Noorilhuda's Blog - Posts Tagged "classics"

Okay I think it’s about time I started organizing my reading schedule a bit more tightly, to know what I’m reading, when, where and for how long:

So this month, the focus is on the following books in various groups:

“All About Books”:

BOTM: To Kill a Mockingbird (though I doubt I’ll start it before August)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

July Readathon: Getting through more pages of Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence and The Woman in White
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Carol-Shields-Read-a-long: ‘The Stone Diaries’
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


“Books, Blogs & More”:

July Sci-Fi Group Read: Ultraxenopia
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


“Review Group”:

Since I’ve already finished 2 of the required 4 readings for non-reciprocal ethical reviews (Kayne Milhomme's Grace and Disgrace and P.J.McDermott Avanaux: A Hickory Lace Adventure), and have 2 months to finish off the rest (Gloria Piper's Emperor's Hostages and Scott Spotson's Bridge Through Time), so will go easy on this one.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Reviews for self-pubs posted as ‘anna fantabulous’ on requisite sites.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...


Independent Blogger Michelle Miller ‘True Book Addict’’s summer readathon:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...
http://seasonsreading.blogspot.com/20...

For which I’ll be finishing M.A. Phipps Ultraxenopia and reading bits of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White

'Man-o-Salwa' من و سلویٰ (Manna and Quail) by Umera Ahmed, available in Urdu and English.

Thoughts: As opposed to the door-stopper-sized fiction of yore on partition, bureaucratic structure, moral or financial corruption, even violence and terrorism, or romantic ideals and unrequited love, this one feels like the Pakistan I know or believe to be so. Neither the story nor the character arcs are to be taken literally, the title itself is a misnomer (an arbitrary propulsion of morality on what is essentially human struggle for dignified success, honest relationships and authentic meaning in life - the pot of gold - whatever that means for anybody.) At the heart, it is a story of individuals who run after a mirage or charade (thinking it's their Man-o-Salwa), brimming with endless hope, either being exploited or making disastrous choices, navigating themes which are universal and timeless.

Alert: Nobody should take the garbage synopsis written on Amazon seriously - this book is NOT based on any religion, nor does it talk of any religion, and does not glorify any over the other!

Book in Urdu: http://www.urdunovels.pk/man-o-salwa-...
https://www.scribd.com/doc/248435156/...

Book in English-translation: Man-o-Salwa

TV series: HUM TV production, 2007, available online on various sites, free, without subtitles. Google it. Dynamite performances all around.

Author Link: https://www.facebook.com/umeraahmedof...