Review: The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

What a beautiful book! nay, astounding! Oh it was all of it. Beautiful, astounding, gripping, enthralling. I cannot tell what it was - I can try telling what it wasn't: ordinary.

You don't know till very deep in the book who the hero is, who you're rooting for, and where the story is going to go. It talks about everything.

It's like an old but energetic, eccentric but eloquent stranger telling you a story, that is unfolding as you're hearing it, while at the same time, he starts talking about things long past, but equally interesting.

No book has ever made me want to be a cat so bad!

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Python progression path - From apprentice to guru

I thought the process of Python mastery went something like:

1. Discover list comprehensions
2. Discover generators
3. Incorporate map, reduce, filter, iter, range, xrange often into your code
4. Discover Decorators
5. Write recursive functions, a lot
6. Discover itertools and functools
7. Read Real World Haskell (read free online)
8. Rewrite all your old Python code with tons of higher order functions, recursion, and whatnot.
9. Annoy your cubicle mates every time they present you with a Python class. Claim it could be "better" implemented as a dictionary plus some functions. Embrace functional programming.
10. Rediscover the Strategy pattern and then all those things from imperative code you tried so hard to forget after Haskell.
11. Find a balance.

https://stackoverflow.com/a/2576240/878451

Review: The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting

The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting by Jason Fung
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As Dr. Fung says "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

I lost 10 kgs (22 lbs) since January 1, 2019 (that's 19 days) following the guidelines in this book.

This book was so terrific, I used to stay up till 4 am reading it.

On Dec 31, I was 60 kg overweight, now I am only 50 kg overweight. Let's see how his advice holds up in the long run. We all know, the conventional wisdom does not.

Rating it 5 stars for now. Will come back and update the review in few months. Hopefully for the better.

Currently my mother is reading it, and she has already decreased her insulin more than 25 units per day while keeping her glucose in range.

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Review: Apology

Apology by Plato
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Writing a review for classics is almost useless. You cannot hardly say something that hasn't been said before. However, there are those that know me, to whom my familiar and inexpert opinion may matter more than the expert review of a stranger. For those I write. And for myself, for I am among those too.

This is an elementary text for people who need to learn the basics of Philosophy, which is everyone. Socrates not only does teach us how to argue, but also how not to plead innocent. He preferred death over unrighteousness, because he made it clear he was let to live, he would continue to do the same thing.

He teaches us about the importance of doing our duty, even if the cost is death. "For wherever a man's place is, there he ought to remain in the hour of danger; he should not think of death or of anything but of disgrace. And this, O men of Athens, is a true saying"

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Review: Al-Ghazali's Book on The Etiquette of Marriage

Al-Ghazali's Book on The Etiquette of Marriage by Abu Hamid al-Ghazali
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

People have been doing doctorates on the works of Imam Ghazali.

Imam Nawawi says if all Islam books were to be lost save the Ihya, it would be enough to replace them all. 1

Because of impact, and his unique Islamic journey, he has been called "Proof of Islam".1

Ihya is the most cited text of Islam, after Quran and Hadith.1

Ihya is divided in four parts, and each part is divided in 10 books, and this is the second book from the second part. I have been meaning to read this book for past eight years, and finally got around to reading it. It was an enjoyable read.

I cannot comment on the quality of the writing and the research and the knowledge in the book, as I am far too small for that. Like every other work of it, it's full of insights and arguments.

However, as people who are not concerned with rigorous scholarly arguments, and are looking for a book with applicable, practical knowledge should read other books on the same topic. However, if someone wants to dig deep into the philosophical important of Marriage in islam, then it's a very enjoyable and rewarding book. This should not be taken to mean that book is theoretical, no it's full of practical advice. But the state of affairs of today's world quite far away form then's. The moral corruption in men of today, is way more than of those times, and therefore, the people lagging in basics and fundamentals wouldn't do well to focus on etiquettes and intricacies. However, if someone wants to understand the beauty of Islam, then read on. It's only a few pages.

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Review: شرح العقيدة الطحاوية

شرح العقيدة الطحاوية by أبو جعفر الطحاوي
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Indispensable boook for people who want to learn the creed of Islam. Imam tahavi talks about what it means to be a muslim and what it means to be a sunni (ahl-e-sunnat wal-jamat). He talks about what beliefs we should have as muslims, what't the extent of our knowledge of Allah swt, and how to resolve some of the paradoxes we develop due to lack of knowledge.

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Unquote

Archmaester (to Sam): In the Citadel, we lead different lives for different reasons. We are this world's memory, Samwell Tarly. Without us, men would be little better than dogs. Don't remember any meal but the last, can't see forward to any but the next. And every time you leave the house and shut the door, they howl like you're gone forever.

From Game of Thrones – Season 7 Episode 1: ‘Dragonstone’ (7×01)