Thursday, May 14, 2015

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela



Its a biography of one of my most favorite personalities "Nelson Mandela" that brings the reader into the huts of poor Africans and make him feel the hardships these people suffered from. The reader faces the sanctions imposed by white minority on black majority, it makes him fight with the blacks against the whites, it takes the reader inside the prison with the great Mandela, liberate him of white opperssion alongside the blacks and wins freedom and equality for him as a participant of the African Freedom Movement. That's it !!!!!!!!!!!! 

A gift from my university class mate.

اداس نسلیں از عبداللہ حسین



The novel is about different phases and experiences of one man (representing one generation) starting from 2nd World War through creation of Pakistan and to the problems faced by that generation in a newly born country by the hands of feudals

Around the World in Eighty Days: Jules Verne


Coming Soon ...

The Old Man and The Sea: Earnest Hemingway


The story of commitment and courage of an old man who sails into sea and catches a very big fish. Although other fishes ate every bit of flesh from his catch but he manages to bring skeleton of that big fish to the shores.

Moral of the story: trying for your goal and struggling for it is what means most for a man.

"Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw.



This book is about a street girl selling flowers and wants to become a sales girl in any flower shop. She meets with 2 gentlemen who train and transform this girl into a Lady. An interesting account of a woman's feeling after this transformation.

Thanks to Misha who introduced me to that wonderful book.

"Tracking Marco Polo" by Tim Severin


This book is travelogue/ research paper of Tim Severin and his 02 fellows on the tracks that Marco Polo covered in his world travel. They went to all those places that were visited by Marco Polo and Marco Polo mentioned these places in his travel accounts. They traced all those places as well as articles that have been recorded by Marco Polo. Unfortunately they could not visit China. However, the account is quite interesting and informative regarding Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I personally like the segment that describes the Fake Paradise established by Hassan Bin Sabbah who first time used suicide bombers to assassinate head of the states.

Monday, May 11, 2015

The Bastard of Istambul: Elif Shafak


The only rational paragraph:

"the truth is ..... some among the Armenians in the diaspora would never want the Turks to recognize the genocide. If they do so, they will pull the rug out from under our feet and take the strongest bond that unite us. Just as the Turks have been in the habit of denying their wrongdoing, the Armenians have been in the habit of savoring the cocoon of victimhood. Apparently, there are some old habits that need to be changed on both sides."