a Potter present

Dear Reader,

A little while ago, I received a very delayed birthday present through the post. (Aside: my birthday is in the middle of July, and it arrived some-time during August.) It wasn't some small card with money in it from my Aunt in Pakistan or anything like that. No. It was HUGE. I wish I had taken a picture of the actual box to show you. It came up to my waste. Within the cardboard box was another slightly smaller box. In the style of a Russian Nesting doll I kept opening, and smaller boxes kept emerging. Until finally, after seven layers of cardboard, packing and bubble-wrap (yey bubble-wrap!!!!), I came out with this:

Yes! it's a Harry Potter Box Set delivered by Owl Post.
Its a shame the photo doesn't do full justice to the beautiful details on the box.  

...in which was this...

Cool right!

The present was from my friend Codename: Pixie. You see, we've had this very long standing argument. She absolutely adores all the Harry Potter Books. Where as me ... well, when I was about 10 or 11, I attempted to read the first two books, didn't like them much at the time and gave up 1/2 way. Then of course, the movies began coming out and everyone went Potter-crazy. And, being the sort of person who hates following popular trends, I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to read the Potter books now.   

However, being my one of my oldest friends, and sharing my obsession with books, Pixie also knew that I cannot resist the seductive lure of a shiny, brand-new just-off-press/just-off-a-shop-shelf book. And so, by giving me this beautiful Harry Potter Box Set for my birthday, she had guaranteed that I would finally come around to reading those books.

I tried. Believe me. I tried to resist the smell of those crease-less books, the glittering gold on those perfectly flat covers, the fresh black ink on those thousands of unread pages. It was incredibly hard but I succeed, some-what. Long-story short, it's suffice to say that within a week of the end of Ramadan, I had finished the entire series.    

And now, I must admit that I have fallen in love with The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows. J.K. Rowling really is an amazing writer, which was something I didn't really appreciate when I was 10 years old. But, anything I might say now about her writing style or the characters or plots has probably been said and written a hundred, maybe a thousand, times overs already. So I won't won't bore you with repetition. ;-)     

Having newly immersed myself into the world of wizards and muggles, I would love to hear from you, dear reader, if you have read the Harry Potter books or even if you've only watched the movies, which one(s) your favourite(s) are, and what you like the most. Leave your intriguing and fascinating opinions in the comment section below. :-)

But now I must go and thoroughly enjoy my salad-filled SUBWAY sandwich.
Nida

a Conversation in Rhyme

Dear Reader,

My friend Codename: Pixie and I just had an eerily interesting conversation through text messages. Actually it's a conversation that's been going on for days now, switching from phone calls to text messages and back again. But when this conversation  became poetry, I know not. But there is a piece that I particularly like, that I have named Smile (©2011). The reasons and inspiration behind these poems is too long and complex to go into now. However, I have decided that I would like to share them with you, lucky Reader:

I started out like this... 

"Where is your smile, dear?

Has the sadness become too much to bear?

Has the burden of the last seven years,

Destroyed your youth in these final tears?

Where is your smile, dear?

The light in your eyes seems to disappear

Torn up your innocence it has, I fear

And left your soul in this horrid disrepair

Where is your smile, dear?

A bright sun has risen, the day is fair

There's hope for the future, don't despair

Will your smile ever come back, my dear?"

...and so Pixie's reply was her version of the poem...

  

"One day, your smile shall return, my friend.

Life is resilient, with ups and downs till it's end. 

One thing is certain,

For me your God's send

With whom I shall argue and laugh and pretend.

I will chase away all your unwanted fiends.

One day, for sure, your upside down smile will mend."

...to which my response was...

"You bring a smile to my face,

A giggle into my voice.

Tears leave their trace,

But I still have a choice.

I will love and laugh and enjoy my life,

And not dwell on past struggles and strife.

I know that there will always be things that I rue,

But there are just not enough hours in a day.

So as long as I have a friend like you,

A smile will never be too far away."

I hope you enjoyed that. I would love to write more and share more, however I need to go and do some emergency grocery shopping. 

Nida


ETA - I forgot to Thank Pixie for giving me the permission to post her poetry on my blog. So Thank you Pixie dearest.

Girls of Riyadh vs. Nine Parts of Desire

Dear Reader,

A belated Ramadan Kareem to all my brothers and sisters in Islam. I was told recently that I use Islamic-transliterated words and abbreviations in some of my posts that often don't mean anything to some readers. For that I sincerely apologise. To remedy this, I've set up a page for you, dear reader, if you come across a word/phrase/abbreviation that you are unfamiliar with. Link is also in the side bar --->

Now, given that it is a holy month for us Muslims, I thought I'd write something Islam related. But the question is "what do I write?" I am no expert on the religion and still have much to learn, Inshallah. So, as always I decided to stick to what I know. And what I know is a lot about books, Alhumdulillah. That is why this post is a comparative review of two somewhat-controversial books that I read recently, both of which are centred around Middle-eastern women:

The Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanae:

This is a fictional novel, based mainly in Saudi Arabia and written as a series of e-mail by the narrator, "seerehwenfadha'et", who is revealing the sensational/scandalous stories of her four friends: Sadeem, Gamrah, Lamees and Michelle (a.k.a Mishaal), these are, of course,  not their "real names". At first, this books reminded me strongly of Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, you know what with the four close friends going their separate ways in life but still managing to keep in contact with each other. Story wise, it was gripping and emotional, but no way near as scandalous as I thought it would be. (Aside: maybe Julia Quinn's icky-romances have changed my ideas of "scandalous", who knows!)

But I soon realised that it was far far more than just that. It was a commentary on Saudi Society in general, with all it's cold and distant fathers, the ruling tribal traditions and selfish (and sometimes hypocritical) young men. I realised that this novel, however fictional,  represents a very real, very non-fictional Society in which few outsiders can find a niche into. This also made me incredibly angry!

You see, the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) worked so hard throughout his life to break down the barriers of tribal traditions and prejudices and racism within the Arab community at the time. This was also the reason behind some of his marriages. He set the example for Muslims that is was okay to marry someone from a different tribe or one of the Bedouins, or someone from a different social status, whether it was higher or lower. He, salallahu alaihi wasalam, even married a woman who was originally Jewish. It was permitted and encouraged to marry someone of different race, in order to increase cultural and international awareness and to promote equality and peace. There is even verses in the Qur'an to this effect. For example, in Surat Al-Hujarat it state:

"O mankind! indeed We have created you from male and female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in sight of Allah is that who is most righteous." [49:13]   

You see, the thing that distinguishes true status is not race or tribe or cast or family or wealth or gender or age but righteousness, i.e. how good a person is. And it upsets me, truly pains me, to read about how now, more than 1400 years later, in an age that is supposedly "more advanced", that the people of Saudi Arabia still hold tight to the demeaning tribal traditions of inequality, values that were prominent in the the Age of Ignorance; especially when it comes to marriage, and a woman's say - her Islamic rights - when it comes to picking a spouse.   

Nine Parts of Desire: the Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Written by Pultizer Prize winning Australian author and journalist, this is a non-fictional autobiography about the time Brooks spent travelling and reporting in the Middle-East. This books is really good in the way that it allows you to, as the title suggests, glimpse into the worlds of Muslim women from all walks of life: from those in war-strewn Palestine, an Eritrean doctor in the back-caves of Ethiopia, to women soldiers in the UAE army and Queen Noor of Jordan. It also gives you a brief/basic overview of what Islam is about and about the five pillars. It is interesting reading about these things from the perspective of someone who is not Muslim. Her views are rather fair-minded and she does not condemn Islam to be a religion of terrorism.        

However, there were certain passages in this books that make our Prophet (pbuh) sound like a tactful opportunist, or a player/womaniser, not something I particularly agree with. Also, there was subtle hints of bias against Aisha (RA), Muhammed's (pbuh) most beloved wife. This probably can be accounted for by the fact that Geraldine Brooks spent most of her time among the Iranian Shiite community. But, for some reason I cannot fathom, she also seems to have formed very strong opinions against Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), the 2nd Kalipha after Muhammed sallahu-alaihi-wasalaam, often calling him a "cruel misogynist" or "Muhammed's misogynistic lieutenant"!!!! (*written while shrugging uncomprehendingly*)

But, if Brooks has taught me anything, its that it's not just good enough to justify our religion and show people that it does not condone violence etc. We have to stand up and take action against, or better yet, fix the wrongs that are being done in the name of Islam. And this should begin now, today in this holy month of Ramadaan. 

I don't have an exact solution to all the numerous problems that are effecting Muslim communities around the world. But I do know that a single person can only do so much. To accomplish real change, we need to stand united with solidarity, as one Ummah. We need to be willing to help each other out of any problem, whether it is the big global issues like oppression of women, political oppression and dictatorships, lawlessness and violence (domestic or other wise) or smaller but just as important issues, like female genital mutilation and forced marriages.

If you, dear reader, like this post and want to read more, then you might be interested in reading a similar post I wrote a few months ago about International Women's Day. If not then I'm sorry that this post is so serious, and some-what preachy, but I promise that next one will be a lot lighter and bubblier, Inshallah.


Nida

Life: as I see it - my Space (Revised) edition

Dear Reader,

Confession: I've been feeling rather nostalgic lately, for obvious reasons, and so you'll just have to bare with me for this post. So, since it has now been a year (+2 weeks) since I posted Life: as I see it - my Space edition (one of my most popular posts) I thought it was time I showed you, my dear reader, how my bookshelves have changed and how they haven't.

I can't wait to add Maggie Steifvater's Forever to this, which is now finally out. It is something that can't be help it, I'm a compulsive completionist.    

Other favourite writers on this shelf are Na'ima B. Robert and Jamilah Kolocotronis.     

This shelf is directly underneath the one above. You'll  find here Kristin Cashore as well as Kate Mosse, with some Robin McKinley being cut off at the bottom of the picture. 

This use to be my "Classics" shelf, but is now mainly Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, followed by the DVD of my Favourite BBC adaptations of Classics, including: North & South, Cranford, Middlemarch and Little Dorrit.      

This is my, much more serious, non-fiction shelf of mostly medical books, with the exception of Green Deen and  How I Killed Pluto, and Why it Had it Coming.

Aaahhh, Poetry... These huge collections are three of my favourites (minus LAT - see the comment on the link): Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth and John Keats.  

And peeping in from the top are some of Rudyard Kipling's best works. 

The One and Only, Original bookshelf. Once upon a time, when I was a very little girl, this was the only bookshelf in my bedroom. Hence it still contains the likes of the Chronicles of Narnia and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I have to admit, I haven't much grown out of these books in all these years.  

I'd also like to mention Philip Pulman's Sally Lockhart books, the under-appreciated Garth Nix, and Frank Beddor for obvious reasons. 

Here we have a small neat section reserved for historical fiction and my favourite autobiographies. I think the titles/authors in this picture are clear enough to read, except the orange Dairy of a Young Girl. Anne Frank, may you rest in peace. 

This is where the rest of the Classics from the "ex-Classics shelf" have ended up, including Charles Dickens (in green), Victor Hugo (in the stripped blue)  and my copy of the Selected  Poems of Lord Alfred Tennyson. 

This is the spot where my beloved Inkworld Trilogy use to reside, but it was burrowed by an old friend and never returned. :'(

So to fill that gap in my heart...I mean shelf, I have filled this spot with the not as much beloved Books of Pallinor. Sorry Alison Croggon, that is just the honest truth.      

   

The Twilight Saga has been transferred, to the top of my big wardrobe to have a teeth and claw battle with...

... Christopher Paolini's dragons. Who will win this epic dual of fantasy vs. horror in the Young Adult Fiction genre? 

Let me know what you think in the Comments section below. 

Aside: Vampires come into the 'horror' category, don't they? Or am I thoroughly deceived? 

To lend his support to the Fantasy genre, is my collection of Tolkein's work, 

(also found at the top of another wardrobe).    

And finally the most important shelf in my bedroom, which resides in the top right-hand corner of my desk, hold my religious books. Most things Islamic, can be found in this shelf with The Noble Qur'an at the heart of it all. If you have been following my blog for long enough, you'll remember that much-used little blue book at the top is my pocket-size version of The Sealed Nectar, a biography of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH).   

By the way, if you look to the far left, you'll see two unnamed books. They're mine. The grey one is choked-full of my poetry and the floral-pattern-one being my first note book entirely concerned with my novel-in-the-making Life in Conversations.    

I hope, dear Reader, that you have been awed and inspired by my vast array of books. I was going to continue on to a little piece about the gardening I've been doing recently with my mum, and the efforts we have put into salvaging and saving the lives of about 16 small and starved geranium plants we found on sale at B&Q. But I've realised that this post is already far too long and that tales of my epic weeding might bore you, dear Reader, to death. And that is something I don't want on my concious. 

Anyway, making this post longer is now no-longer an option as I must go and make some greek-style pasta for my ravenous brothers. 

Nida