52 Books in 52 Weeks (2012) discussion

"In this thread, everyone will post their reviews/opinions of the book they have read this week AFTER you rate/review it on your page. The purpose of this is so everyone can see what you read this week and read your review without having to visit each profile. Some of you have their profiles locked, so this saves you the trouble of unlocking it.


ANY COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THAT MATTER WILL BE DELETED.


The format will be like this:


Name of book.

Author.

n/5 stars.


"Your simple opinion/extended review/one word that expresses what you thought of the book. GO CRAZY! Anything counts. Don't feel pressured."


Link to your review.


Also, this allows us to be organized, so even if a member didn't log in for about a month, they can add the book they've read to the appropriate thread.


THANK YOU ALL!



EDIT:

As I've mentioned in the guidelines, one word or a simple opinion counts as a 'review'. I only called it that because Goodreads calls it that."



Now let's see your achievements, awesome people.

الإسلام ماهو؟
مصطفى محمود
4/5 stars.



على أنه على قراءة متقطعة بسبب الاختبارات، كان الكتاب مقسمًّا لمواضيع عدّة، الكتاب شامل ويأخذ من كل شيء قطرة. على الرغم من صوفيّة الدكتور الله يرحمه، فإن موقفه لبعض الصوفية مثير للاهتمام.

أغلب ماذكره للآن مازلنا نعاني منه، البحث في الحكم من وراء الأحكام، وأمور كثيرة لتوضيح الدين الإسلامي للشخص العادي.

كعادة الدكتور مصطفى محمود رحمه الله كتاب سلس وممتع وخرجت منه بمعلومات جيدة ومفيدة.

Book #33
Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant
3/5

A nice story. But, the events seemed a bit too repetitive.

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

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things
Randy Frost
4/5 Stars


An interesting book that talks about the psychological phenomena of hoarding. It goes about the disorder in an intriguing manner as each chapter starts with a real life, and often personal, experience of hoarders and then blasts off to pealing the mystery of their cases by explaining their cases. A book I would recommend to everyone who might have an interest in the subject or even psychology in general.

Book #34
Looking for Alaska by John Green
3/5

I was a bit disappointed. Nowhere near as good as 'A fault in our stars'.

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

Book: My Name Is Memory
Author: Ann Brashares
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Adult Fiction
Finished Date: 11.June.2012
Rating: ★★★★★
Review: brilliant!

≈ This book is amazing, very well structured (especially with time periods), and intriguing. It also sets some plots real real nice. It did get a bit slow toward the middle but that's mainly due to my impatience to get the two together. It picks up really good toward the end, you would never want it to end. Now I can't wait to learn more about the second book in this series. ≈

Book #35
The unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera
5/5

I don't quite know what to say. This book is beautiful, and I absolutely loved it. If I had the chance to, I would have read it all in one day. A captivating page-turner.

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

Book #36
The vagina monologues by Eve Ensler
3/5

A good book that everyone should read

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

Aleph
By Paulo Coelho
4.5/5
This is the third book i read to Paulo Coelho and as always i am fascinated :) the book is amazing, brilliant and beyond your imagination
i remember an old man that i didn't know advising me to get it a couple months ago in down town Amman but unfortunately all the copy were sold out at that day i regret taking all this time to look for it and reading it. what a truly wonderful book it have some unique philosophies

Aleph
by Paulo Coelho

2/5

I liked the whole "Aleph" idea, but I didn't like the storyline.

Book#50

Title: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Author: Marina Lewycka

3/5

When I first saw the title I took it at it literal meaning and avoided it like the plague (it came in a Penguin book bundles) but then I googled it to realize my mistake. The book revolved around a dysfunctional family, a father and 2 grown female children, interestingly after the death of the mother (they truly are the glue that holds a family together, aren’t they?). The book was all right; it was quite dull at time and hence the average rating.

The World's Greatest Serial Killers by Nigel Cawthorne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Here's the thing. Serial killers both equally fascinate and disgust me. I can't stop reading their stories, but at the same time I really don't want to read about them in the first place. It's like watching a horror movie with your hands firmly over your eyes the whole time.

That being said, this book left a bad taste in my mouth. (no horrible pun intended) I don't know why I got more creeped out by it then the hours I've spent on Wikipedia or Tru TV. I think it might be the way the author positively glorified the serial killers mentioned, it could be the cold detachment the descriptions of the victims were given, or, most probably, it could be the romanticization of the whole thing. All I could think of while reading this is pleaseAllahdontletthishappentomeorsomeoneIloveplease, and how it is we give these murderers just the right attention they're looking for. The victims are reduced to numbers, while the murderers are given glowing accounts, and I don't think it's fair.

But I digress.

I think I'll be enjoying The World's Greatest Mysteries more, we'll see.