Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts

Wednesday 11 July 2018

Review: Siddhartha


Siddharta
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book was amazing as long as it was taking me on the journey of Siddharta, it was engaging as it was instructive, in a way. However, the end was substantially on a higher level than the beginning and the middle.

Every man should read it once before becoming a man. And then read it once again, after becoming a man.

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Thursday 18 May 2017

Review: Islamic Guide To Sexual Relations

Islamic Guide To Sexual Relations Islamic Guide To Sexual Relations by Muhammad Ibn Adam Al-Kawthari
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Some non-muslims teased the companions of noble prophet saw. They said, your prophet tells you about how to wipe yourself too.

The companions, not suffering from any inferiority complex, said Indeed he does. And he tells us to do in so and so manner.

Alhamdulillah, Allah has taught us through His messenger about each and every facet of life. And one important aspect of a person's life is sex. Maslow would place it as one of the five most basic human needs. Well above self-actualisation, esteem, love, belonging, intellectual pursuits. In terms of a person's well-being's dependence on it, it's not much different from food itself. As the joke goes. Sex, like Oxygen, only becomes important when you aren't getting any.

Unfortunately, muslim world is too shy to talk about it, or to acknowledge.

May Allah give rise to more scholars in ummat, who are able and willing to talk about the relevant issues with clarity and completeness. This book is by one such scholar.

At the very least, one would learn what how the Prophet, the greatest of men of all time, loved his wives, and treated them.

At the best, it could inspire one to fall in love with Allah and His final prophet once again, for having thought about us, the ummatis to such an extent, and to provide us with a deen so complete in guidance, and so pure in its rule.

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Friday 12 May 2017

Review: The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I cannot say anything about this book that hasn't been said before. But I must say that it is a novella that is both humorous and horror at the same. The character in it is find in a ridiculously pitiable state, yet the reader never sympathises with him, reader only thinks of himself. What if it were to happen to me? Kafka throws some satire and social commentary for additional zest.

This is timeless.

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Tuesday 9 May 2017

Review: Pride & Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I cannot say anything about it, that hasn't been said before.

I just feel very, very fortunate that I myself am married to a woman such as Lizzy herself.

This is an excellent book, very enjoyable, with subtle lessons, and even subtle commentary.

The characters are all so accurately depicted, one can't help but find one family member reflected in each one of them.

Austen, you live on in your books!

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Review: Jaza Ul Amaal

Jaza Ul Amaal Jaza Ul Amaal by Ashraf Ali Thanwi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Within fifty pages, Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi shakes you and clears all the confusions and doubts which necessarily arise as a result of living in a society that's the "singing dancing cr*p of the world".

He proves how our actions affect our this life and the next life; and both lives are, to a perfect, ideal extent, in our power.

He finishes by mentioning five high impact good deeds (1. Acquiring Ilm, 2. Namaz, 3. Socialising less, 4. Self-audit, 5. Repentence) and six high impact bad deeds (1. Backbiting, 2. Opression, 3. Inter-gender interaction, 4. Anger, 5. Conceit, 6. Impure Rizq)

A must read for any muslims who finds himself lazy in DOs and persistent in DONTs.

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Tuesday 18 April 2017

Review: Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I set out to read this book thinking it would be inspirational and life-changing. (I owed my expectations to having read the only Autobiography of Malcolm X — a truly inspirational book!) But it tuned out to be far more interesting and reach.

It's not inspirational, true. But it is informative and instructive. It's a great of book of strategy, wisdom, history, philosophy, even politics. I learned the big Ben's antics that he used throughout his life. He shows like a loving father, how to apply yourself in this world to maximise one's potential as a citizen.

I am tempted to re-rewrite this book as a manual of strategy and power, for it covers a broad spectrum of events an ordinary person might find himself in, and shows him, how to be extra-ordinary.

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Tuesday 9 August 2016

Review: Qasd us Sabeel

Qasd us Sabeel Qasd us Sabeel by Ashraf Ali Thanvi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As the name suggests, the book speaks to a person who has made up his mind of travelling the path of Islamic sprituality and has decided to do tawbah. He or she does not think the rules of Shariat are below them, or that, they're impossible to follow. They have agreed to follow them all.

The book first introduces Islamic Spirtuality, and followed by some insightful lessons. Depending on the reader's experience and knowledge, they can be obvious or, pose much depth and require delibration. The last third of the book is mainly advice in the way of "Do this, not this".

It's not a motivational book for all Muslims. It's not a defense of Spirtuality arguing to convince people of it's validity and virtues. It's not a book of knowledge where one may learn the lessons of Quran or Hadees. This is a compact book which shuns away the misconceptions that become the reason for people not wanting to follow this path, or not treading the path successfully.

Not only is it an important book, it's one that should be read again and again.

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Wednesday 18 May 2016

Review: Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body

Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body by Michael Matthews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you're trying to lose weight, and have access to a gym, this could be the 2nd or 3rd best way to go about it. I like the book because it's to the point, short yet comprehensive. The author talks in a very genuine, clear tone, and describes everything in scientific enough way to make sense spilling any jargon around.

The book does a great job of motivating and inciting action, not by BSing you, but by simply making it look so easy. This book made Mike one of favs.

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Thursday 28 April 2016

Review: The Sun Also Rises

The Sun Also Rises The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The description of the book on its back cover is the best review I could write about it.

He shows how fickle yet strong relationships can be, how superficial, yet deep-rooted.

It could help one lose some baggage if one wants to lose some.

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Sunday 24 April 2016

Review: The BFG

The BFG The BFG by Roald Dahl
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I like this book, it's a very heart warming, sweet, pleasant book.

It's written for kids, but I loved it as an adult. Dahl thinks of himself as the BFG, opening up little Sophie's mind to great new ideas, criticizing humans for being the only species to kill their own, challenging humans' self centered world-view "You humans think you're so clever, only believing in what you see. Till yesterday you didn't even believe Giants existed."

I highly recommend this book to kids. If you wanna teach your read vocabulary and ideas, give them all sorts of books to read. But if you wanna teach them _how to learn_ vocabulary and ideas, give them this book!

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