Have you ever read a book that made you stop living your real life because you cannot stop reading? This was how the girl on the train was for me.
O Paula Hawkins, you had me from the very first page. I just couldn’t put it down. Believe me! I am not exaggerating. It was an epic read. Gripping from the very start and this is coming from someone who is not into crime fiction.
After reading considerable amount of mind numbingly boring books, this one was like a breath of fresh air. When I picked it up, my intention was to merely read first couple pages just to get an idea about how it was going to be. My plan was not to start reading this one since I was already in the middle of another book. Little did I know my plan had crumbled the moment I picked it up because this book sucked me into it like a tornado taking everything away with it.
The narrator is a woman who has lost her husband to another woman and she’s facing a difficult time letting it go. Or maybe she doesn’t want to let it go. She starts observing a couple she doesn’t know and wishes to live the life they have.
You know how when our life is tough, we tend to look at those around us, the happier ones and wish for that perfect life. But looking from far away is always different than what the reality is. Paula captured this beautifully. looking from far away, we all assume assume others lives are perfect but the truth lies beneath those layers of seemingly perfect life.
With intriguing characters, compelling story, Paula has made me believe that there are still some amazing books out there. If you are looking for something that keeps you wanting for more, this is the right choice for you.
Everyone will recommend you what books to read, people who actually have read plenty. So here I am today to tell you what books you should never bother picking up and why.
Since, I have wasted my time on them and as a fellow human being, I feel obligated to warn you about it.
So, here it goes:
1. Adultery by Paulo Coelho
“A woman in her thirties begins to question the routine and predictability of her days. In everybody’s eyes, she has a perfect life: happy marriage, children, and a career. Yet she feels is an enormous sense of dissatisfaction.”
Ahhh I don’t want to torture myself by even thinking about this book. Paulo Coelho, one author that I really think can write something meaningful, failed terribly in his attempt to write this one.
It was such a Baseless novel. Should’ve been a short story instead. It was like you know someone sharing a story about their mid life crisis and then getting over it because they just have to without any real reason. *yawn*
I can’t even describe it properly without giving out the story but trust me, it was neither here nor there.
2. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
“One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find two notes in her mailbox: Who are you? Where does the world come from? The mysteries deepen when she receives a postcard with another girl’s name on it. Who is the other girl? And who, for that matter is Sophie herself?”
I’m someone who loves philosophy and can never have enough of it but if you’re telling me that this is a novel about the history of philisophy, I would hike all the way up to mount fuji and scream at the top of my lungs! IT IS SO NOT!
The author gathered the history of philosophy and forced a story into it just to make it interesting which it didn’t. He could have just written a book about history of philosophy without forcing a story into it. It was such a pain to read because the way it portrayed the characters existence was so disturbing for me & didn’t go well with the subject of that book. It was more inclined towards fantasy than philosophy. Philosophy in NO WAY is fantasy!
3. The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin S. Sharma
“Here is the story of Julian Mantle, a superstar lawyer whose out of balance lifestyle leads him to a near-fatal heart attach in a packed courtroom. His physical collapse brings him into a spiritual crisis that forces him to confront the condition of his life. Hoping to find happiness and fulfillment, he embarks upon an extraordinary odyssey to an ancient culture, where he discovers a powerful system to release the potential of his mind, body and soul and learns to live with passion, purpose, and peace.”
O boy! people are going to hate me for adding this into “not to bother reading” list but I have to be honest here. I did not like it at all. I thought, it was a sad attempt to sell yoga. I would advise you to rather google benefits of yoga than to go through 200 something pages of this!
You cannot possibly say that life is going to be all good once you leave everything behind and start mediating. Yes, it will bring a certain level of control over yourself but you will still have to face the real world and its challenges.
How this book got a rating of 3.77 on GoodReads, I will never be able to understand.
If you still want to go ahead and give these books a shot, by all means, go ahead. Some of you might disagree with me so I would like to make it clear that this is only my opinion. Nonetheless I would love to get your perspective on these books. If you have anyone of them and loved it, please do let me know. Maybe I was not able to look at it from that angle.
I’m a Muslim & I’m tired of people judging Islam without understanding it. Tired of people seeing me with my head cover and thinking I’m some extremist. This post is a request for everyone to see the truth despite the many efforts of haters trying to divert your attention from it.
I’m not here to preach Muslims nor am I here to share the teachings of Islam knowing that I don’t posses enough knowledge to do so.
This post is about a book.. A book that not only changed lives of countless people over the centuries but continues to do so. One Book that never got altered by any living soul. It has been passed on from generations to generations without any flaws. It was written in utter perfection by the best of the authors.
When you read Qur’an, whether or not you understand the language, this has the ability to comfort your soul and heal your heart. I am not saying this because I’m a Muslim, I know this from experience as I have read many books over the time. Some have the ability to uplift you but that fades away gradually.
Every time I open Qur’an, it feels like I’m reading for the first time. It’s miracles are numerous and it speaks to you like no one can.
You don’t need to be a Muslim to read Qur’an. This book is for the humanity.
After the spread of Islamphobia, a lot of people view Islam as a religion of terrorism. You cannot possibly take a quote from any other book and say this is what it’s advocating without having to read the whole book.
You don’t judge a book by its cover. Similarly, you shouldn’t judge a religion based on how people claiming to be from that religion portray it.
You tell me.. if you are trying to attract people towards something, do you go around making their lives miserable? The answer is no! Clearly, it isn’t the religion, its the people who are wrong. People who want you to hate us, our religion that teaches nothing but peace and tolerance.
All your doubts about Islam and Muslims will be answered if you read Quran in your language!
Don’t just google it, you will never able to find anything of substance there. Pick up a book and read it with translation.
We’re living in a world where chatting with a friend online is more important than the person sitting right next to you. Don’t worry, I’m not here to declaim how social media has taken us away from real life. I’m here to talk about how we are corrupting our next generation by pushing them into this vast and erratic world of tablets, mobiles or laptops just because we are too busy using Facebook!
Take a moment and think about it. Every little thing we see, hear has an affect on our mind (conscious or subconscious). When it comes to children, its a whole lot more serious than that because its shaping their personality.
What would happen if instead of watering the plants, you poison them? Yes, this is how serious this is!
It makes me sad to see little kids under the age of two holding a mobile phone, watching just about anything only because the caretaker find it the easiest way to keep him/her busy.
I believe, instead of feeding their precious minds with such gibberish, we should give them the gift of books. Want to keep them busy? Make them listen to stories, give them a coloring book, make them read but please don’t allow these nasty devices to drain all their intellect.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not preaching here. I know it’s harder than it looks. I just believe there are better alternatives.
I don’t believe that reading should be limited to schools.
In our eastern culture specifically, we force our kids to ace the exams. If you’re not at the top of your class, you are automatically labelled as not so bright. Why don’t we make them love books. Why does it have to be something they grow up hating?
In the end, life is real. Don’t make the leaders of our future live virtually, let them experience the real essence of life. Books help them
*This article based on just my opinion. I do not claim to be right or wrong*
Ibtii Reads 