The Hunger Games books and movie reviews

Warning: this is not a proper book review, mostly my own thoughts. I also am not organized here, because I hate when people ruin books/movies/tv shows for me before I get a chance to read or watch them. So in my effort to minimize giving away too much information, I became pretty choppy. But it's a decent review, in my opinion, given that the last book review I did was in elementary school.

I took it a bit slowly reading The Hunger Games, mainly because I was not used to sitting around reading all day. Every now and then I'd get up, thinking I had something to do, but realize that I don't. But then I would remember that I have a husband who I haven't seen in a while and probably should hang out with. Just kidding! He is my number one superstar. So husband  > books any day. We had fun. We ate Mexican food, and talked, studied, walked and got fat together. Beautiful, really.

Oh, the book! Right, well I cried in the beginning when Katniss volunteered in place of her sister. I am not going to be giving away much, don't worry. But I get emotional during these family moments. I think that's all I felt bad about. I'm not really emotional otherwise.

Okay, so this book takes place somewhere in the future, in my mind it's in the United States, but it could very well be the whole world. There are 12 districts. Each year one male and one female from each district is selected at random to participate in the Hunger Games. The game is a fight to death, with only one victor left standing. It sounds gory and full of action, but it isn't too bad, promise. The Hunger Games is a way the government reminds the districts who is in charge. That they can and will take your children to fight to the death each year, and celebrate it.

Katniss, the main character, goes with her male counterpart, Peeta. Peeta confesses his love for Katniss in front of the country during the interview before the games. And now they have to fight to the death, basically. She encounters a little girl from district 11, Rue, with whom she becomes allies with. The story goes into how she survives in terms of hunting and gathering food, escaping death a few times, and killing a few people.

That's all I am going to say. But it was a good read. The problem with me is that I don't like endings very much. I always predict the end and end up right. Or the ending is dumb. Well I thought it was fabulous up until the end. I felt it was too unfinished.

Which is why there is a sequel, duh.
Then I felt the same way about the second book, Catching Fire. Which is why there's another book, duh again.

All I have to say about Catching Fire, without giving away too much of the first is that IT IS SO GOOD. *POSSIBLE SPOILER BUT NOT REALLY* There's a sequel so obviously Katniss survives in the first book. But the president is not happy with her and there's a lot of drama and she has to play in the Hunger Games AGAIN. *END OF POSSIBLE SPOILER* And the ending was amazing and it just ends...leaving me begging to know what happens next. unfortunately my sister has the third book with her and I'll have to wait like a patient princess. Except I am not patient and not a princess.

I cannot wait to read the third. I don't even know what it's called...Mocking Jay?

As far as the movie goes, I will say this. I am weird. I always read the book first then watch the movie. Then get disappointed in the movie. It's a vicious cycle. I did this with Harry Potter and the first movie and didn't watch another until the 7th book.I did this with My Sister's Keeper. But the movie was dumb all on it's own, even if I didn't read the book. Everything looks so perfect and awesome in my head. The movie ruins it. So from now on I'll do the opposite. A lot of people who read the book also loved the movie. To be honest with you, I don't watch TV and movies much, so to sit there for 2 hours and do nothing but watch it made me a little apprehensive. It did pretty much follow the book, with minor changes here and there. And the time frame seemed much longer in the book than it did the movie. Over all, it was pretty accurate.

The new year thingys

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I spent new year's eve in my bedroom reading the Muslim holy book, the Quran.

My fascination with the new year hullabaloo ended like two or three years ago. And new year's day is like just another day.

The authors of this blog were supposed to share some of their reflections or highlights of this past year, and since I never got on them to send me their sentences, you all are gonna be stuck with just my thoughts.

And with some imaginary drum roll I present to you some of my highlights and reflections of this past year:

The realization of the increasing effort I need to be putting in, to show my parents respect, love and to bring them happiness, insh'Allah

The need for me to find spiritual balance for my soul, so my confidence is not so easily shaken and my thoughts are not so easily turned negative...Eat, Pray, Love ...Did you read the book? If you did, you have some idea as to what I'm talking about.

An Islamic conference, here in North America, instilling in me the importance to insh'Allah cultivate Love for people, creatures and the world around me. The way one of the speakers worded it, (and I summarize in my own words) Bani Adam (the Children of Adam) is your entire family. You might get annoyed with our family or may not get along with all of them, but you can't just leave them or remove them. Become a people that deals with life with good nature and humor, with shifting perspectives to see situations not just from your own perspective but from that of other people, even animals or the environment.

To be a student, is not to just learn from a classroom, but is an active process that takes place at all times, and to carry a pen and notebook wherever you go because you never know where you may learn something, because life can be a constant teacher-another thing I picked up from the conference.

Medical school is hard. Period. And kinda stupid.

It's easy to fall into a depression or any negative emotion when you're going through hard times. And the more lonelier you feel, the harder it is to keep yourself from sinking. But it's still very much possible especially if you yourself refuse to let go and keep yourself open to experiencing the wonders and joys around you.

Kids are so freaking awesome sometimes, especially when they can pop and lock while dancing and tell YOU that you're "Not feeling the music! You have to feeelll it while dancing" LOL

and CC, out

P.S. I pray to God that he blesses us with a year in which the world is filled with more mercy and understanding, where people take the time to sit down and choose the correct path for the good of others, and any obstacles and problems that people are going through are made easy. Ameen.

Like a man with his head on fire...

I'm currently reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. And I'm literally forcing myself to read in a remarkably slow manner because I just dont want to lose a friend. And I know that the movie got some not-so-hot reviews which made people all of a sudden critique her book. Wasn't the book receiving all sorts of accolade not too long ago?

Some people said that the book has given women a false sense of hope that they can indisputably leave their lives, drop everything, become selfish, and travel the world. When put that way, of course it sounds preposterous. But nevertheless, so what if it is? Isn't that the whole purpose of books, television shows, and movies.

To escape reality?

Anyways all of that is besides the point, and my intention for writing this post wasn't necessarily to pay homage to the book (just yet).

On the other hand, I wanted to share an excerpt from it that serves as a reminder and I also felt most of us could connect with, one way or another:

Life continues to go on. Even the Italian post office will keep limping along, doing its own thing without you---why are you so sure that your micromanagement of every moment in this whole world is essential? Why dont you let it be?

I hear this argument and it appeals to me. I believe in it, intellectually, I really do. But then I wonder--- with all my restless yearning, with all my hyped-up fervor and with this stupidly hungry nature of mine--what should I do with my energy instead?

The answer arrives, too:

Look for God, suggests my Guru. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water.

-Elizabeth Gilbert-Eat, Pray, Love

Sometimes I really think the world is going to hell...

...particularly when I watch/listen/hear/read about things in the news.

When I was in junior high, I used to be obsessed with the weather. Like, I really needed to know whether it was going to be cold, hot, rainy, snowy, foggy, or humid outside the following day. This obsession followed me into high school, and eventually stopped in 11th grade.

The only way I was able to find out what the weather was going to be like the next day was via the 10 o'clock news.

Pre-internet days, people. Get with it.

So the weather man wouldn't come on until exactly 10:30 and so I would have to watch 30 minutes of the news. This is how I kept up with current events.

Eventually when my obsession with the weather subsided, so did my knowledge of things that were happening in the world in which I resided.

I didnt know what was going on in the world for the past 8 years. No joke.

Fast forward a couple of years and enter: facebook.

Facebook, if used with good intentions can actually be resourceful. For real. I started noticing a lot of people updating their status about various things that were happening in the city, state, country, and world. So I started catching myself up with the latest buzz. And in the midst of catching up with current events, I also came back to the realization of why I stopped watching the news.

In retrospect, there never seems to be good news. Why dont people report on happy things? I mean I know they do, but some days it just seems like there is no good news. It's like you have to dig realllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy deep to find something. Anything. That will make you smile. Or laugh. And if there is good news to be shared, it's always twisted into something that it totally wasn't supposed to be twisted into. Michelle Obama dancing with orphans and kids in India becomes a dance that supports the "axis of evil". Whatever the hell that means. ( This really didnt happen, but you know what I mean)

Some days I really do think the world and it's inhabitants are just far from where we should be, and some days I just rather stay in the dark about it.

But then there are other things that make me think living in this world, aint so bad. Like when I see non-Muslims, like Kate, defending Muslims and Islam. Or like when I see a student's Mom writing encouraging notes to their kids and putting it into their lunchbags.

Or like when I watch the Daily show with Jon Stewart and see how ridiculous the media makes things out to be.




Or like when I hear crazy stories from my sister's new nursing job. Or when I get a phone call from a friend and we talk about the most pointless things in the world. Or when my kids genuinely find my "Knock Knock" jokes amusing. Or when my mom wakes up in the wee hours of the morning and bids me farewell while I walk out to my car, in the dark. Or when I laugh about the most dumbest and randomest things with my siblings. Or knowing that one of my sisters is learning how to play the violin. Or seeing parents involved in their child's education.

Or attending a teacher conference and hearing the famous author, Mitch Albom, give a speech about having a little faith that can take you a long way.



Or knowing that I'm a teacher, and at least one of my students is learning something. Or like watching the show, School Pride, the school version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and seeing how much people truly care about education in America, and being effective about it.




Or (minus the most recent episode----another story for another time), watching people actively defend and protect and fight for strangers on the show "What would you Do?"



And so on and so forth.

So yeah, on certain days, the world does suck, but you just gotta take the good with the bad.

And hope that some day the good will outweigh the bad and pray that the world really doesn't go to hell.

And maybe not watch the news so much.

Page turner, for sure

I just finished reading the first book of the Millennium Trilogy by the late Stieg Larsson, Girl with a Dragon Tattoo.



I heard about it a couple of years ago, and for an unknown reason that I can't fathom, I assumed it was about a teenage girl who rebelled against her parents, was influenced by peers, joined a cult, and got a dragon tattoo.

It was nothing like that.

If you read the book, you're probably laughing at me.

If you have not read the book, you should. Then you can laugh at me too.

I really wish I could talk about the book and tell you my thoughts on it, but I know that Falling Up is going to read it soon, and I dont want to ruin it for her.

But if you will allow, here is my summary of the book:

A journalist from Sweden, Mikael, loses a case against a big shot industrialist by the name of Wennestrom. Mikael' s sentence: losing his prestige, his magazine, Millennium, facing repercussions, and a jail sentence of 6 months. Shortly after his sentence, Mikael is approached by Henrik Vanger, a former CEO of the Vanger Corporations, with a unusual job of solving a 30 year old crime that was committed against his beloved great niece, Harriet Vanger. After several attempts to convince Mikael to accept the offer, Henrik finally seals the deal by telling Mikael that he has proof that will put Wennestrom in prison and allow Mikael to regain his former stature. Feeling dejected and at a loss, Mikael agrees to take on the job. Mikael is thereafter joined by Lisbeth Salander, a sly and cunningly intelligent girl who is able to help him with the case. Collectively they embark on a journey and find out more than they ever wanted to know and more than they had ever anticipated finding out.


I didnt think I would be much interested in it. To be perfectly honest, when I first read the book (about 20 pages into it) I wanted to fall asleep and somehow I dragged myself through it. And I'm glad I did. It has so many twists and turns, that I almost couldn't keep up. It is extremely well written and keeps you guessing till the end. If you are in the mood for a book that will force you to keep reading until the very last page and in need of a summer thriller that will keep you engrossed, then this is the book for you.

P.S.Turns out they made all three movies based off the books by Stieg Larsson. I'm so excited to watch the first one this weekend!

And the rest, as they say, is history

History is cool. I swear.

I have this piece of flair that says "History Buff" that I wear occasionally.

I'm really not, but I like to think I am. And wish I was.

If I could go back in time, I would have majored in history and became a history teacher instead of an elementary school teacher. And the reason I didnt major in it is because people kept throwing the there- are- too- many- History- teachers- out- there- and- you-will-never-find-a-job-no-matter-how-hard-you-look-and-how-far-you-go line at me.So what was I to do but decide to major in what everyone thinks is always in demand: Science.

I used to do a "This day in History" segment here at Symphonic Discord too, but eventually I ceased to continue because they were labeled as being "super lame" or something. Whatever.

Anyways, there's something about how events that happened in the past altering the future that really fascinates me. And how because of one specific event a whole new set of events took place. Perfect example: Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination and World War I. I always like to ask and wonder to myself, well if that didnt happen, would it be like this today.

When I took my first political science class at University, my teacher made us buy this book called A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn and I fell in love with that book.It's not a textbook but not a novel. It's just a really well written book.

To sum up, it was history told from the viewpoint of the victims or the people who never really got to tell their side of the story. It's a history book told by women during the suffrage, history told by slaves during slavery, history told by the true Native Americans, history telling us what Columbus was really about when he came to the New World, and history told by the individuals that lost their loved ones during the September 11 attacks.


Basically, the history that we so rarely hear and learn about.

Some people might say that the book is completely biased but Zinn himself defends and affirms his biased views by saying:

This makes it a biased account, one that leans in a certain direction. I am not troubled by that, because the mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction — so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and so disrespectful, by inattention, to people's movements — that we need some counterforce to avoid being crushed into submission.

As a teacher, I'm always torn between teaching what is in a textbook as opposed to what I believe to be true.

Some people believe when it comes to History, there is a fine line between fact and opinion.

So, where exactly, as educators, do we draw the line?

The book that made me cry...

I feel like I lost a really good friend.

Every time I finish reading a book that I've become attached to, those are the initials words/thoughts that come to mind.

It wasn't any different this time.

Well maybe it was. I haven't read a good book for a long while. I read three this entire summer compared to times when I was able to finish three in a week. Nothing has been appealing and I just havent been into books.

But Sophie Kinsella never fails to disappoint.

I just finished reading, Twenties Girl






by the renowned author of the Shopaholic series.






I love her books so much. They always always make me laugh.

Sadie just died at the age of 105 and is now haunting her great niece Lara to help her find a necklace that holds sentimental value of some sort. Sadie comes back not as the 105 year old version of herself but a 23 year old version. And her and Lara bicker like long time best friends. While searching for this necklace of Sadies', they both learn about each others lives and help each other see the bigger picture and that the grass is truly greener on the other side.

It's a hilariously written book, and really, I dont do it justice with my synopsis.

Sorry.

So why did I cry?

I'm not some sap who cries over books and movies. Other things, yes, but not those things. And this wasnt even supposed to be a sad book. It's rated comedic.

However it just seemed to hit a nerve and I thought of all my relationships. Past and present. With friends and family. Grandparents.Mom. Dad. Sisters. Brother. Cousins. Aunts. Uncles. Best friend. Close friends. Good friends. Acquaintances.

Feeling guilty. Sad. Mad. Annoyed. Happy. Lucky. Confused. Jealous.

All of it.

So many thoughts and emotions all at once, I couldnt help but get misty eyed.

The bottom line is that this book teaches you that family can be friends. And that friends can turn into family {whether or NOT you sing and/or dance with them!}

As cliched and sappy as it may sound, I loved this book and think you all should go read it so I have somebody to talk to about it.


P.S. I'm sooooo excited to read her other book Remember Me?

P.S.S. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go read her books. PLEASEEEEEEEEEE

I do not eat green eggs and ham.I do not like them, Sam-I-am.

This week is Dr. Seuss' birthday.

I never really understood why certain people got their birthday celebrated for a week and got all sorts of recognition. While others just have to settle for one measly schmeasly day.


Actually now that I think about it, sometimes it seems like my friends and I are celebrating each others birthdays for like months since we don't actually do anything for that particular individual until five months later. Never the day of. But in all actuality, we are just really, really busy people and don't get the time to celebrate the day of. Either that, or we're too lazy. Or broke. Or both.


But that's neither important nor relevant to Dr. Seuss.

So moving along to the point: this week I was reading one of his books: Fox on Socks to one of my precious students. While reading the book, I was getting irritated because 1. The kid wasn't listening to me and 2. While reading it, I kept thinking that it made no sense.


Later on in the day after reading that book to the annoying kid, I was complaining to a coworker of mine about how Dr. Seuss books are pointless and how I couldn't believe that someone got paid to write stuff like that and then go on becoming as famous as he did. And really rich. While ranting to my co-worker, another co-worker jumps in and says that Dr. Seuss' books do make sense and each book has a hidden message about various issues that go on in the world. Or went on in the world.

I didn’t see how that was possible. So she went on to explain to me that some of his books deal with racism and environmentalism and ethnocentrism and all sorts of isms.

I didn’t believe her.

So I wikipediaed it. (I heart wikipedia. It has like EVERYTHING. And I don't understand why it's not considered a scholarly source to use when writing umm scholarly-ish papers)

And it turns out she’s right.

According to Wikipedia:

Many of Dr. Seuss's books are thought to express his views on a myriad of social and political issues: The Lorax (1971), about environmentalism and anti-consumerism; The Sneetches (1961), about racial equality; The Butter Battle Book (1984), about the arms race; Yertle the Turtle (1958), about anti-fascism and anti-authoritarianism; How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), about anti-materialism; and Horton Hears a Who! (1954), about anti-isolationism and internationalism.^[11][9]

And here is an example from one of his books Yertle the Turtle. As stated earlier, this story is thought to have been about anti-authoritarianism:

And today the great Yertle, that Marvelous he,
Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see.
And the turtles, of course... all the turtles are free
As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

Alas! What would we do without Wiki.

Seriously who would’ve thought.

So I do apologize to Dr. Seuss and any die hard Dr. Seuss fans out there for doubting his writing style and mocking his work and accusing him of making absolutely no sense whatsoever.

Do forgive my ignorance.

And in honor of him and his birthday I wanted to share some of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes. (Quotes that aren’t necessarily from his books, but inspirational nonetheless)

• “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
• “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own.
  And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”
• Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.
• “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you.”
• Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

Twilight (Eeeek!)

So... TWILIGHT !!



...Ok you can stop squealing.

I'm wondering if I'm digging my own grave by writing about Twilight. Any of you who are even slightly knowledgeable about this blog, know that there is at least one Edward Cullen fanatic (his self-proclaimed wife) present as an author on this blog.
(Note, I said at least, both Mrs. Cullen and S.M. will try to shove me into the grave)

Honestly, this whole Twilight/'I'll die for Eddy..sigh' hype is way too overplayed. Heck, I've read the books too. I'll even admit it. After reading the first one, even I was charmed in by the thing called Edward. But a little more than a week later, the effects wore off, and gratefully I came to my senses. But I still read the next one, and I think maybe even the 3rd ( I was hoping the story would take off at some point)

Then, I stopped. I couldn't take it anymore !!! They're IDIOTS( I mean the main characters). And the author needs to improve her writing. And oh yeah, all the other problems going on in the world, such as the war, the economy, disease, people dying, none of that even TOUCHES the main characters. Nor that it should because their world has only each other.

For all of you living in your nice, comfy caves- Should I explain the story to you?
There's this girl Bella, she starts out normal and fine, just a regular teenage girl who has a little more common sense and a better sense of responsibility than the average teenage girl. She moves to a new town (of course she moves to a new, never been heard of, small town)

There she meets this really pale guy, Edward (and of course this guy is mysterious at this never been heard off before, small town)

He turns out to be a vampire. (WELL DUH...it's a never been heard of before, small town! Where else would he be?)And he has these superhuman powers and could easily kill her and everyone (The Lion and the lamb...just like the poster says? Get it?)

And they fall in love. I mean yeah ok, it wasn't that simple. There's this whole, he's a vampire but he doesn't drink the blood of humans, but he can't control himself around her thing. Oh yeah, and she's not scared of him and doesn't care. But he loves her too much and doesn't want him around her because she might get hurt (every idiot squeals) and then he decides he can handle it because he can't stand not being around her (everyone squeals again).

Oh and did I mention that about 99% of their thoughts and life revolve around the other. It was after the effects of the book wore off that I realized, that the two main character HAD NO PERSONALITIES!!

It was basically "Oh Bella", "Oh Edward", "Bella", "Edward", "Bella, you should be scared of me", "Edward, I'm not afraid", "Bella", "Edward, "Oh yeah, everybody and everything else", "Bella", "Edward","Oh Bella", "Oh Edward" "I love you", "I can't live without you"...etc Do you feel like puking yet??

Do you understand what I mean by no personalities? I even asked a friend yesterday to describe his personality... and this is what I got:
Loyal (The word Bella-obsessive would be more accurate, but whatever)
..............
And that's it. That's all she could think of (she came up with boring and stupid after two whole minutes). Yes I'm sure you're throwing all these words at me, "HEY you jerk! He's charming, and romantic, and nice,and handsome, and so courageous, and so gorgeous, and loving..."

But seriously, two of those don't even count as being part of his personality. And the others go under Bella-obsessive, and nice? (EVERYONE'S NICE-or can be-it's not much)

So there you go. Basically when the movie came to theaters this past weekend every teeny-bopper girl and the rest, had to go to drool over this guy------>


And I read on someone's blog, (who also went to see the movie) that little girls were there dressed as brides.

Um..what?

Brides of...well it has to be this guy--->
But seriously...what?
Did they take a look at THIS GUY---------------------------->

My friends had it all planned to go to watch this movie together. But it didn't work out and so they're gonna try it again next week. I think I'll go along, and take a rolling pin, a spatula and some grease with me.
That way I can whack any one of them who get any marriage ideas. And scrape off any of them who attach themselves to the screen.

On a side note, it seems a lot of you disagree with the person playing Edward Cullen. Some of you have even admitted that the guy you want doesn't exist. But still I want to know. Who do you think should play Edward?

Here are some of the answers I've gotten, that according to people would be the closest thing.

Gaspard Ulliel

Prison Break guy

Tom Sturridge

Smallville guy

The guy

Don't be sad...for too long

"Everyone wants mourners to 'snap out of it' because observing another's anguish isn't easy...To be human means to naturally react with feelings of sadness to negative events in one's life," writes Robert Spitzer

"By brooding over the past and its tragedies, one exhibits a form of insanity---a kind of sickness that destroys resolve to live for the present moment. Those who have a firm purpose have filed away and forgotten occurrences of the past, which will never again see light,since they occupy such a dark place in the recesses of the mind. Episodes of the past are finished with; sadness cannot retrieve them, melancholy cannot make things right, and depression will never bring the past back to life. This is because the past is non-existent."

-----Don't be Sad by 'Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarn

Do you guys think the quotes contradict one another?

I don't. At first I thought they did,but if you understand each quote you realize they don't. Life isn't always easy and can be painful at times. For those painful times, it is OKAY to mourn and to be sad. Different people react to experiences differently. Some cannot or at least refuse to be brought down by the events of life. Others, aren't as great. They need to express grief in some form. After all, God did give us the ability to feel sad or feel grief for a reason. If it was flat out wrong, it would be forbidden to us so these negative emotions are not always a bad thing.

On the other hand, if you decide to dwell on those occurrences that bring you down, then yes you could be committing some kind of wrong. Granted different situations bring on different levels of grief, and thus require different periods of mourning, but there is has to be a stop to the constant depression. What is it that you exactly accomplish by 'brooding' over a 'tragedy'? Look around, life is going on, your life is still going on, it won't freeze for you, the past is now gone or 'nonexistent'. Not to mention you are losing those thousands of opportunities in life to be grateful for what you have or something like helping someone else through their grief.

Now losing a loved one, is something altogether that's a horrible experience. There is no simple "Just cheer up and move on" motto that can be applied. To that, i want to say, I'm sorry. Even if I don't know who you are, I'm sorry you have to go through that. Forgive me if I sound like I'm preaching , but don't you sometimes think that your constant state of depression is also making your late loved one grieve. Don't you also think, that being in that constant state for too long is making you lose your other loved ones, or would-be loved ones? Would you wait until everything passes you by or by the time you lose everything to realize that it's ok to move on. And it is not the same as forgetting. Your love for them won't go away, and why not make them proud instead? Why not pray for them instead? True it does pain me to see you grieving, but at the same time it's not that I want you to snap out of it immediately. The spot that person holds in your heart most likely won't and doesn't need to go away for you to be okay. But you will be okay, and you need to realize that. That you will be okay.

And finally, I'm sorry again. I'm sorry for your loss, I'm sorry for your pain, I'm sorry I can't help. I truly am.

"Oh Allah,(Arabic word for God) Possessor of Majesty, Magnificence and Might, let comfort take the place of sorrow, make happiness come after sadness, and let safety take the place of fear." Amen


P.S. I know I said I'll post pictures of India and God willing, I will be in the next couple of days :)

Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind.....

I love reading books. If I could marry books I would. And I'm sure my fellow book lovers would agree with me when I say that it is my dream to either own a library. Or live in a library. Or both. I love being absorbed by the plot and getting away from reality. If only for a little bit. And when I've finished reading a book that I really, truly enjoyed, I feel like I lost a friend in the process. Weird, I know. But such is my attachment to books.

My summer vacation just started and since I'm not going anywhere and don't have anything spectacular planned, I figured I would just stay at home and read as many books as possible before life begins again. And I've recently found out that I like it better when someone recommends a book to me, instead of me perusing for endless hours trying to find a book that I might like. So if you're like me and would like some book recommendations , here's a list I put together for you, books that were recommended to me from various people (with a brief synopsis* and my own thoughts):

• An Unexpected Light:Travels in Afghanistan by Jason Elliot
  
• This is an account of Elliot's two visits to Afghanistan. The first occurred when he joined the mujaheddin circa 1979 and was smuggled into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan; the second happened nearly ten years later, when he returned to the still war-torn land. The skirmishes that Elliot painstakingly describes here took place between the Taliban and the government of Gen. Ahmad Shah Massoud in Kabul. Today, the Taliban are in power, but Elliot's sympathies clearly lie with Massoud. Although he thought long and hard before abandoning his plan to travel to Hazara territory, where "not a chicken could cross that pass without being fired on," Elliot traveled widely in the hinterland, visiting Faizabad in the north and Herat in the west. The result is some of the finest travel writing in recent years. With its luminous descriptions of the people, the landscape (even when pockmarked by landmines), and Sufism, this book has all the hallmarks of a classic, and it puts Elliot in the same league as Robert Byron and Bruce Chatwin.
• I've just begin reading it. Will let you know how it turns out.
  
• Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy.
  
• At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit. Vividly portraying the pain of peer rejection and the guilty pleasure of wanting to be special, Grealy captures with unique insight what it is like as a child and young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly to be perfect.
• I really enjoyed this book because it was a memoir and because Grealy doesn't sugar coat things for you. She's straight to the point. And also this book deals with the ugly truth about society and how we perceive people based on looks.
  
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
  

• A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
  When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.

• Randy Pausch is a truly remarkable man. If you aren't into books, I would definitely recommend watching The Last Lecture on youtube or something. He is very inspirational and makes you realize that you should not take life for granted. More on Randy Pausch in another post.
  
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
  
• Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• As a future teacher, I was really happy to see this man work so hard for so many years to provide the best education possible for children who truly needed it. Mortenson shows how you can fulfill all of your dreams with just the right push and not a lot of money.
  
• Do not be Sad by Sheikh Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarnee
• Sheikh Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarnee authored a self-help best seller book about helping Muslims, as well as Non-Muslims cope with feelings depression of helplessness and for times when one feels discouraged and sad. This book is different from the many of similar kind in that it is written specifically from an Islamic perspective and referes to the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, and Hadith, yet also quotes western philosophers and thinkers whose words of wisdom are equally applicable in this context.
• This was the first Islamic book that I felt attached to. It was just the book I needed during a rough patch in my life.
  
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.
  
• Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them-in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul-they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman's love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.
• If you havent read this book already, do so!
  
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death.
• Haven't read this book yet, but am definitely interested in reading a book where "Death" is the narrator.
  

If you have any book recommendations, do share!



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*I didn't want to give my own synopsis' of the books, didn't think I would do them justice. Majority of the reviews are from www.amazon.com.

I've recently borrowed the book "Three Cups of Tea" but haven't started reading it yet. It's a true story about this one guy who wasn't successful in his attempt to climb a moutain (In Pakistan)...and his "failure" landed him amongst these local villagers. They were so generous and welcoming. Their kindness touched the climber soo much that he went back and built them a school.

People like that truly amaze me. I only pray that kind stuff is part of my destiny.

Oh and this is one of my favorite quotes, by Rumi nonetheless:

All day I think about it, then at night I say it. Where did I come from, and what am I supposed to be doing? I have no idea. My soul is from elsewhere, I'm sure of that, and I intend to end up there.

I relate to that 100%.