Finished Reading: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott. Fitzgerald!!

Read in December, 2012

O.o Yes really!! I don't know what to say about this book!! It was a hard read, Fitzgerald's writing style is something that I can't fanthom now, and I have to read it another time in some holidays or something so that I will be able to only focus on the read!! Apart from that, the story is OK, it is not the kind of stories that take my breath, but it was readable and enjoyable at times too!! It is absolutely necessary to read more of this author's works if I want to know what he wants us to understand out of all of these riddles. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 on Goodreads.

 

HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!

Finished Reading: Candide by Voltaire!!

Read from December 09 to 13, 2012 

 

While reading this book, I discovered that Voltaire has described every real first-time one would encounter in the journey of one's life, for Candide has been living in "the best of all castles" and never knew what hardships are about. So after he was chased out of the famous castle, because he was unlucky enough to fall in love for the very first time with a woman, who was the daughter of the baron of the castle, Voltaire described the first time that Candide killed, got beaten, was rescued, visited a new country, became rich, was ill, etc... But what struck me is that he never uttered a word about his feelings while enduring what he had to endure, or enjoying what he had to enjoy. Candide was always kind of "indifferent" towards these things, the only thing he did was trying to see how far Pangloss' theory contradicted or agreed with his situation (Pangloss' theory is simply about "optimism", and how one should endure every hardship for the sake of the best that is to come, though I didn't agree with his "optimism"), and the farther he went through his journey the more he became convinced about the silliness of this theory, until he discovered at last that one should only work in this life and stop being philosophic about things if one want to live a calm life, and every time they were tempted by a metaphysical discussion they would say: "let's just cultivate our garden". So it was a short yet good book, and I liked it.. 

 

HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!

Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read in 2012!!

Hello again with the "Top Ten Tuesday" which is "an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish". So the authors in question are:

 

 

 

1-Lucy Maud Montgomery who became one of my favourite authors, since her writing style is so adorable and her good humour is but to be cherished.

 

 

2- J. R. R. Tolkien, he also became my favourite author after reading his splendid novel " The Hobbit".

3- A. A. Milne, I love him and his "Winnie the Pooh"!!

4- Elizabeth Gaskell, I just finished her novel "North and South", and she's my favourite author also!!

5- Henry James, discovered him through "Daisy Miller", and how I'm fond of his writing style!!

6- Deanne Gist, I don't generally read books that are written by "new" authors, but Deanne's book has captivated my attention, and she deserves every respect!!

 

7- Danielle Steel, what I like about this author is the inspiring way she writes her romantic novels.

8- Daphne Du Maurier, I just discovered that she was a beauty, but her books are worth being read too!!

 

 

9- Charles Dickens, I read his "Great Expectation", and I'm going to read every novel written by this great author!! (God Willing)

10- Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, I think they both contributed in writing their famous Fairy Tales, and I love them!! 

Those were the authors that I discovered this year, and I think they are the majority of the authors I know, for I am but a beginners in the world of reading English books (I was always a book lover, but I've read Arabic and French books, now I'm an English-books lover). Hope you enjoy the post, and HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!

Raibow Tag!!

I saw a tag on Youtube that was created by ArrictineReads (check out the video by clicking here) and I decided to do it since that sounded amazing. This tag is simply about choosing some books from one's bookshelf, the only condition is that their colours should be those of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). So, here are the books that I picked:

 

 

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown;
Le journal d'une crevette by Cecile Roumiguiere;
Three men in a boat by Jerome;
The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald;
Time management by Ibrahim el feki (Arabic book);
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie;
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bonte.

Hope you enjoyed it, and HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!

Finished Reading: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell!!

Read from September 30 to December 09, 2012 

 

Love it!! How can I do otherwise!! The "North and South" on papers has nothing to do with the "North and South" on screen, but they both have something in common which is their ability of making me bewitched (positively). Margaret Hale is a strong yet soft maid, whose character has gained my entire love, and Mr. Thornton is just the kind of men whose ardent love will make one melt, and whose gentlemanly behaviour will get one's respect!! The whole thing is bitter yet sweet as one would meet some tragic events -and I acknowledge that the novel is so full of them- but then one would find rays of light here and there, at intervals that softens the harshness encountered before. So I recommend this book to everyone, you may find it boring at first, though I think you will be capable of loving it as your read progresses. I gave it five stars out of five on Goodreads!!

And, as usual, HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!

Top Ten Tuesday!! "Top Ten Books I Wouldn't Mind Santa Bringing Me"

 

 

Here is something new to post on my beloved blog!! It is "an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish"  as the owner of that blog explained (click here for more information). So, the list of the books I would want to receive will be:

 

1- The portrait of a lady by Henry James:

 

 2-Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy:

 

 

3- Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney:

 

 

4- Le marriage de Figaro by Beaumarchais:

5- The adventures of Robin Hood by R. L. Green:

6- Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery:

7- A little princess by F. H. Burnett:

8- Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare:

 

 

9- 1984 by George Orwell:

 

 

10- The lord of the rings by J. R. R. Tolkien:

 

 

I will be more than grateful if anyone -Santa or no Santa- will give me those books!!

PS: HAPPY READING DEAR READERS!!