Book Haul September 2015

Here all the amazing books that Septembre provided me with !!

it was an eventful month!! I spent a week in el-Maamoura where I met a bookworm-male version of me on the beach and I went books-haunting several times.

While I was in el-Maamoura, I bought The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present by  Phillip Lopate, for only 5dt from Thursday souk. I'm so excited to read it.

 I bought Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich for 2dt from Rue des tanneurs. I already hate this book.

last week, I bought my second science-fiction book. it cost me only 1dt. well, I'm not excited to read it. It's going to be another book on my shelves.

I was super excited when my brother bought me this book رياض الصالحين by يحيى بن شرف النووي. He wants me to be a more religious person.

By the end of the month, it was time to go back to school. so, I had to buy these 3 following books for my anglophone and American literature classes: I bought them in printed versions since they are not available in the Tunisian libraries. the books are 

Intimacy and The Buddha of Suburbia  by Hanif Kureishi 

Wise blood by Flannery O'Connor 

                                             

Have you read any of these?

How Reading Changed My Life

“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination and the journey. They are home.” 

I have enjoyed reading this book. It is a memoir of a bookworm; she talks about her experience with books as well as her experience with reading and writing. The book examines subjects many of bibliophiles are familiar with such as the need for a physical book in your hand and she discusses it in an original manner:

"It's 30 years since man first walked on the moon, and when people sit down to a big old fashioned supper it is still a plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes, not a capsule and a glass of water. When they buy a creamsicle, it's 3dimensional, wet and cold and wonderful. That's because people like the thing itself. They don't eat mashed potatoes with gravy because they just need to be nourished, but because mashed potatoes and gravy are wonderful in so many ways: the heat, the texture, the silky slide of the gravy over your tongue. And that is the way it is with books. It is not simply that we need information, but that we want to savor it, carry it with us, feel the heft of it under our arm. We like the thing itself. It is not possible that the book is over. Too many people love it so."

I really can relate to many of Quindlen's experiences as a reader. Quindlen shares also other stories such as Oprah Winfrey’s; sad story which left me in tears. The book is wonderful and inspiring. The writer takes a common subject and develops it in very enjoyable topic.

How Reading Changed My Life is a short volume of reflections on the role reading has played in Anna Quindlen's life and development as a writer. It is a quick, easy, and entertaining read, and one in which I find Quindlen’s experiences with reading often reflect my own. I highly recommend it to all the bookworms. 

Checkmate

That moment when I started losing, I knew I hated playing games to you. I was seeing the whole board with checkmate already insight. I was ten steps ahead from you and you were following my lead. You were dazzled in my maze, puzzled and you could not put the pieces together. I was Alice and you were in my city of wonder. The clock was ticking and time was flying by when I realized that even the “angels had their wicked scheme”. The hunter became the hunted. I was playing your game; I was a pawn on your chess and while I was trying to figure out what to do next, you were thinking ten moves ahead. The game turned out to be so evil and you took it to a new extreme. You made me walk through hell; hell did not suffocate me, but the agony of it did. You were Queen-Bee; safe in the hive, witnessing the game move by move. You were the author who was writing empty endless pages between us. So many words we were not saying. Why was it hard to say them? There is a question in my mind; how many times you did deceive? I just can’t believe how you played me like a fool and I loved you. Now is the end of the game, you can remove the mask and admit you regret it from the start. 

حديثك يشبهني

« The wise man should always follow the road that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that, if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savor »

This is pretty much what Yami Ahmad is doing; he is following the road of “the great”, such as Ghassen Kanfeni, Mahmud Darwish, Nawal al Sa’ddewi and Ghadda al Saman, and you can taste their influence in his words. He does not only use them as references and quotes from their works but also adopts their beliefs and merges them with a Gazanian vision of the world.

I love the fact that Yami uses stream of consciousness on both his characters, Reem and Adam. The reader can have access to the story from the inner mind-state of the person. I like this style because “you never really understand a person … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”

After reading the book, I learned four things: first, our world is not a wish-granting factory. Second, what slut time is, it screws everybody. Third, considering the way the world is, one happy day is almost a miracle. In the end, the most interesting people always leave.

Free Online Books

“There is nothing like the smell of books, both new and old. If someone ever bottled the smell, I would be all over it .”. I really really Love the smell of  books , especially the old ones ^^

However, these days books became so expensive and very hard to find. Sometimes I roam all the libraries in Tunisia, and I don't find what I'm looking for. This is so depressing -_-

So, eventually I restore to the Pdf versions.

Here are some Links from where I get my Pdfs.

I hope they will be helpful.

bookzz

epubbud

Library Genesis

شبكة طُـلاب‎.

اليك كتابي

openculture

 adelaide

loyalbooks

كتاب pdf

Goodreads

#Muhammed #ضد_الاساءة_للرسول

من هو محمد الذي يتبعه أكثر من مليار مسلم؟
Who is Muhammad that is followed by more than one billion Muslims?
هل هو عالم مبجل ومميز ؟
Is he a venerable scientist?
هل هو أمير دولة محبوب
Is he a popular prince?
هل هو رئيس وزراء دولة مُحَـنَّـك ؟
Is he a sophisticated Prime Minister ?
هل هو ملك عادل ؟
Is he a fair king?
الجواب
The answer is
لا
No
أعظم من كل هؤلاء جميعا
He is greater than all of those
إنه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
He is the Messenger of Allah
محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ذلك الشخص الذى جاء منذ أكثر من 1400 سنة
برسالة من الله سبحانه وتعالى
وقال أنه مكلف بنشر هذه الرسالة فى الأرض كلها غير متقيد بزمان أو مكان أو جنس أولون أوشكل
قائلاً أن رسالته هذه آخر رسالات السماء إلى الأرض وأنه خاتم الرسل والأنبياء فلا رسول ولا نبى بعده صلى الله عليه وسلم
Muhammad received the message from Allah 1400 years ago to call all mankind to follow the true path, no matter where or when; no matter if white or black, his message is for all.
His message is the last and the lasting one, no messenger will come after him, he is the last Messenger.
Who is Muhammad?
أهو ذلك الأرهابي الذى تنتقل صوره في الصحف
أم هو الرجل العسكرى المنظم الذي إنتصر فى معظم حروبه على أعدائه.
أم هو العبقري الذي ألف بين قلوب القبائل المتحاربة؟
Is he a terrorist, as said by the Western media, or is he the brave warrior who won most of his battles against the enemies of Islam, or is he the genius who resolved all cases and troubles between the tribes.
إنه من حفظ حقوق الكل
He is the one who protected our Rights.
حفظ حقوق الرجال وحقوق النساء وحقوق الصغار
He protected men's, women's and children rights
حفظ علاقة الجار بجاره
He protected the relations between neighbors
وأسس علاقة المسلمين مع بعضهم ومع غير المسلمين
He established the relationship between Muslims and Non-Muslims .
و نظم العلاقات الأسرية التي تضمن للأب وللأم حقوق كبيرة وعظيمة على أبنائهم
He organized the relationship between the members of the family showing the duties towards the parents
منع الظلم ودعا للعدل و المحبة والتكاتف والتعاون للخير
He prevented injustice and called for justice, love, togetherness and cooperation for the best.
دعا لمساعدة المحتاج وزيارة المريض و التناصح والمحبة
He called for helping the needy, visiting the patients, love and exchanging advises between people.
منع على المسلمين المعاملات السيئة مثل السرقة والغش والقتل والظلم
He prohibited bad manners such as steeling, lying, and murdering .
إنه من غير حياتنا وطباعنا السيئة إلى حسنة
He is the one who changed our lives and manners to the best .
المسلم .. لا يسرق
A Muslim doesn't steal
المسلم لا يكذب
A Muslim doesn't lie
المسلم لا يشرب الخمر
A Muslim doesn't drink alcohol.
المسلم لا يزنى
A Muslim doesn't commit adultery
المسلم لا يغش
A Muslim doesn't cheat
المسلم لا يقتل الأبرياء
A Muslim doesn't kill innocent people
المسلم لا يؤذي جارة
A Muslim doesn't harm his neighbors
المسلم يبر بوالديه و يخدمهما
A Muslim obeys his parents and helps them
المسلم يعطف على الصغار وعلى النساء وعلى الضعفاء وكبار السن
A Muslim is kind to young and elderly people, to women and to weak people.
المسلم لا يعذب البشر ولا الحيوانات
A Muslim doesn't torture humans or even animals
المسلم يرحم ويحب زوجته ويهتم و يعطف عل أبناءه حتى آخر يوم من عمره
A Muslim loves his wife and takes care of his children and show mercy towards them until the last day of his life.
المسلم لا تنتهي علاقته بأولاده بعد سن الرشد أبدا
A Muslim's relationship towards his children never stops even when they become adults
إنه محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم
He is Muhammad (PBUH)
هل عرفتم لماذا يحب كل المسلمون محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ؟
Did you know why all Muslims love Muhammad (PBUH)?
هل عرفتم ماذا يعنى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم للمسلمين ؟
Did you know what does Muhammad mean for Muslims?
كل مسلم يحب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر من كل شئ
Every Muslim loves Muhammad (peace be upon him) more than himself and more than everything in his life.
قبل أن تقول رأيك أدعوك ان تكون محايد فإذا أردت أن تحكم على شخص فعليك :
1-أن تسمع منه هو شخصيا ، أنت تستمع الي أحاديثه ، ان تتبع أعماله .
2-تقارن الأفكار التي يدعو لها مع المنطق الذى يقبله العقل السليم
3- فاذا أقررت منطقه أنظر إلى فعله هل فعله مطابق لكلامه؟
4-ان كان فعله مطابق لكلامه فما عليك إلا تصديقه
وفي النهاية سوف تجيب بنفسك على هذه الأسئلة المحيرة:
من هو محمد
Before judging a person be neutral and:
1-Listen to this person, and follow his doings.
2-Compare his ideas and teachings with what is acceptable to the mind and heart.
3-If you think that his thoughts are right, compare them with his doings; is he applying his teachings?
4-If he is applying his teachings and sayings, so he is for sure right and one must believe him.
At the end you will get a clear answer for all confusing questions and you will know for sure

Your Favorite Quotes ...

Few days ago, I asked you guys to write your favorite quotes of  all the time on the Facebook page, and by the end of the week we gathered an amazing collection of  quotes, and they are quite inspiring. So, I decided to Blog them.

Why ??
Because, why not !!!

here they are , enjoy !

"But it is the nature of stars to cross, and never was Shakespeare more wrong than when he has Cassius note, ‘The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves."
John Green , the fault in our stars by Ãmēnÿ Tãbõūbī

"He stepped down trying not to look long at her as if she were the sun , yet he saw her like the sun even without looking "

leo tolstoy -Anna karenina by Feriel Herondale

" it does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live "

J K Rowling , Harry Potter by Feriel Herondale

“She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”
—J. D. Salinger, “A Girl I Knew  by Hiba Edahdeh

فيما مضى كنت أحاول أن أُغير العالم .. أما الآن وقد لامستني الحكمة , فلا أحاول أن أُغير شيئا سوى نـــفسي.

- جلال الدين الرومي by حنان محرز

بين منطوق لم يقصد، ومقصود لم ينطق، تضيع الكثير من المحبة

جبران خليل جبران by Khaoula Ltr

'Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.'

 Oscar Wilde by Maïssa Bachouche

"The fault dear Brutus is not in our stars but in ourselves we are underling"

Shakespeare by Kater Nãdaa

Perhaps, somewhere, some day, at a less miserable time, we may see each other again.”
― Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita by Houda Bes

"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls".

 George Carlin by Lim Dùk

ﻟﻦ ﺗﺴﺘﻄﻴﻌﻲ ﺃﻥ ﺗﺠﺪﻱ ﺍﻟﺸﻤﺲ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺮﻓﺔ ﻣﻐﻠﻘﺔ"

ﻏﺴﺎﻥ ﻛﻨﻔﺎﻧﻲ" by Nour Oueslati

جون جاك روسو by Moukhtalif Mani

Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do.

St. Thomas Aquinas by Mehdi ChouChène

"No matter how busy you think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender to self-chosen ignorance "

 -Atwood H. Townsend by Maliki Aya

"Try again, fail again. Fail better."
Samuel Beckett by Marwen Trabelsi PW

“ليس من يكتب بالحبر كمن يكتب بدم القلب و ليس السكوت الذي يحدثه الملل كالسكوت الذي يوجده الألم.”
― Khalil Gibran, العواصف by me.

Divergent: the book and movie ...

Ok, how can I put this?!!

 I like Divergent, I really do; why wouldn’t I when the main character is a young short brave girl, (my favorite type of heroines) who is living in a society with 5 factions which are Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), Erudite (the intelligent) and Abnegation (the selfless), and our hero, Beatrice, has to choose one of them to join for the rest of her life. Well, it’s a hard decision to make when you are only 16; thankfully the government is there to help. They provide an aptitude test to make them determine which faction they belong to. So far so good, till Beatrice’s test result informs her that she is Divergent and she is a “harm” on the society.  What will she do? What she is going to choose? How is she going to hide and handle her secret?? The answer for that is up to you, you have to read the book to find out.

The book is obviously belongs to Dystopian, Post-apocalyptic Literature with little bits of romantic touches (Tris falls for her instructor Four, (yes, like the number) and they share slow-developing and not rushed love story, Platonic love). It is easy and fun to-be-read for YA and even adults (why not). it is written by the American novelist Veronica Roth and it is the first book in the Divergent Trilogy… B-B-But …

But, something is missing in the book, like magic or something (I don’t know how to describe it). This “missing thing” wasn’t missed in the movie; I love the movie, the director takes the book to a new high level. Don’t judge me but the movie is so much better than the book, why? Because the themes, the characters, the factions and everything are more believable and graspable in the movie than the book. I FOUND the magic .

In my heart a Jewish girl في قلبي أنثى عبرية

In the heart of a neighborhood in the Island of dreams Djerba , Reem, a young  orphan Muslim girl, lives within a Jewish family, but due to certain circumstances, she is forced to leave Tunisia  and moves to south Lebanon to live with a Jewish family as well. There, she becomes a friend with Nada, the Jewish tolerant stubborn girl who is engaged to Ahmad the Muslim mujahid for Allah' sake . Their relation is based on one question, whose religion is the right one ??

My dear friend had recommended the book for me and since I trust her choices, I put the novel on my To-be-read list and I forgot about it. However, last week I found a PDF version of the book and I learned that the author's name is Khaoula just like mine and she is Tunisian too, so I stopped reading all the book that I was currently reading and I started reading this Amazing book.

As I started reading the first words, I fell in love with the book  and I couldn't stop reading . I found myself flying through the pages eager to know more.  it is emotional and intense and I was mesmerized by the story. I loved every part of the book and I learned more about my religion.
I loved all the characters but I had special feelings for Marwan, such a gentleman, he is just awesome.


I was reading some review on Goodreads and almost everyone loved the book and ranked it high. However, some people didn't love it and gave it just one start, and I was seriously, they thought that the book is an invitation to Islam.

I highly recommend the book to all people but you have to put away your believe aside then start reading, be neutral.

The a-Maze-ing Runner

The Maze Runner is a 2014 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Wes Ball, based on James Dashner's 2007 novel of the same name. The film stars Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Ki Hong Lee and Will Poulter.

The movie is about a sixteen-year-old Thomas, played by O'Brien , who wakes up in a moving elevator "the Box". 

When he arrives at the top, he finds himself in a grassy wide open expanse surrounded by huge grey walls, without his memory.

 Could this Be more terrifying ? oh yeah wait till you see the Maze. 

or the Grievers.

The movie was released in America on the 19th   of September 2014, but I was lucky enough to watch it on the 18th  , oh yeah, I found a hacked version and I was so glad and since then I have seen it twice. I really love the movie, why wouldn't I ?? it is "solid, well crafted and entertaining". Everything is like I have imagined while reading the book; the glade, the maze, the Grievers, the gladers, the runners ..  it is like Wess took the images from my mind and put them on the screen, such a talented director. Well, the movie is not a copy/past of the book; there are some changes  and I expected that and I accepted them with an open mind . The changes made the plot looks more real and plausible, and the director added some parts which made the maze amazing like when the wall moves inside the maze

Everything in the movie is perfect but Dylan O'Brien is beyond perfection, he takes the role of Thomas to a whole new high level and I'm not exaggerating. I first knew Dylan from his role in "the first time" and I was amazed by his acting, since then I have started watching Teen wolf because he co-started the show (yeah, he is the reason why I watch the show) and I saw him grow up and mature as an actor, he went almost through all the phases of acting; he was the good, the weak, the bad, the strong, the honest , the evil , the void , the hero... and while I was reading the trilogy I pictured him in my mind as Thomas then when  I heard that he was chosen for the role, I just couldn't believe  it ( next time, Wess should make me the one responsible for choosing  the cast)

 This is my favorite scene in the book and the film

the sequel of the movie "The Scorch Trial" is being filmed these days in New-Mexico and it is going to be released next fall.

if you want to see the movie click here

The Giver : Book and Movie

The Giver is a 1993 American  novel by Lois Lowry. It is set in a society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian.

Jonas, a 12 years old boy, who lives in a "perfect" community where every thing is under control; no chaos, strife nor pain. The community is living by the notion of "Sameness" and eliminating the "threat" of being different. By the age of 12, every kid in the community is assigned for a particular job ( don't worry, they choose for you) however our little hero, Jonas, is selected to do an unusual job for the community which is 'The Receiver' of memories ( I know you never heard of it , an awkward work but don't forget that we are talking about a freaking Utopian society ). During the process of receiving the memories, Jonas learns the truth about his dystopian society, and you have to read the book to know what happened next!!

Imagine living in a black and white world (literally) where no love, no hate, no success, no failure, no singing , no dancing , no reading, no thinking, no creativity . Every thing is the same, When I started reading the book , I was shocked and I hated it. I thought the writer is making a kind of propaganda; encouraging the notion of Sameness, excluding individualism and emotions.She didn't even provide enough characterization to form emotional connection with the characters. Well, every thing was a mystery !!  Then , when Jonas started to get the memories and realized that "that's not fair" I felt relief and I liked the book at that moment . 

the book made me realize the importance of  being different, feeling pain and learning from the past. Different means receiving the world from your own perspective and dealing with it by making your own choices; you make the world colorful as you wish and do not accept the grey sameness. Pain is the force behind shaping people into human being with intense feelings; if you don't experience pain , you won't appreciate happiness.so we should not be protected from pain. Finally, you can't forget the past and you should learn from it and build on it.

“The life where nothing was ever unexpected. Or inconvenient. Or unusual. The life without colour, pain or past.”

The Movie 

The movie has portrayed the story perfectly. I even think that the movie is much better than the book (I won't take it back); I felt the notion of coldness and colorless society better in the movie. I felt emotional connection with the character and I saw them develop their personalities and grow emotionally.

There was a lot of changes made in the film which they made it more plausible , for instance; they get their assignments at age 18 instead of age 12.
The movie creates a clear ending and it gives more purpose to a bigger group of community's members and it was awesome.

I highly recommend the book and the movie as well, you will love it.

you can watch the movie here and if you are interested in a PDF version of the book inbox Bookstore online 

Rue des tanneurs - نهج الدباغين

نهج الدباغين، هو أحد أنهج مدينة تونس، ويربط حاليا بين نهجي المنجي سليم الذي كان يسمى نهج المالطيين سابقا، ونهج رومة من جهة أخرى . وقد سمي بنهج الدباغين لأنه كان يحتضن صناعة دباغة الجلود، وبما أن هذه الصناعة كانت تعتبر من الصناعات الملوثة، فقد اختير موضعها خارج المدينة العتيقة. وبعد اندثار الدباغة بهذا النهج، تخصص ببيع الكتب القديمة، مهما كانت لغاتها 

ومواضيعها ومكان نشرها.

على بعد أمتار من الطريق المؤدية إلى نهج "الدباغين" بالعاصمة التونسية لا بد وأن يلفت انتباهك الكتب المنشورة على أرضية الرصيف، وأخرى على مناضد خاصة، حيث يمتزج سحر المطالعة المنتشرة هنا وهناك برائحة الكتب التي تغمر المكان.

هناك فئة معينة تقبل على شراء الكتب كالمثقفين، و يجد المولعون بالقراءة والمثقفون في هذه الفضاءات لبيع الكتب القديمة أنواعاً عديدة من المراجع النادرة والكتب المفقودة التي يصل عمر بعضها إلى الخمسين سنة وبأسعار مناسبة جداً.

والغريب أن بعض الباعة هناك لا يعرفون قيمة الكتاب أو المرجع لذلك يكون البيع اعتباطياً، ولا يعبر عن القيمة الحقيقية للكتاب، ويكفي أن يباع مرجعاً يتكلف آلاف الدينارات التونسية بالعشرات فقط منها.

و يمكن أن تجد نسخة موقعة شخصيا من قبل كاتبها

Khaoula Hammami

J’aime