Book Group: Which books?

[Sophist]

I have just finished this hilarious book by a guy named Toby Young (Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard educated respectively). It is called

 

How to Lose friends and alienate people.

 

It is very good read; if you need to get an insight in the world of vanity fair and all the paraphernalia that comes with glamour and gilts.

[Reality Check]

Has anyone read the new book "the Da vinci code" ?

 

I heard it was a good read too. I just don't have the time to read that book yet..but will try to get around to it when I finish reading the one I'm on right now.

[Zaylici]

Sophist, you do seem to be an enlightened individual, however, you always incline towards religious dogma( I am Muslim too but a rational one(caqlani), that is a Muslim who is after the truth and nothing else, with this in mind there are certian interpretations of Islam and Muslim history that are nothing but poorly substantiated thesis, this includes the passionate attacks of philosophy in the name of defending Islam, it is noble work to defend Islam, but to defend your intrepretaion is not defending Islam, this is what Al-ghazali did, he defended his version of Islam, ironically you do not seem to differentiate the difference between Islam and and certian understanding of Islam, the two are different, one is thesis and hypothesis( Al-ghazali attacks on philosophy0 and the other ( Islam) is divine work).Again Islam is divine religion, however, our intrepretaion is not, so my good freind opennes amd learning from others regarldess their religious beleif( they might be whether Greeks Atheist, pagan Persians or Indian Budhists)was the mark of Islamic civilisation untill traditionalists and dogmatists like Ibn Taymiyyah dominated the Muslim thought, whereas political thinkers like Al-farabi dispeared from the the Muslim thought, dogmatist do seem to dominate the Muslim world today, unfortunately, and you seem to incline towards them, although O might be wrong on this one.One the other hand, I do not refrain from subjecting every thing to critical scrutiny, put it differently, I am free thinker, I am after whatevere I think is reasonble, regardless what others say, for I beleive the cultivated human mind is the altimate arbiter of all disputes.

Peace

[Changed]

A great book to read would be

The destruction of black civilization by chancellor williams

i heard its great, am about to read it inshaallah

 

peace in the neighborhood

[Sophist]

Zaylici, this enlightenment you are reffering to stems from my deep seated interest in theology (especially Caqiida: Metaphysics). So, it would be just boorish of me to diferentiate between my intellectual prowess and religious enlightment--unlike some I am not secular in my thinking; besides pure reason is quite a folly, read Critique of Pure Reason by E Kant.

[alyal04]

I`ve recently just fininshed Sardines by Nuraddin Farah . Quite interesting !

[NGONGE]

Where do I start, man, where do I start?

 

Catch 22 – it’s a great book about the Second World War. It’s mad, funny, tragic and absolutely fascinating. One of the best books ever written. I highly recommend it.

 

Caesar (by Colleen Muclouch) – Tells the story of Caesar’s wars in Gaul of the long hairs and his endless struggle with the plotters and schemers of Rome’s political scene. It also describes his historical “crossing of the Rubicon” and his elevation into a god figure by the ancient Egyptians. In fact, I would recommend that you read all the books by this author. Thorn Bird is a best seller and is always mentioned in the lists of the best books ever written, plus she’s written a whole serious on ancient Rome and the political intrigues of that great empire.

 

Dickens. I’m not sure which book to recommend by this great author. I’m sure you’ve heard of most of his classics but I would also add The Pickwick Papers as a must read book.

 

 

Short stories by Edgar Alan Poe – This guy is the pioneer of crime stories and horror. He’s also a great poet. In this book, you can read the story of the Black Cat, the Tell Tale Heart and the amazingly stunning story of the Pit and the Pendulum. I highly recommend him (unless his stories are already part of the US or Australian curriculum that is).

 

The Iliad (Homer) – This is Homer’s great poem. It tells the story of the Trojan War; of Beautiful Helen of Troy, of Hector, of Paris and old Priam. It describes the war in cinematic detail and includes the involvement of the gods of Olympus in all the twists and turns in the book. Once you’ve read this book, don’t forget to read the follow up “poem”, the Odyssey.

 

Shogun (James Clavel) – It tells the story of an English sailor being washed ashore with his crew in ancient Japan. It describes the old Samurai way of living, the Ronin, the Shinto and Buddhist faiths. In its essence, it’s a political book full of treachery and intrigue. James Clavel by the way is the same guy who wrote King Rat and translated the Art of War.

 

 

I think these are enough for now. I’ll post more as I remember them.

[Sirrus]

Sophist/Zaylici

 

 

Brothers its remarkable seeing two of you rupturing over the extremes of reason and religion. Proves greater knowledge is as treacherous as lesser one. Particularly brother Zaylici self proclaim man of reason, are you not aware reason is as fallible as the human body and restrictive as our sense of vision. If Islam was amiable to it’s early environ, as you so diligently pressed, the logic follows it would have long fallen to theological entropy. Now, brother Sophist, I read Ghazzalis “inconsistency of philosophers”, I wonder where does your reverence for this man stems from, sure enough he de-mystified Western and Islamic philosophers alike, in the noble name of defending Islam. Then simultaneously he ascribed to sect that confound the creator with the creation, and bequeath themselves to the sensory intoxicant of music. A man’s word should at best be the sum of his constitution and vise versa.

 

Now suggestion of books

 

1)Micheal Behe “Darwin’s black box” (The Free Press, 1996), biochemist Michael Behe claims that many biological systems are "irreducibly complex", that in order to evolve, multiple systems would have to arise simultaneously. He claims that such systems exist in biology and that the existence of "irreducible complexity" argues for an intelligent designer. Behe describes in detail several biochemical systems and alludes to others, claiming that they are "irreducibly complex."

 

2) Geoffrey Miller “The Mating Mind” - 'The mating mind' revives and extends Darwin's suggestion that sexual selection through mate choice was important in human mental evolution - especially the more 'self-expressive' aspects of human behavior, such as art, morality, language, and creativity. Their 'survival value' has proven elusive, but their adaptive design features suggest they evolved through mutual mate choice, in both sexes, to advertise intelligence, creativity, moral character, and heritable fitness. The supporting evidence includes human mate preferences, courtship behavior, behavior genetics, psychometrics, and life history patterns. The theory makes many testable predictions, and sheds new light on human cognition, motivation, communication, sexuality, and culture.

 

More shall follow:

[FARIID]

I read with interest this thread but judging by the reviews given i can't help thinking what a waste of time. not a single book worth it's weight. These novels you guys are reading a complete waste of time. I fail to grasp what the brothers will learn from the ill conceived thoughts of the kufar. Most novels contain 'pornographic' material not suitable for the mind of a muslim. The vivid description of the 'bedroom' is a familiar scene in most novels.

 

Brothers should instead immerse themselves in books that will benefit them in this world and the hereafter instead of 'qiil and qaal'. instead of reading a novel of 1000+ pages try reading the books hadith,fiqh, seerah or physics,biology, chemistry e.t.c

 

Perhaps the next thread should be about what benefits the brothers have derived from reading those books mentioned, I doubt we will get many replies.

[Baashi]

Fariid,

Many books mentioned here are woth more than their weight. Sirrus selection, for instance, is right on the mark for they address pressing issues of the day such as Darwinism.

 

Darwinism and its offshoot Neodarwinism are very dangerous conceptual framework that have pitted brother against brother in the "struggle of existence". This theory and its variation renders religion irrelevent in the realm of politics. It denies creation as a process and the Creator as the supreme Divine designer thus rendering this life as one without purpose. It does all of these under the pretext of science. Yet there is nothing scientific about this dogmatic teaching. I don't see anything wrong reading what others have to say about anything...do you? We must read figh, hadith, Quran, as well as popular literature that is widely disseminated through the media including books. After all that's what our kids are reading and if we are not up to date we won't be able to relate to them.

 

There are authors, scientist, and philosophers who challenged this dogmatic teaching. They have refuted this dogma scientifically. In this age and time one has to read to see why people think and act the way they do. Reading gives you a bird eye view with multiple prespectives and angles.

 

My advice to you is read what others had to say about us and about themselves. You can do this without compromising your convictions and I would argue it will bloster your faith. Dale Carneigie and Philip Johnson are two "kufar" authors that has alot of wisdon in their field and their thinking are somewhat inline with the divine Truth.

 

Creative thinking, constructive thinking, critical thinking belongs to us as well as to them. Let's apply it.

 

hope it makes sense!

[Strawberry_Xu]

My favorite book of all time!: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

 

THis is the book that changed my life. As a child, it was the first book to teach me that there is no good or evil in the world, just people trying to cope with life as best as they can. This is one of those rare books that are heartwrenchingly sorrowful while at the same time celebrating such themes as hope and redemption. I love the idea that people can change, and that often they change for the better.

The way it makes a former thief the protagonist and a policeman the antagonist (I use these terms loosely, like said, there's no good or evil), magnificently demolishes the boundary between people of different stations. I love it! No other book has ever come close to touching me, they way this one did.

 

- The Fourth hand by John Irving

 

Another book about redemption (my favorite theme). It's about people finding what they have always wanted when they lose something they always treasured. It's Irving's best book in my opinion.

 

 

- Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkien

 

For when I need a good dose of heroism to remind me that there are things worth fighting for.

 

 

- Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte

 

When I first read this book as a teenager, I didn't like it, because it seemed like it was about one tragedy after another. But now I'm older, I can see that it isn't about tragic set pieces, but about the question of guilt.

[ayaanick]

Two book first and for most.

 

A mighty collision of two worls!

 

and OffSpring of Paradise!!! Safi Abdi

 

The author is my sister, and must support the family!!!

 

Moving along!

 

Things Fall Apart!

When I was puertorican

In the times of the Butterflies

Our Ecological Footprints!

...I could go on!!!

[Salma]

Well since iam an exhausted bookworm i wont mention all what i've read. But now iam reading a book called "Leon l’Africain" for Amin Malouf (French/Lebanese Writer). I love this author and enjoyed reading his books specially "Samarcande" and "Le Périple de Baldassare" , Amazing books, they are categorized under the Histroical Novels.

 

I like reading for Paulo Coelho (Brazilian author who lives in France), I liked all his books except "Eleven Minutes", his latest novel, but i must admit that i've enjoyed reading his book "The Manual of the Warrior of Ligh",The Devil and Miss.Pryme andVeronica Decides to Die

 

There are some other books i read and enjoyed reading them i would like to recommend them for you:-

 

1-Even Angels ask in USA : Jeffery Lang

2-Before you Regret : Harun Yahya, actually all Harun Yahya's books are wonderful and informative, i would suggest if the Ministries of Education use them as teaching curriculum for studends. His book "The Fall of Atheism" was very good too.

3-Too Many books and so little time for Sara Nelson, was good too

4-Raindrops for Mariam Behnam (UAE Author in Dubai)

5-Don't be SAD for the Saudi scholar Caeth AlQarani.

6-Reading Lolita in Teheran for the American/Iranian Author : Azar Nafisi.

7-I like the Russina Classics too but the Best Russian Classics i enjoyed is The Crime and the Punishment for Doestovesky.

8-The Best French Classics is The Count of Monte Cristo for Alexandre Dumas

9- The best English classics is Pride and Prejudice for Jane Austen

10- And the best Arabic Classis is naxno la nazrac al shawkfor Yousef AlSebaci

 

 

PEACE n da Middle East

[- Femme -]

I used to feel a bit uncomfortable wearing the hijab with all the stares and slurs i recieved from ignorant rednecks. My community doesnt have a alot of muslims...and very few that wear the hijab. SO I felt alone and ashamed (istaqfurullah)wearing it. One day my uncle bought me this book when I was fourteen...and it honestly helped me a lot. I think I read it 3 times. Wonderful book.

 

Great book about the lives and bravery of the Caliphas, the prophets companions (men and women) and his wifes.

 

Muslims need not look for fictitious or mythical heroes, because our history is abundant with heroes. Their pristine faith and constant attempt to seek the pleasure of Allah alone, have made them truly successful in their missions, and they are the role models and heroes for us today. Presented in this book are glimpses of the lives of a few of our Heroes of Islam.This book presents the glimpses of the lives of some of the greatest heroes and role models of Islam. It covers the four righteous caliphs, 47 male and female companions of the Prophet, 8 followers of the companions, 6 religious scholars, 7 reformers, and 7 scientists.

Highly recommend this book.

 

 

 

 

Tupac's Book of Poetry: The Rose that Grew From Concrete

 

Sample Poems

 

The Rose that Grew from Concrete

 

Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it

learned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

 

Dedicated to Me

 

I exist in the depths of solitude

pondering my true goal

Trying 2 find peace of mind

and still preserve my soul

CONSTANTLY yearning 2 be accepted

and from all receive respect

Never compromising but sometimes risky

and that is my only regret

A young heart with an old soul

how can there be peace

How can I be in the depths of solitude

when there R 2 inside of me

This Duo within me causes

the perfect opportunity

2 learn and live twice as fast

as those who accept simplicity

 

Fallen Star by Tupac

 

They could never understand

what u set out 2 do

instead they chose 2

ridicule u

when u got weak

they loved the sight

of your dimming

and flickering starlight

How could they understand what was so intricate

2 be loved by so many, so intimate

they wanted 2 c your lifeless corpse

this way u could not alter the course

of ignorance that they have set

2 make my people forget

what they have done for much 2 long

2 just forget and carry on

I had loved u forever because of who u r

and now I mourn our fallen star

[Sophist]

Shabella, thanks bringing out this thread from oblivion

 

DD, I have read Dan Brown's books, it was fantastical almost bordering illusory; but was fan read.

 

Now I am reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marques.

 

Also another great book by the same author-- Love at the time of Cholera.