52 Books in 52 Weeks (2011) discussion

Book reviews for week 17.

Sister Magic: Violet Makes A Splash by Anne Mazer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


it was very cute,it was also a kids book but i bought theme a while back so i may as well read theme.

but cute and fun and graight for kids.



View all my reviews

Title: The Science of the Oven
Author: Herve This
Rating: 2.75/5.00

I have to say, the topic of the book is very ambitious. I really thought that this book would break the "cooking barrier" for me by introducing cooking practices from a scientific perspective. Unfortunately, it did not.

The author mostly talks about the physics and chemistry of cooking and eating practices. He presents many examples using different dishes and different types of cooking methods to argue against some commonly misinterpreted cooking claims, as he wanders on the surface of the true science behind these cooking techniques. It all seems very interesting right?

Well, perhaps it was the bad translation (the book was not originally written in English) that made it very difficult to focus on the meaning of the embelished sentences. Or maybe the lack of coherent thoughts. In any case, reading this book was neither informative nor enjoyable.

The idea behind it is intriguing. However, I am definite that it could be written in a much better way.

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

Title: The Iron Daughter
Author: Julie Kagawa
Rating: 5/5

Sometimes when you read a series, the second book seems to suffer. In this series, this is not the case. This book was just as exciting and thrilling as the first. The only thing I don't like is how every young adult book series has to have some weird love triangle. Why can't the protagonist be completely devoted to one person, and that feeling stays true and strong throughout? Are teens really that indecisive?

Overall though, this was an excellent book and I am ready to start the next!

Rating: 2/5

It was too long and boring to write a review about. I'd give it a 1 star but I added another because I liked the beginning"


rating: 5/5

"a long time favorite of mine, and even before I read it too"

my review *contains minor spoilers*


ratings: 3/5

كتاب جداً جميل وخفيف وأول كتاب أقرأه للدكتور غازي القصيبي.. كان ممتع ومثير حتى النهاية


rating: 3/5

شركة اسمها أنا .. العنوان فعلاً مثير للفضول .. وموضوع بحثه أكثر إثارة للفضول بالنسبة لشخص مثلي.. تابعوا قراءة رأيي

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is the best book I've read so far this year.

Wolf Hadda goes all the way from being a boy with humble origins in Cumbria to being rich and successful with a business empire spanning the globe. The fall from grace is as spectacular as the rise. Was anything or anybody what they originally appeared to be and will the wolf get his revenge?

I would recommend this to everybody who enjoys a good story and likes to be made to think about what they are reading



View all my reviews

ملامح المستقبل
by محمد حامد الأحمري

3/5

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

Too Close to Home by Linwood Barclay

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I thought the story was rather trite and very predictable. The bad guy was rather obvious. Actually all the main characters were bad guys in one way or another. I liked the twist in the story about the computer but felt the idea was dragged out too long for something that was not the intergeral point of the plot. This is one of those books that filled some otherwise dull moments but I'm glad it was only borrowed from the library as I'd be cross if I had paid £6.00+ for it.




View all my reviews

The Water Room by Christopher Fowler

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I hadn't quite finished this book the day it was due back to the library so I ended up sitting in the car park listening to the lat disc. Even though I did not like the voice of the narrator, and at times he seemed to get his characters muddled up, plus it reminded me very much of a tv series called New Tricks I did enjoy the story. I liked the setting and found the history fascinating. I was impressed how quickly they managed to get around London though, I could never get from place to place that quickly when I lived there.



View all my reviews

The Titan's Curse
by Rick Riordan

3.5/5

Liked this installment a lot! I like the humor in this series, its really fun!

Desiderata: A Poem for a Way of Life by Max Ehrmann

My rating: 2 of 5 stars






The poem is too idealistic for me. Still beautiful to read.

If I had to replace all self-help books with one book, it'd be this.

You kind of have to be a dreamer to believe it.

Or in denial.



'You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.'







View all my reviews

.
.
.

نقد الخطاب الديني
by نصر حامد أبو زيد
Rating: 4.5/5

من أجل هذا الكتاب كُفِر أبو زيد وفرق بينه وبين زوجته
الكتاب يطرح ويناقش أفكار كثيرة تضرب في عصب الخطاب الديني
أنصح به وبشدة!ـ

C.S. Lewis

5/5

I'm enjoying reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. I prefered The Magician's Nephew though.

Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0
Sarah Lacy

3.5/5.0

An interesting look at the rise of Web 2.0, and some of its major players. It's a lot more focused on the individuals than it is on the companies. I'd recommend it to web entrepreneurs and those interested in web entrepreneurship.


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

من وحي الثمانين
علي الوردي
3/5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

This was not one of my favorites. It was enjoyable in the beginning then the twists and turns were a bit too drastic, even ridiculous at times. I honestly don't know what else to say except it was too long and just too much story.

I would not really recommend this unless you are into emotional chick-lit.

My review.

.
.




The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
3 /5


"Interesting , dark yet with lovable characters"

Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I decided to give Chuck Palahniuk another try, but I don't think I picked the right book for that. I liked Survivor a lot better than Tell-all, to be honest. The plot was okay, the boldfaced words were kind of annoying, and I guessed the ending quite easily.



It's not a horrible book, I liked reading it (ie. it was not a waste of time). But I had hoped it would be more enjoyable.



View all my reviews

زمن الخيول البيضاء
إبراهيم نصر الله
٤/٥


من أجمل الروايات التي قرأتها عن فلسطين..
بعض الإقتباسات البسيطة التي أعجبتني..

"من يستطيع أن يحل معادلة أطرافها :نحن والعرب والإنجليز واليهود؟؟"

"كثرة الأحزان ياعمي جعلت الناس مفاجيع أفراح!"

"لو كنت قائداً عربياً لما وافقت على اي اتفاق مع إسرائيل،فهذا أمر طبيعي فنحن أخذنا بلادهم.
نعم إن الله وعدنا بهذه الأرض ولكن هذا أمر لا يهمهم،فإلهنا ليس إلههم،وهذا حصل منذ الفي عام،فما الذي يدعوهم لإن يعيروه إهتماماً؟وكانت هناك اللاسامية ومن ثم النازيين وهتلر وآشوتس،فهل كان هذا ذنبهم؟إنهم يرون شيئاً واحداً فقط:أننا جئنا وسرقنا بلادهم،فلماذا عليهم ان يقبلوا بهذا؟<ديفيد بن غوريون.تعليق نقله عنه ناحوم غولدمان،الرئيس الأسبق للمؤتمر الصهيوني العالمي في كتابه المفارقة اليهودية"

أكثر من رأي
أنيس منصور
التقييم: 3/5

الكتاب ملئ بالمعلومات القيمة و هو عبارة عن مقالات متفرقة يتحدث فيها أنيس منصور عن أهمية البحث العلمي، عن الصعود الي القمر و اول صاروخ ارسل في الفضاء، عن مصر و وضعها المتدهور في التعليم و البحث العلمي، عن رحلاته و مواضيع أخرى كثيرة

الكتاب وافر بالمعلومات لكن طريقة سرد هذه المعلومات هي التي جعلت الكتاب ليس مملا بقدر ما أنك ستفادي بأن تعرف ماذا تحمل الصفحات القادمة بالاضافة الى تكرار بعض المعلومات خلال الصفحات، و كل مقالة لها صفحتين و احيانا صفحة و نصف!

أعجبني أسلوب أنيس منصور، سوف أقرأ له مرة أخرى و لكن سأحرص في المرة القادمة على اللا يكون عبارة عن مقالات