July 9, 2010
Book Review: What Do You Care What Other People Think?, Richard Feynman
Assalamu Alaikum,
I haven’t done a book review in some time, just because I actually have to think before doing these types of posts. LOL
Well, a book I read recently was written by a physicist nobel laureate, Richard Feynman. It is a collection of autobiographical short stories and when I first started reading them, I saw them as simply entertainment or just for leisure.
But the latter half of the novel is one long story in itself when Feynman worked on The Challenger investigation–it was an investigation on a failed space launch where Feynman and other commissioners had to investigate what went wrong in the space rocket that failed it from going into outer space.
As I always say about books, books are only as good as you make of them and then there are some books that are simply bad. I actually saw some themes stretch across the book and one that struck home with me is to not doubt one’s intellectual capacity, regardless if you are unconventional, you might be wrong at times, you might get embarrassed or if things seem hopeless at the time. Read the rest of this entry »
January 11, 2009
Book Review: Les Miserables, By Victor Hugo
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
Les Miserables is definitely a French epic. The vast and deep types of characters, the flawed hero, Jean Valjean, the ultimate story of redemption and the high idealism in spite of cruel realism is what grabs my attention in this book. It is a book that has at least one element every reader can relate to. Some moments grip your attention and others make you empathetic with the characters (be it Jean Valjean, Fantine or Cosette). It is a book that has great characters (in some ways), great plot and profound meaning. Something I would recommend to be read in high schools. The following quote I absolutely love and I have written down:
To owe life to a malefactor . . . to be, in spite of himself, on a level with a fugitive from justice . . . to betray society in order to be true to his own conscience; that all these absurdities . . . should accumulate on himself—this is what prostrated him. Read the rest of this entry »
December 31, 2008
Book Review: Candide, by Voltaire
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I had actually read Candide a while back and I found this draft on my blog so I redid it for you all.
Candide, by Voltaire
For friends of mine, I actually named a character in my book after Candide because I found the book struck me.
The first time you read it, you may get a laugh out of all the things Voltaire criticizes. (You MUST read this book with foot notes to understand half the humor. Get the Barnes and Noble copy.) But the second time I found it is very thought provoking. I think that is why I like satires–you can read them at least in two different ways and then some more. Read the rest of this entry »
December 29, 2008
Book Review: Emma, by Jane Austen
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I know it has been a long time since I have put up a book review, but I came across Emma the other day and I thought about doing a review on it.
Emma, by Jane Austen
Emma is a lighthearted book about a matchmaker, Emma Woodhouse and how she pairs up people for marriage that look like good couples, but then they start to run into crazy problems. Soon enough, Emma has to start thinking about her own martial situation… and I will leave it there. The book is a satire that makes fun of social nuances of the Victorian/Regency period and also some of human nature. Emma is perhaps one of the ‘lighter’ books in Austen’s series, both in tone and characters. Emma Woodhouse is a bit of a spoiled but somewhat lovable faulted heroine. Read the rest of this entry »
July 24, 2008
Book Review: King Lear, by William Shakespeare
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
…Now that I look at the title, it should be a “Play” review, but… you get the point.
I have been re-reading some passages of King Lear on the internet (I do not own it, but I REALLY WANT to) and I remembered reading that play. Okay, to the real review
King Lear, by William Shakespeare
This play is known as one of the four great tragedies of Shakespeare’s works and for a good reason too. I have read the other three, Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello, and I honestly think that King Lear sweeps them all, even Hamlet. Hamlet has a high literary quality that I cannot deny, but the thematic issues and the character relationships and the plot of King Lear just warps the reader into a whole other world. Read the rest of this entry »
June 11, 2008
Book Review: Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Assalamu Alaikum,
I got the idea to do a book review from www.thelittlebirdreview.wordpress.com, but I think I will stick to the classics or Islamic books. Better start with some book, than no book I suppose. I would like to put a disclaimer now that this is my personal opinion and doesn’t reflect whether or not I like or dislike the novel. Thank you.
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Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy Read the rest of this entry »
