لا يخبو لهيب فتيلهِ في الوقت الذي يتلّون كلّ ماحولي برمادية الفارغون، المارقون من أمامي ومن

خلفي..

الصديق الذي عرفتهُ منذ وقتٍ ربما إلا أنني للتوّ أتلمّسُ -جيّداً- طريق محبتي له !
نعم، كما أخبَرتَ يا صديق؛ " المشقّةُ في قلبي لا في الطريق

......................................

05:

Tuesdays with Morrie | Mitch Albom
2\5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/69...


It’s short and nice. You can finish it quickly but nothing new and it's Not

that interesting!
If you had read some Quotes from here and there, it will be enough for

you and no need to spend 2 hours or less reading this book.

Title: The Mote in God's Eye
Author: Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Rating: 4/5

A solid and gripping scifi novel about the first contact between humans and a sentient alien life form. It's set many centuries from now where humans colonize at least 200 planets. The portrayal of the alien civilization is really interesting. At times, the aliens do the narration, and so you see their view about humans which spots the light on many things in our behavior and social systems that we don't even notice.

Title: رجال من الشمس
Author:غسان كنفاني
Rating: 4/5

"مؤلمة مؤلمة مؤلمة ...
شكراً لغسان لأنه لم يتحدث بإسهاب عن طريقة وفاتهم ..
وتركه لخيالنا بتصور ذلك
:"(

Mark Haddon
2.5/5

The Curios Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time , is a novel that goes into the life of Christopher Boone, a 15 year old boy with "Behavioral Problems". Although on the back cover of the book it mentions that Christopher suffers from Aspergers which is a form of Autism , the actual story lines never contain the words Aspergers , nor autism. And because whenever I read a fictional novel containing Sceintific or historical information I tend to research the topic , just to make sure the author got his facts straight , and to cut Haddon some slack I am quoting what has been posted on his website : "curious incident is not a book about asperger’s. it’s a novel whose central character describes himself as ‘a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties’. indeed he never uses the words ‘asperger’s’ or ‘autism’ (i slightly regret that fact that the word ‘asperger’s’ was used on the cover). if anything it’s a novel about difference, about being an outsider, about seeing the world in a surprising and revealing way. it’s as much a novel about us as it is about christopher."

Mark Haddon, Aspergers and autism

and so I will discuss the book not as a autism book, but a book about a boy with behavioral difficulties.
I really didn't enjoy the book , I wasn't bored by it either but it isn't something I will recommend, The dullness of the plot and the somewhat unbelievable things that happened (such as christopher going to London I saw very unrealistic , I could elaborate a bit more but wouldn't want to be a spoiler.
Haddon also didn't make a good point of showing us the transformation of the character's personalities , and near the end things just happened in a way I can describe as random. The ending was more of a fairy tale ending where everybody gets along with each other and live happily ever after despite the difficulty of their day to day life given Christopher's situation.

I had different expectations for this novel , I don't know why but I was somewhat disappointed (I mean the book won some award of the year I never heard of it must be good). But anyways I'm glad its over and I learned from this experience (and the one before with the time traveler's wife) never to trust the praise for the book on the outside cover (Duh Subbz you idiot of course they're gonna put the good stuff there) anyways , I am now reading The Chronicle of Narnia , I know this thread isn't a place to put what I'm currently reading but I'm suddenly in a chatty , very chatty mood!

4/5
قصائد قتلت اصحابها
عائض القرني

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

The prince for Machiavelli Niccolò
4/5

Great book, make me realize what is going around me in the politics field.

Veronika Decides To Die
Paulo Coelho
5/5
One word: Extraordinary !

Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousness
Daniel C. Dennett
4/5


ما هو الوعي؟ ما الفرق بين وعي الانسان والحيوان والنباتات والكائنات الدقيقة؟

في هذا الكتاب يُعرف الفيلسوف دانييل دينيت الوعي ويتحدث عن تطوره من الكائنات الدقيقة الأولى إلى ما نراه الآن في الانسان والقردة العليا والكائنات الأخرى التي تشابهها في درجة الوعي

يتطرق دينيت إلى ما يسميه بـ(الحالة المتعمدة) أو (المقصودة) وهي طريقة رائعة تجعلنا ننظر إلى الوعي من زاوية مختلفة تماماً، تقارب بين الكائنات "الواعية" و"غير الواعية"ـ

الكتاب لا يجيب على الكثير من الأسئلة لكنه بلا شك يفتح الباب لفهم الوعي والإدراك

by Sophie Kinsella

4/5 Stars

As always Sophie Kinsella never fails at putting a smile on my face.. The book started off a little bit boring but after page 200 things got interesting and funny!

It's a light sweet read.

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

PS, I Love You
Cecelia Ahern
5/5

I loved, I really enjoyed reading it.

The five people you meet in heaven
By Mitch albom

http://images.contentreserve.com/Imag...

Amazing , so deep and it is the kind of books that make you think .
I felt emotional for some parts
but this book worth it

I will rate it 4,50/5

Sorry I'm late, finals and whatnot^^_
But here's my review:

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


First of all, this is very much YA. That being said, I enjoyed this book very, very much. Jordan is adorable, and while Courtney came off as a bit annoying, she was okay. The characters in the book were quite three dimensional (especially B.J. and Jocelyn... i liked those two more than Jordan and Courtney, if that's possibly)



There were a few laugh out loud moments in the book too, which hasn't happened to me in a while^^_. I do enjoy a good comedic scene in a book. The only thing I think would be make this book better would be a few more flashbacks mapping out the dynamics of their relationship, it wouldn't make the book as rushed as it is.



All in all, I recommend it to anyone who likes fluff and happy endings (which i like in abundance), you won't be disappointed!



View all my reviews

1984George Orwell

5/5

Great booK!! definately one of my favourite books

The Shining by Stephen King
4/5

Again a bit dated but still an excellent read. Those hedges are just plain terrifying! I'm somewhat conflicted about the father's character (Jack) as no doubt you're supposed to be. I have a hard time feeling sympathy for him; he's too angry from the start before they even get to the Overlook. Perhaps if he'd been a gentler man to begin with I'd find it easier to put the blame on the Overlook like Danny & Wendy. Still a great book though and a horror classic. My first re-reading since I was a teenager and I really enjoyed it. [audiobook] A little advice for those that also listen to audiobooks... don't fall asleep with this one playing LOL!
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

F. Scott Fitzgerald

5/5

I really loved the book, it was a refreshing read and somehow, it was familiar as an old friend you forgot about. From the very beginning, I was grasped by the beautiful and smart writing. Although the book is a classic but it's not boring and traditional as what people might think it would be. The story is beautiful in a really sad way; a man in love trying to find the woman he loved by unlikely way. There were so much pride, dignity and loyalty in Gatsby. It's one of the greatest character I've came across so far. The ending was so sad, I didn't predict it, and it was highly unjust. I felt my heart heaved with anger at people and how ridiculous and unfaithful they sometime could be. The book was inspired in another sense; that no matter how poor a person is, he could be the best in everything if he's really have the strong will. I really recommend it for those who are intimidated by classics but still want to read them.

The Imperfectionists
By Tom Rachman
3.5/5 stars

Connected short stories about the crazy characters working at an international newspaper in Rome. As a journalist, I found some of the stories and background on the paper, hilarious and sad. But I enjoyed each of the individual stories and how they were all connected. I did find myself wondering what the point of it all was though, until the very end that kind of tied everything together.
Overall, a good read. :-)

عالم صوفي
جوستاين غاردر

5 / 5

one of the best books EVER

Rumors

4/5

Great development of characters and plots. Look forward to the next in the series.

A Year in Provence.
by Peter Mayle


3/5

Charming light read. The book brought many good memories of my trip to the South of France.

Incarceron
:) I read a book called Incarceron over vacation. It was about a jail made for criminals that was supposed to be the perfect paradise. The jail itself (Incarceron) was made to enforce the law. It soon adapted and had a mind of its own and this is the story of the dreams of a boy who believes he came form the outside world. One some don’t even believe exist.I loved it and I'm reading the second one.
5/5

الزهايمر
غازي القصيبي
3/5
ماهي السعادة؟أليست السعادة في التحليل النهائي،مجموع التجارب السعيدة؟بلا ذاكرة لا توجد تجارب،لا يوجد سوى فراغ،فراغ الموت"
كم أوجعتني هذه الأقصوصة رغم قصرها :(
فظيع هو ذلك المرض،يسرق الحياة من بين أيدينا دون حتى ان نعرف ذلك!

The Solitude of Prime Numbers
Paolo Giordano
4/5

This is a tale of two hopelessly damaged people. Alice Della Rocca and Mattia Balossino. The story begins in 1983 and ends in 2007. It takes its time to show us how a scarred childhood could affect a person his whole life. I believe your affection with this novel and your attachement to the characters might depend on how your childhood was, and whether you had those crucially brutal moment that changed your life forever -- when still a child. Mine was a bit rough around the edges, so connecting to them only seemed natural. I loved Mattia so much. Even though the writer did a better job at developing Alice's character and personality, I much preferred Mattia.

It cleverly and mathematically proves that one is, indeed, not the loneliest number. The discussion about the title alone could form a really interesting discussion. Clever and describes everything in the novel pretty well.

"Prime numbers, are in essence, a positive integer divisible only by itself and the number "one" (i.e. 11 and 13 are prime numbers). Paolo Giordano's novel relates this mathematical interpretation to human life: Some of us carry the bricks of past experiences that eventually build an invisible wall with enough voids to view and live life, but thick enough that one never quite touches the adjacent. The circumstances unfolding are open to the reader's interpretation, although eluding to several paths. While attempting to lightly tread on the essential broken foundation of humans not living a "normal" life, Giordano conveys that sometimes we love, sometimes we leave, and sometimes we remain, but ultimately the gaps between prime numbers are impossible to be traversed."

A tragically interesting read.