52 Books in 52 Weeks (2011) discussion

Book reviews for week 11.

Hush, Hush

I enjoyed the story even though the ideas behind what angels are and are not is way off. I understand that the book is fiction, but when religious creatures/subjects are discussed, I get worried because the information in the story could mislead someone, especially young adults, whom the books are intended. I liked the characters and the suspense. So overall it was a good read.

The Grand Design
Stephen Hawking
3/5

Hmmmmm..

I enjoyed the science part of this book. Universe. Cosmology. Physics. M-Theory. All that.

But the book fails to deliver. It seems incomplete. It didn't really answer the 'why' questions about life it posed. Even if it tried, it completely failed and wasn't convincing at all ! I thought the last chapters would show me something about Hawking. It only convinced that such things are beyond the grasp of a human mind. The answers Hawking seems to provide do nothing more than provoke more 'why' questions.

If you want to read this book, read it for the science part. Nothing more.

اسلوب الكاتب كان عاديا لكن الكتاب كان ممتعا و ملئ بالمعلومات عن فارس القديمه و عمر الخيام
٤/٥

رسائل غسان كنفاني إلى غادة السمان
by غسان كنفاني

3/5

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

Title: π Unleashed
Author: Jörg Arndt, Christoph Haenel
Rating: 3.8/5.0

In tribute to Pi Day (3.14.2011) rather than baking pies, this year I decided to read “Pi Unleashed”. Even though the book was originally written in German, I found that no meaning was lost in translation. All the chapters were clear and comprehensible, allowing me to easily go through the derivations and theories with no confusing significant grammatical mistakes*.

The book was almost bursting with π facts, history, derivations and algorithms. It was such a blast going through all the different mathematical methods (utilizing trigonometry, calculus, series analysis... etc) that were all leading up to many representations of the one and only π. In fact, there are over 15 pages at the end solely dedicated to the π formula collection!!! In addition, the book comes with a CD that contains the first 400,000,000 decimal places of π… As well as algorithms and programming codes for high precision calculations of pi (ah if only I could program, it would’ve been so much fun to try out the codes this weekend!!:( )…

Anybody who is even remotely intrigued by π is bound to enjoy reading this book. This is definitely one that I would recommend to the mathematics enthusiasts out there!


*Except for one mistake which was clearly a typo. I did not keep track of which page it was on, but it was on one of the right hand side pages along the end of the second or third line, in the last 1/5th of the book. It was just a missing “s” that should have been used to indicate a plural.

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

نرسيس و غولدمان
لـ هرمان هسه
4/5



إن الفن يُخلق مع تلك الأرواح الممتلأة بالحب و الشغف و تكوّن تلك الموهبة...
الألم و الشعور بذروة المشاعر إن كانت حب، فرح، ألم أو شوق كلها تطرق على أبواب الموهبة و تطلقها من جديد

بهمس لنا هرمان هسه من خلال روايته ليقول: لا يمكن للإنسان أن تكون شخص غير ذاتك...
و في رحلة الحياة فكر دوما بما خُلقت له و أتبعه، و ليس بما تريد أن تكون إرضاءً للآخرين

Not one of his best but good enough to keep me awake at night
Cell

The Soul Collector by Paul Johnston

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When reading the blurb on the back of the book while at the library I didn't realise I had actually read this before. It wasn't until is at down to read it properly I recognised it. I enjoyed it enough to want to read it a second time around but it hadn't been good enough to stick in my memory. It is certainly fast paced with a lot of action and uninteresting story but somehow it doesn't quite grab the attention. And I thought the ending was simply a device to get people to read the next book in the series.



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[bookcover:الصندوق الأسود : حكايا مثقفين سعوديين]

3\5

كتاب أكثر من رائع, كنت مهتمة ببعض الأشخاص وليس الكل, أسلوب الكاتب أيضاً كان رائع.
جداً أعجبت بمواقف "المثقفات" من النساء, ووجدت كثير من الأجوبة بن طيات صفحات هذا الكتاب, التي تساءلت عنها بعد نقد المجتمع, أو بعد الضجة الإعلامية التي وصلتني أصداءها.

The Distant Waves
Suzanne Weyn
2/5

Meh. Not what I expected although the end of the book was better than the first 3/4. Disappointing.

.
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قلعة في البيرينية
By: Jostein Gaarder
Rating: 5\5


اااخ يا غاردر
لم اشعر بمثل هذا الاندماج مع اي رواية اخرى
لم اتوقع أبدا ان رواية ما في مقدورها ان تدمع عيناك
اردت كتابة مراجعة من العيار الثقيل لكني سأكتفي بتوصيتها

حين انتهيت من الرواية تذكرت على الفور الوعد الذي قطعه البطلان : "أيمكننا أن نتعاهد بصدق على حذف الرسائل الالكترونية التي نتبادلها بعد الانتهاء من قرائتها؟ أعني حذفها مباشرة في الحين والساعة، ما يعني حتماً عدم طباعة أي منها. إن تواصلنا هذا أشبه بدفق فكري يتذبذب بين روحين، وليس مجرد تبادل رسائل تبقى بيننا إلى الأبد"ـ

شكرًا يا غاردر على هذه الرواية الرائعة
إلم تقرأ الرواية بعد فأنت حتما في ورطة!ـ

كتاب لا اشبه احداً
سوزان عليوان
2/5

لم اقتنع ببعض تشبيهاتها
و لكن اعجبتني الفكرة العامة من الكتاب

ظلالهم لا تتبعهم
هديل الحضيف

4/5

غير جميل..
لم يكن الأمر جميلا على الإطلاق..
لم يكن جميلاً أن تتعقد الكلمات في فمي.. لأطلب حقي، قبل أن أردّها الى قلبي، هشيم زجاج.. دون أن تسمعها!!
- هديل الحضيف



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

حكم النبي محمد
Leo Tolstoy
٥/٤

تحمست لقراءة هذا الكتاب منذُ علمت بوجوده، ففكرة قراءة ماكتبه هذا الكاتب العالمي الشهير عن رسولي وقدوتي كانت فكرةً شديدة الإثارة. يبدأ الكتاب بمقدمة مطولة مفصّلة تُعرّف بتولستوي، حياته، تاريخه، طريقة عيشه، تقلباته الفكرية، وفلسفته ونظرته للأدب والتراث العربي وعلاقته بالمفكرين والأدباء والمصلحين العرب. ثم بعد ذلك ينقل الكتاب المقالة التي كتبها تولستوي عن محمد ورأيه في تعاليم الإسلام وأسلوب الحياة الذي يدعو إليه. استفدتُ من هذا الكتاب الكثير، فمثلاً لم أكن أعلمُ عن الإعجاب الشديد الذي كان يكنّه أدباء العرب لتولستوي الذي دفع بأباطرتهم كشوقي وإبراهيم وغيرهم إلى رثاءه لما مات بقصائد طويلة مؤثرة. كما أخذتُ فكرة عن فلسفة الطمأنينة التي كانت سائدة في أوروبا في القرن التاسع عشر والتي عارضها تولستوي بمقولته الشهيرة:
"التنبه الدائم، العمل، الصراع، الحرمان بشتى أنواعه، هذه كلها شروط ضرورية لايجوز لأحد أن يتجرأ حتى على الحلم بالخروج منها ولو للحظة واحدة. علينا كي نعيش بشرف أن تنمزق، أن نسخط على أنفسنا، أن نقاتل، أن ننخدع، أن نبدأ ونهمل، ثم أن نعيد ونبدأ من جديد، وأن نحرم أنفسنا دوماً، الطمأنينة دناءة في الروح."
عرفتُ أيضاً الكثير من المعلومات عن سيرة تولستوي الكتابية، وعن آراءه في كثير من الأمور كرأيه في المرأة الذي صدمني كثيراً. هناك بعض النقاط التي أثارت ضيقي كعدم الدقة في ترجمة الأحاديث النبوية، والتركيز على دور تفرّد شخصية محمد وتميزها في نشوء الإسلام وإهمال دور الوحي والإختيار الإلهي، وأخيراً القول بأن أصحاب محمد هم الذين أقنعوه بالحرب ونشر الإسلام بالسيف وأن ذلك لم يكن ضمن فلسفة محمد ودينه.

Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




Well, that was creepy.

I must say that it didn't click with me as much as Survivor and Fight Club did, but I still loved it. It's a page-turner, and the ending was... just great. I love a book that doesn't leave you disappointed.
However, I gave it 3 stars because it seemed like an average book up until the last 50 pages. I don't think that people who aren't especially fans of Chuck Palahniuk would love it.

Oh what the heck.
3.5 stars.






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الأسئلة المحظورة (التأزم الفكري في واقعنا الإسلامي)
د. عبدالكريم بكآر
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
5/5

كتآب رائع بحق يلخص مشكلة التأزكم الفكري في واقعنا الاسلامي المعاصر بكثير من التفصيل وعرض للمشكلة ومسبباتها واقتراحات لمعالجتهآ..
تحدث عن أهمية الثقافة وخطر التعميم والسطحيةوإحلال العادات محل العقائد والمبادئ الكبرى والكثير الكثير من المواضيع التي تهمنا كعرب وكمسلمييين
كأن هناك الكثير من اقوال د.عبدالكريم بكار التي تم اضافتها إلى المقولات المفضلة لدي..
"
لأسباب موضوعية يحل كثير من الناس عاداتهم وتقاليدهم في محل عقائدهم ومبادئهم الكبرى، عوضا أن تكون هذه الأخيرة موجهة لها ومهيمنة عليها
"

.
.



The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
4/5

" A page turner ! Couldn't put the book down ,
read the whole thing in just 2 days .
I would definitely see the movie "

Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
4.5/5

I have been waiting to read Foundation for a long time. Before it I've only read a number of short stories by Asimov.

I'd say I'm fairly new to scifi. I've been reading it for only about 3 years, and I'm still catching up with the classics. I have been waiting to read Foundation for a long time. Before it I've only read a number of short stories by Asimov.

I'd say I'm fairly new to scifi. I've been reading it for only about 3 years, and I'm still catching up with the classics. What gripped me the most so far are large stories with massive universes (a la Dune and Hyperion). I wasn't lucky to find much of those recently, so boy did I start reading Foundation in time.

It's a lot shorter than I thought it would be (the audio version runs only about 9 hours), but boy is it interesting. With most books, I have to force myself through at least a third of the book, and that's where they usually start getting interesting. Foundation didn't have that at all. I don't know if it's Asimov's style of storytelling, or the world he carefully created, but it's all just pleasant and interesting. So that kind of makes up for its short length -- it gets interesting a lot quicker than most books.

I won't discuss the plot. I went in not knowing anything about it, so I will allow the reader to have the same chance.

What really excites me now is that Foundation can serve as only an introduction to a universe built by Asimov and explored in a number of other books. I'm continuing with the next book in the trilogy now.

I used to recommend Dune to people as a gateway into scifi. That's changed now. Foundation serves the purpose a lot better.


I listened to the audiobook narrated by Scott Brick. He is just brilliant.

Confessions of a Shopaholic
by Sophie Kinsella
3/5

I have read a couple Sophie Kinsella books before let's say she's my guilty pleasure. It was funny but very predictable.

How to Read a Person Like a Book by Gerard I. Nierenberg


Out of all the beneficial books I have read, this is definitely one of the top. It doesn't give you groundbreaking information but merely sheds a light on gestures we use everyday; gestures that we probably are already aware of intuitively.

I loved the chapter on how best to understand gestures; one shouldn't interpret gestures alone but in the gesture cluster they are in, as well as context and situation which will provide a better understanding. There was an explanation on gestures that "turn off" and "turn on" listeners which I found quite interesting especially if you want to get a point across. If a person uses a defensive gesture, for example, they completely turn off - put up a barrier and nothing you say will go through to them.

Overall, a pretty light read and it's pretty amusing. not a boring how-to or self-improvement book but written rather well with interesting little stories and pictures that convey a better meaning to gestures and gesture clusters.

I gave it four stars.

Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet by Elizabeth Knox

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was very near terrified to pick up Dreamquake in fear that it wouldn't do its predecessor justice, but, man was I mistaken.



The sequel is every bit as rich as the book before it, and even better, with the characters that I fell in love with in the first book continuing their journey and tying up all the loose ends we were left with as Nown and Laura left the dream palace on St. Lazarus day. Speaking of Nown, I love him. I think that I've never read a character as rich as this sandman was. I like Rose too, and Chorley, but for me, Nown was the star of this book, and the last too.



The ending was also magnificent, deep and poignant and wonderfully subtle.



You will definitely not regret picking up this book, that, I can promise you.



My favorite line:

(view spoiler)[ The Place was a Now, a speechless Now, a Nown who hadn't had its final letter added, that letter that gave it speech..." (hide spoiler)]



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Hiiiiii

Still playing catch up, and it seems I am in the mood for fiction lol =) anyways here is my next book =)



Dean koontz

4/5

The plot was pretty good, kept me reading straight for 2 days to see what happens next =)

By Suzanne Collins

4 / 5

Well, that was a thrill read! It's obviously the second book of the series where Katniss and Peeta keep on living their lives after the Games are finished, but their lives were never the same! It started really slow at the beginning but the ending was amazing! There was an expected turn of events, I didn't see it coming at all! I still can't quite digest Peeta's character, I don't see much of him in the book. Most of the events is Katniss is saving Peeta, Katniss is worried about Peeta, Peeta is so good he can't tell the wrong from right.. Is Peeta have a character of his own?? I don't think so, it's just an extra element to support the "Romance" in the book. I'm disappointed that there isn't much of Gale, thou. I think his character is stronger and well-rounded than Peeta's. I wished if they called Gale for the Quarter Quell, that will be more interesting!

اليهودي الحالي

علي المقري

٣/٥

الرواية تحكي عن حال اليهود الذين عاشوا في اليمن في القرن السابع عشر وصراعهم مع المسلمين وقصة الحب بين فاطمة المسلمة وسالم اليهودي.
في نظري يتجلى جوهر الرواية في حوار المؤذن المسلم مع أسعد اليهودي جار سالم.
وفي جملة قالتها فاطمة لوالد سالم حينما منع إبنه من أخذ الدروس لديها،قالت له"لكم دينكم ولنا ديننا.لاتوجد مشكلة.كلنا آدم وآدم من تراب.
اللغة ليس فيها دين فقط،فيها تاريخ وشعر وعلوم.أقول لك والله توجد كتب كثيرة في رفوف بيتنا لو قرأها المسلمون سيحبون اليهود ولو قرأها اليهود سيحبون المسلمين"