Pakistani Readers discussion
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Lord of the Flies
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lord of the flies, Buddy Read! :) [[Oct. 2022. ]]
Gullay wrote: "Talking about books i am a bit excited that what you guys will read in upcoming month so if possible that i will perhaps change my TBR a bit.so which book's gonna be in july tbr?"
If you have a book in mind you can suggest it.
Then we all vote to decide what book we read
Zarshal wrote: "@Bilal Once I used to read like you. Life happened 😭I felt like a grandma saying that. But, oh well."
I used to absolutelyInhale books in my early teens.
Never thought reading would be something I'd have to put on my to do list and take out time for 😭
@zarshal I used to read one book a day for like 8 weeks straight in 2016/2017 summer vacation. All I've read this whole year is 3 books lol. Plus you have kids right? so i guess it's even harder for you
I'm too focused on writing my own story to be able to read at any reasonable pace -- except for uhhh non-fiction, yes, because that's work.
@uzair same. Never in my life had I thought it’d take me this long to finish a novel of like 300 pages. 😢@Bilal I don’t have my own kids. But does the 24 year-old I’m married to count? xD
haha I guess having a partner means some amount of added responsibilities. personally I have all the time on earth. I just can't read anymore
Yeah it does. Not just a partner it’s a whole family you’re settling in. And then they have expectations from you that you have to take into account while you decide things for yourself. So yeah, lots of added responsibilities.
Zarshal wrote: "Yeah it does. Not just a partner it’s a whole family you’re settling in. And then they have expectations from you that you have to take into account while you decide things for yourself. So yeah, l..."Gol rotiyaan?
@jogi Not exactly a requirement at our place. Any roti would do given that we don’t usually make them here. xD
@jogi she's a pakistani married to a guy living in the west. her biggest concern is probably like not spending too much money at the parlor or hairdresser otherwise her In laws will be mad XD.
@Bilal, their biggest concern is me spending too much money on books. 😂
Zarshal wrote: "@Bilal, their biggest concern is me spending too much money on books. 😂"Hahaha that's my husband's biggest concern as well! Of course, now I have a kindle, which means each book costs half or one-third the price it used to. But it also means I buy twice or thrice the amount of books I used to, so it doesn't help our bank account any. Lol.
Uzair wrote: "If you have a book in mind you can suggest it.
Then we all vote to decide what book we read"
I'd also like to join in the next group/buddy read if possible :-)
As for suggestions, well, I'm a big fan of Golden-Age Mystery, Cozy Mystery, and Contemporary Romance.
Also, lately I've been reading a lot of Romantic Suspense, which is a combination of Mystery, Suspense, and Romance. I particularly enjoy the serial killer trope—please don't judge me lol—but I can enjoy other tropes too if they're well-written.
Some books I've read and enjoyed in this genre:
Closer Than You Think by Karen Rose
You Can't Hide by Karen Rose
After the Dark by Cynthia Eden
Broken by Cynthia Eden
Stealing Shadows by Kay Hooper
Armed 'N' Ready by Tee O'Fallon
Trap 'N' Trace by Tee O'Fallon
Hostile Pursuit by Juno Rushdan
Survive the Night by Diana Duncan
Survive the Hunt by Diana Duncan
To the Edge by Cindy Gerard
Explosive Engagement by Lisa Childs
Bodyguard Daddy by Lisa Childs
If you guys are interested in these type of books, I'd be happy to read them with you. I can read the ones I've listed again with you. Or we can try something new.
Here's one I'm planning to read soon:
Hidden by Kendra Elliot
I haven't read anything by this author yet, but she's been highly recommended to me. So hopefully the book will be good.
Regarding Classics: I read a ton of them when I was in my teens. I enjoyed them at the time. Plus, I liked how they made me want to become a better person.
For example: "Anne of Green Gables"—an eight-book series.
Anne's positivity, optimism, integrity, courage, loyalty, and compassion endeared her to me and made me want to be like her.
Among other things, Anne—and her love-interest Gilbert—showed me that true love includes being willing to make personal sacrifices for your loved ones and staying strong for them in their need.
Anne wasn't perfect though. She made a lot of mistakes—some of them hilarious lol—but she learned from them and went on to become a better and stronger person. Motivating me to try to do the same :-)
Same thing happened with "Little Women"—a four-book series. The characters showed me the importance of kindness, honesty, hard work, true love, and family unity.
Plenty of other Classics I read did the same. Taught me important values and inspired me to adopt as many of them as I could. It's still work in progress though. Lol. But at least I'm trying :-)
I'm not much into Classics these days, but I'd be happy to reread the ones I mentioned if they get selected for the group/buddy read.
Just one thing: I'm unavailable from 20th July to 4th Sept. So it would be great if we could either conclude the read by 19th July or start it from 5th Sept onwards.
Thank you :-)
Jogi wrote: "Uzair wrote: "Jogi wrote: "Uzair wrote: "Jogi wrote: "It brings me a coy and rather condescending tear of joy to see people who've so far 'read for facts/what comes next' read something that could ..."I've procrastinated again it seems.
I'd written out the beginnings of a similarly long reply but having had time to take in what's being said I find I don't disagree with anything being said.
Having understood the message bit not quite internalized it I want to ask for the point but that would be ironic wouldn't it.
I guess I'll read and re-read a few times.
Anyways should we start voting on the next read?I suggest Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Yes the Roman Emperor. That guy
Although I have bought the meditations and plan on reading it this or next month. I say we read Illiad by homer or The divine comedy by dante alighieri. try something new perhaps.
Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to join this month’s buddy read. Although I wanted to because Meditations has been on my tbr list for so long now. But anyways, I have to go to Pakistan next week so I’ll join the one after this. Happy reading y’all! P.s I’ll share my reviews on The Trial in a few days. (Hopefully!🤞)
i will also suggest Illiad of homer or the turn of the screw.but never mind meditation is also a good idea.
So I Vote for "The Illiad of homer"
There's also more suggestions by Ramla and Jogi on the last pageThat being said I vote for the illiad
We can read meditations when Zarshall comes back
Iliad is too ambitious. Meditations was personally meh, I much prefer Letters From A Stoic instead. But it's good to have it on menu nonetheless.
My recommendation (from the last page): Invitation To A Beheading by Nabokov.
Actually, on second thought, why not "The Book Of Disquiet" by Fernando Pessoa. That book is probably the most responsible for my 'intellectual atmosphere' though I'm pretty sure I will find swathes of it cringe now, still it's an excellent book. Yes.
The Book Of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa please.
Alrighty then I'll second the Book of disquietAlso Should I make a poll since Aakash isn't around?
Would really streamline things
Well, it's the 1st of July so why not.
P.SStill reading The trial ( yes snail's pace I know ) and pleased to say it's growing on me.
Dare I say I had fun reading today.
Also Mr.K is what I can only describe as a ho**y b*stard. Quite self explainatory me thinks
So the poll had 4 responses ( including myself ) 2 for the Illiad
2 for The Book of Disquiet
We need a tiebreaker , Aakash , Ramla , Zarshall? Anybody?
Read The Book Of Disquiet.
Well, I asked my aunt. She reads intellectual books, so I thought she could advise you guys better than me. Lol.She said she hasn't read The Book of Quiet, so she can't comment on it.
Here's what she said regarding Iliad:
"I’ve read the Iliad
Stories in verse about ancient Greeks mostly about the Trojan war but alludes to other previous background stories
It’s not intellectual by my standards
For intellectual/philosophical
I would go for Emerson, Thoreau, Nietzsche"
I asked her about Meditations out of curiosity, as I remember you guys were considering it as well. Here's what she said:
"Meditations is interesting
Especially if one knows the historical background of Marcus Aurelius
(not the one given in the gladiator)"
She also recommended a few more books:
"For future I highly recommend
Grapes of wrath by Steinbeck
Very relevant to current economic situation
Or
A thousand years of solitude by Garcia Marquez
Another noble prize winning book"
I know it doesn't help you with your current dilemma, but I guess you could check out her recommendations for future if you like.
Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help. I hope whatever book you guys end up selecting turns out to be a good choice for you :-)
Thanks to your aunt for her great Insight. The goal with the buddy read wasnt to read anything "Intellectual" although I think everyone would define that word and it's implications differently. Seems like we're reading the book of disquiet altho in that case I'll have to skip this months buddy read. since I can't seem to find it online or in store and I'm not a big fan of ebooks. but a cousin is coming from the Uk soon so I have asked them to bring me a copy. so I plan on reading it next month.I guess your aunts a fan of Albert camus,descartes and the sorts?
Well, I read genres like Mystery and Romance, so all the nominated books—Meditations, Iliad, and The Book of Disquiet—seemed intellectual to me. Lol. Even the book you read last month—The Trial—sounded heavy. That's why I thought you guys preferred intellectual, deep, thought provoking books for the buddy read. I actually found it pretty impressive to be honest :-)My aunt reads a broad range of genres, including what I'd consider intellectual books. I thought it was likely she might have read one or both of the books which had tied. That's why I requested her opinion when Uzair asked for help in breaking the tie. During our conversation, I mentioned you were all into intellectual books, so she recommended some books she thought you all might enjoy.
By the way, I thought Uzair was asking the members who hadn't voted to offer their opinion. I now realise he only wanted one person to name either of the two books so that the tie could be broken. Since Zarshal had already named The Book of Disquiet, I guess I didn't need to share my aunt's response after all. Lol.
@Zarshall@Ramla
Thank you for the input :)
Though I'd very much like it if Bilal were part of the read too , as they say the more the merrierSo what does everyone want to do?
Ramla Zareen wrote: "Well, I read genres like Mystery and Romance, so all the nominated books—Meditations, Iliad, and The Book of Disquiet—seemed intellectual to me. Lol. Even the book you read last month—The Trial—sou..."You should join in too.
I usually read Y.A or Middle Grade fantasy , and used to think classics were pretentious but buddy reading the Trial changed my mind. I'm planning on adding a few more classics to my list , besides the experience like Genio said has proven kind of fun
Here's the pdf and epub of The Book Of Disquiet:https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ure78l...
You can also order the hard copy from:
https://www.instagram.com/bookeveoffi...
It's not the original but it's good enough. Their prices are reasonable too.
found an original copy for 3k. that's my whole pending cart on readings. like 9 books. you guys have fun. I'll join next month.
@UzairYou're welcome :-)
It's great you're broadening your reading horizons and exploring new genres. Keep it up :-)
I should probably do the same. However, reading is one thing I do purely for me. I don't want it to become a chore by pushing myself to read something just because I think I should read it. Know what I mean?
There was a time—between my early-teens to mid-twenties—when I used to read a broad range of genres. I read practically anything I could get my hands on, which was a lot since my grandmother and mother have huge book collections. I was like a kid in the candy store with nothing to stop me from eating them all. Lol
But I now have specific needs when it comes to reading, and after years of indulging in different types of books, I've learned which genres fulfil my needs in the best possible way, and I pretty much stick to them.
Plus, I have limited reading time. I'm not tempted to spend it on trying out new genres when I don't even get to read all the books I want to in my favourite genres. (Around forty to fifty of my favourite authors publish a new book each year. Some publish more than one book a year. Plus, every time I discover a new author I like within my preferred genres, I want to read all the books they've already written plus their current books. So just imagine the size of my tbr list. Lol).
I can only see myself exploring new genres if I stop enjoying the ones I read now. (Which doesn't seem likely in the foreseeable future). Or if I come across a book which tempts me to read it regardless of the genre and time constraint. (Which does happen occasionally).
Guess I'm now a sedate adult, who knows she can't digest the whole box of chocolate, so she only eats those pieces she's sure she will enjoy the most. Lol.
Still, I'll keep checking out the books chosen for the buddy read every month. If I get tempted to read any of them, I'll definitely join you guys. Thank you for the invite :-)
Bilal wrote: "found an original copy for 3k. that's my whole pending cart on readings. like 9 books. you guys have fun. I'll join next month."You're not gonna find originals for most books worth reading, especially in Pakistan. Just get it printed from the store I linked. Should cost about Rs. 900 or smth.
@Bilal I just searched and found a used copy here in US for $15, yeah you should just buy the copy Jogi found and join in, if you’re planning on reading it next month anyway you why not give it a buddy read.
Ramla Zareen wrote: "@UzairYou're welcome :-)
It's great you're broadening your reading horizons and exploring new genres. Keep it up :-)
I should probably do the same. However, reading is one thing I do purely for..."
No harm in keeping to what you know is good.
For me the problem is my preferred genres don't have that many good books as of recent. Or maybe I'm just picky. A mix of both probably
Also 40-50 favorite authors is alot! I'd have maybe 10 if one day I could make up my mind. I suppose that's what happens when you've been reading for as long as you have :P
Jogi wrote: "Bilal wrote: "found an original copy for 3k. that's my whole pending cart on readings. like 9 books. you guys have fun. I'll join next month."You're not gonna find originals for most books worth ..."
Readings has locally published classics section that's affordable to the extreme
Me and Bilal both picked up a copy of The Trial for some 200Rs.
It's not the second coming of Christ or anything but the quality is very good and besides the only thing keeping me from paperback was the prices. I picked it up in a heartbeat
They didn't have The Book of Disquiet though , perhaps it's more obscure
Uzair wrote: "Jogi wrote: "Bilal wrote: "found an original copy for 3k. that's my whole pending cart on readings. like 9 books. you guys have fun. I'll join next month."You're not gonna find originals for most..."
Kafka is very mainstream tbh. You can find nearly his entire oeuvre in Pakistani stores, except for perhaps The Castle and the shorter stories. For instance, no online Pakistani store has "Wealth Of Nations" by Adam Smith even though that book is the foundation of capitalism. Stores only stock what is relatively in demand, and we know what people demand.
I remember looking for Plato's works in my school library back in 2015 when I got serious about literature. Couldn't find one book (did find The Book Of The Mind that had Plato's excerpts but that's another topic). For me, the choice was between reading on screen or not reading at all. I just chose the former.
Maybe if I had picked up chic flicks and romance or something I would've had more success in the dating world but eh, another topic.
@genioThose romance books are full of obscure information. Half of that "romance" will find you having a sexual assault charge in the real world.
I also tried looking for Plato. Found the famous ones in my local bookstore. But it was very expensive. Oh also. somehow I don't know how but somehow. I found an original version of The book of disquiet for about 2300. It will be delivered in 6 weeks tho.
Bilal wrote: "Half of that "romance" will find you having a sexual assault charge in the real world."Well, I don't know what Romance books you're reading, but I personally don't find this to be true.
A lot of Romance readers are women, and they're extremely intolerant about the hero doing anything that verges on pestering, harassing, or stalking the heroine. These things are not considered romantic by women, and the authors take pain not to have their hero behave this way.
Also, there's a thin line between "caring & protective" and "overbearing & possessive". The minute the hero crosses that line and enters into the "overbearing & possessive" territory, there's a huge outcry from the reviewers. So authors nowadays have to be careful about these things as well.
you can check my read list. I've only read a handful,your usual colleen hoover and john green. I read all of them as a teen so my judgment might be clouded now. But apart from entertainment purposes I don't think anyone should take away "Romance " advice. Also beleive it or not. There's alot of people who support the "dominating" figure in a partner. but that's a discussion for another time. The only thing you need is to be confident and a half decent human. No need for the usual macho or introverted crap alot of these romance books try to sell. Sure just like movies it looks cool when you think about it. but in a real life situation it just ends up being very creepy.Also I noticed that alot of these books sell a very clingy image of a Relationship.
That isn't to say I hate the romance genre as a whole. there are some authors like nicholas sparks and nevil shute who I enjoy but because of plot and character building.
Just never pick out a romace book if you want to get better in the dating department like you would a self help or a philosophy book
True. People read Romance for a bit of escapism. To relax, to unwind, and to be entertained. It's not supposed to be read with the intention of seeking relationship advice. Having said that, Romance is one of those genres which focus on the characters and how they evolve—individually and as a part of a relationship. The characters learn from their experiences and go on to become better individuals and partners. You can learn along with them if you want and implement those lessons in your own life.
Or you can just take it as an entertainment and leave it at that. Up to you :-)
I've heard Colleen Hoover writes Young Adult Romance. I don't have much experience with this genre plus I've never read anything by this author, so I really can't comment on her books.
I've never read anything by John Green either. I've heard of him, but I didn't know he wrote Romance. Same with Nevil Shute. I've never read any of his books, but I thought he wrote novels, not Romance.
I've read a couple of books by Nicholas Sparks. They were okay, but I was never tempted to read more of his work.
Isn't it interesting how two people can read the same book or author or genre but have totally different perceptions about it? :-)
Jogi wrote: "Maybe if I had picked up chic flicks and romance or something I would've had more success in the dating world but eh, another topic."You can actually benefit more in this regard from reading reviews of Romance books rather than reading the books themselves. Readers can be brutal while dissecting each and every action of the main characters. Since a lot of Romance readers are women, you could get a good idea of what women like in men and what they don't from their reviews. Lol.
@Jogi could probably benefit quite a bit if @Ramla starts giving him dating advice xDAlthough, I can’t really imagine him in a relationship. How brutal.
@ramla Namely Pastoral but he's wrote other romance with a war theme. very enjoyable.
There's also Judith McNaught. Absolutely horrible and yet it has a 4.82 rating on goodreads. even the community reviews rate it as One stars and it is one of those books that would actually lead you down multiple assault charges if you were to take your advice from there
@zarshal
For all we know Jogi could be ripped with 6 pack abs and a the sharpest jawline on earth.
Ramla Zareen wrote: "Jogi wrote: "Maybe if I had picked up chic flicks and romance or something I would've had more success in the dating world but eh, another topic."You can actually benefit more in this regard from..."
Meh. Women don't know what they want either. I meant it as more of a segue into proper conversations.
@Bilal
How did you know that? I actually do.
@Zarshal
I am. Usually am. Though not for the best reasons.
Pakistani Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
Small Things Like These (other topics)After the Dark (other topics)
Hostile Pursuit (other topics)
Armed 'N' Ready (other topics)
Closer Than You Think (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rene Denfeld (other topics)Rene Denfeld (other topics)
Francesca Zappia (other topics)
Nicola Yoon (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
Jogi bruh gonna level with you. This makes both insane amounts of sense and none at all.
Just as it seems to be on the cusp of something profound it veers so imma need some time to digest that and get back to you aight 😂