I just came back from Beirut with a lot of books, and even more posts as I promised P0ach before I left. Starting this Sunday, I will be posting a couple of interesting stuff I came across, one of which is the Beirut Book Fair. Some books I got are Zeina by Nawal Al Saadawi, Fury by Salman Rushdie, No God But God by Reza Aslan, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, Nostromo by Joseph Conrad, and a book for the ever demanding friend (MHG) The Meaning of Nakba by Constantine Zureik.
So don’t miss the entire next week here, espeially if you’re in Lebanon for Christmas and New Year’s.
Alvaro
December 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am
I’d be interested in hearing what you think of White Tiger. I’m well into it but I stopped reading because I found the narrator too obnoxious oo gumt astathgil 6eenta.
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December 24th, 2009 at 10:53 am
Cool ;P
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December 24th, 2009 at 11:34 am
Nawal al saadawi!!! I deplore her. Her manners and her intellectually twisted and dark rational. I wouldn’t recommend reading her books.
I’d recommend if you really want something interesting read:
1. Resalat ibn Aljawzi li ibnih (ibn aljawziy’s message to his son)
2. Alfawa2id by Ib Alqayim
3. Riyath Alsali7eeen by alnawawi
4. 9aaayid al kha6ir by ibn aljawzi
Best of all … read Quran and Tafseer ibn Katheer
These books are for your Islamic thirst….
reza arslan .. is a well written book, with a one sided proespective.
It is REALLY SAD .. that the quality of Islamic books in english on amazon and other major retailers is BELOW PAR if not just miserable when it comes to facts and comprehension of the WHOLE issue. You’ll see what I mean when you read the English books versus books written by Muslim scholars. BIG BIG difference. I remmeber after reading so many english books then I read the muslim scholars books (in arabic) i said to myself “where the hell was I from this material… simply amazing and clearly pure knowledge derived from Alquran and Sunna”
… ta7iyati :)
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December 24th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
M – Thanks for the comment. I’ve been exposed to Muslim scholars and above all the Holy Quran for the past 2 decades, and no matter what I read I will return to reading Muslim Scholar works for a better understanding and knowledge; But its nice to observe different prespectives and avoid being ignorant by disregarding what others have to say. (no offence in the last line as its not directed to you in any way)
Thanks again!
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December 24th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
There is no book beter then (my struglle)
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December 24th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
M, I have a big selection from both sources that you mentioned and while I agree that deriving Islamic fundamentals should be from precise factual books; nevertheless many of the books that Amazon sells are in fact ABOVE PAR:
The Oxford new translation of the Quran by M.A.S Abdel Haleem is absolutely beautiful. “In The Footsteps of The Prophet” by Tariq Ramadan is a keeper. “Lost History” by Miachel Hamilton Morgan is another keeper, “The Purification of The Heart” by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf is also worth reading and so on. I can keep on drafting this endless list.
Reading the prophet’s accounts from “Alra7ee:g Almakhtoom” will definitely give a different exposure from the one derived from “In The Footsteps of The Prophet”; however, I do not consider one superior to the other. I believe one compliments the other.
The difference between the Arab literate individual and the Western one is that the latter is often able to soak up a broad learning experience because he crosses boundaries over to the other side. Arabs should be able to have a contemporary glimpse of what lurks on the other side too in order to further underpin their thoughts, ideals and identity effectively. Of course everything is in moderation but isn’t it wonderful listening to how some Islamic Scholars derive examples from Quran, History, Literature, opposing thoughts and other scriptures?
And for what it’s worth I also strongly dislike Nawal Al Saadawi; however, I am sure if I read some of her books I will gain some insight and even learn something.
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December 24th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
Miss Good Egg – I thinknyou should read orientalism by Edward Said. Btw I admire your grammer!!
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December 24th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Orientalism was a GREAT read and very influential ;) Shawagtny, I think I’ll read it again soon :D And thank you, I admire the great posts you guys bring up :) Keep up the amazing work.
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December 25th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
على طاري نوال السعداوي، نصيحة لا تضيع وقتك الوقت قليل والكتب كثيرة فانتقي أفضلها
http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Lesson&iw_a=view&lesson_id=24205
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December 26th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
no god but God is a great book, it has a very slow start but picks up quickly…
white tiger is pretty boring, it was assigned by a professor of mine, who then decided to drop it cause he did not like it…
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December 26th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Spartacus – I’ve heard the opposite.. The Booker award?
Abdulla – do u consider her an athiest? Is that why I shouldn’t read it? Or shall I continue on reading for Muslim scholars who stopped writting decent texts centuries ago?
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December 27th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Alvaro akhof 3ala beirut kil yoomeen raye7 ashkara 7aablik wa7da hnaak khala9 3aad :P
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December 27th, 2009 at 9:57 am
yeah i have a wife and 2 kids plus I’m an alcoholic. How did that change YOUR life?
Mind your own business..
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January 7th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
No God But God is one of the best English books i went through last year. Reza is a genius, we interviewed him on Nebras if you are interested to go through the interview:
http://nebras.nuks.org/?p=2881
Salman Rushy is great, I cant speak about him here, few words is not fair talking about him or his publications.
If you are interested, add Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi, this is a MUST read book if you are looking for the same type of books listed.
Good luck!
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