10 book challenge

[Sohaib]

And what that is?? Serial one nighter?? Of course not :P *fingers crossed*

[Arbaaz]

Maybe a serial killer who seduces girls and then kill them :-P

[Sohaib]

My reply is on Hey guys :P

[[deleted user]]

this is called thrki-ism wrapped with dignified words-_-:P haha:P

[[deleted user]]

1.Khel Tamasha by Ashfaq Ahmed(Changed my perspective regarding sectarianism)

2.Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho(I explored new horizons of conflicts)

3.Gone with the Wind(Ruined me!)

4.Manchalay ka soda by Ashfaq Ahmed(Made me curious about Spiritualism)

5.No Exit by Sartre (only after reading it i love existentialism)

6.Alchemist by Coelho (It is not necessary that when everybody is praising a book then it really is)

7. The Waves by Virginia Woolf (I crave to know more about psychoanalysis)

8.Anna Karenina by Tolstoy (Well,too personal)

9.Waiting for Godot by Samuel Backette (Sometimes the 'nothingness' involves 'wholeness')

10.Rashomon by
Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (Huhhh!!! those stories were too deep and even now haunt me)

[Sohaib]

@Zarnab *mirror shattering* heard that?? its my heart ;(:-P

[Preeshay]

1:Peer-e-Kamil by Umera Ahmed (sm how the fst book that inspired me to carry odds in the world..it actually taught me to go fr the retrieval even after a whole life of the world..cm back iz not eazi bt this book helpd me take the step....)

ooopp too long....

in that case i think its fine if i add one book daily...?:p

[Sohaib]

@Pareeshay its not a Pakistani drma :-P

[Preeshay]

yar pakistani group to he nA...

[Sohaib]

@Pareeshay aaho :-P... acha jaldi btaen na ta k mein soon... warna kal meri team aap ko tang kregi :-P

[Preeshay]

apki team!! kerii...

wait... btayen zra pehly ye team membrz kon kon hein... i hv hd my douts already...:/ :p

[Preeshay]

in that case ..ok
. let ur team b on sprite... i ll make their Marinda out ov it...:s :p

[Sohaib]

team as in jo meray under kaam kar rhe hain at office... mein kal office so rha honga tau wo free honge and resultantly aap ko tang krenge :-P

[Sohaib]

btw which doubts?? aap kaisay kaisay shak kar rhi hain mujh par... tauba tauba :-P par btaen tau sahih :-P

[Preeshay]

ni phr ap waqayi so jayein wrna mjy tng krny walay khud touba krty hein... i mean it man i m that type... wo to bs mein nrm dil hun na to zyada khrhaak ni daalti...;)

[Risha]

1) Gone With the wind - Margaret Mitchell (All you really need is courage. My favourite book in the world. Romance hai, drama hai, suspense hai, open-ended hai and inspiring hai.., Aur kia chahiye?)

2)The Kite Runner - Khalid Hosseini (so many lessons; forgiveness, redemption, friendship, commitment. This was the very first book which made me literally cry)

3)The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (Taught me what categorization and extremism can do to people living simple lives)

4) Harry Potter Series (Basically, my entire childhood is based on this journey. I'd honestly be a different person if these books did not exist)

5) The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho (Again, courage and determination are what one needs to get the universe on your side)

6) To Kill a Mocking Bird - Harper Lee (First read the title of the book while going through my mum's bookshelf. She told me it was an extremely popular book but I could not see why everyone in the world would want to learn how to murder birds :P. On a serious note, the portrayal of innocence and how it is shattered, killed me).

7) Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (It all keeps coming back to etching your own destiny - I especially love it when female characters are shown like that).

8) All the Way Home - Ann Tatlock (Because what race, color, ethnicity you are does not matter if you can love)

9) Three Cups of Tea - Greg Mortenson (It's heart breaking how someone who isn't originally from Pakistan attaches himself to it so deeply, while here we are...)

[Shehzad]

@Owaiz - lol...

[Zenab]

@owaiz If you haven't read it you can't put it on your list! So the list is incomplete!

[[deleted user]]

@sohaib:q?:/

[Sohaib]

@Zarnab Kya kyon?

[[deleted user]]

@Zarnab *mirror shattering* heard that?? its my heart ;(:-P ....ispe bola q.

[Sohaib]

Zarnab wrote: "this is called thrki-ism wrapped with dignified words-_-:P haha:P"

Is par kaha tha :P

[[deleted user]]

Asha:P

[Preeshay]

hi again...back to the nmbr me...;)

2:Zaviya by Ashfaq Ahmed..(its a book that seems like having a magic into it..i learnd more than i can say for it...made life to live easier for me.... learnd to draw tough deals easy in the world...
a lot more to say pr sohaib dantein gy... for a longer bluffs...

[Maira]

1. Peer e kamil by Umera Ahmad.
2. A question of power by Bessie head
3. A song of Ice and Fire series….(although I am still reading it ;p)
4. Harry Potter series
5. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
6. Lolita by Nabokov Vladimir
7. The complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
8. The fault in our stars by John Green
9. In the stillness by Andrea Randall
10. My Family and other animals by Gerald Durrell
11. The way of shadows By Brent weeks
12. The mayor of Casterbridge By Thomas Hardy
13. The Oedipus Plays by Sophocles
14. Prometheus Bound Aeschylus
15. A tale of two cities By Charles Dickens
16. Millennium series by Stieg Larsson
17. The violet Eden Chapters By Jessica Shirvington
18. The infernal devices series By Cassandra Clare
19. The murder of Roger Ackroyd By Agatha Christie
20. Hardy boys series
21. Nancy drew series

Sorry but i Had more then 10 books and couldn't short list them ;p

[Arbaaz]

Maira, you have to tell how they affected you in life. Read my list.

[Maira]

omg....Arbaaz...am so not going there. BUT I will tell you that Peer e Kamil, The fault in Our stars, Violet Eden chapters and Oedipus Rex series are the one i Learnt the most. Others were also very helpful but these books are exceptional.

[Sohaib]

Maira that was the challenge u know :-/:-(

[Maira]

Sohaib wrote: "Maira that was the challenge u know :-/:-("

Mane in books sa bohat ache ache batain sekhe...;p Bus hunn aram ha??

[Sohaib]

bohat achi achi humen bhi tau bta den na plz :-P it doesnt need to be personal... u can just scratch very top surface type of like i did :-(

[Zenab]

I learn something from every book I read, even if I dislike the book. So it is hard to pick just 10. These are in no particular order but are books I think back on often.


1. Conference of the birds by Farid al-Din Attar (this taught me that life is a very difficult journey.... And you get through it for own self realization. No one is at the end to waive the magic wand and make it all right. It is all up to you)
2. Sula (i can't figure out what about this book I like, but I can't forget her. Her being Sula the main character) by Toni Morrison
3. The reluctant fundamentalist (now this book put into words what I witnessed happening in the US, on and after 9/11... The feelings and emotions were real. The reactions of everyone around me... )by Mohsin Hamid
4. Servant of the bones (this made me fall in love with anne rice, and the love affair continues. The writing style, the historic span of the novel, the story itself, the richness of it are all unforgettable. It was a world I visited 14 years ago and I still live in it) by Anne Rice
5. Wicked (this book makes to revisit everything from your childhood. All the fantasy and fairytales, some real, some stories. It makes you see the reality of everything in a practical light. It shows you the other side and makes you reexamine the fundamentals of good and evil. Makes you rethink what and why we see things/ppl as good and evil.) by Gregory Maguire
6. Shahnameh by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (still reading this... Loooong book but each story is fantastical, love the messages)
7. Where the heart is (the struggle of the main character to build a great amazing life full if love and happiness, despite tragedies is inspiring. Her persistence and bravery is commendable) by Billie Letts
8. To kill a mockingbird (the story of one man to fight for what is right, against all odds. He does it, not because he wants to help the other guy, because he wants to be able to sleep at night with a clear conscience. Simple but powerful message to live ones life by) by Harper Lee
9. The book of sufi healing (i learnrd a lot about the human body. Learned about the islamic ways of diet, the prophet's sayings on food and health. The most interesting are the parts about the physical impacts of spiritual practices) by Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti
10. Interview with the vampire (introduced me to the vampire Lestat... Such a damnable creature who wants redemption but can't get it... Self destructive... Can't get enough of his antics. He had inherent goodness that he can't see, and even that isn't enough to save him) by Anne Rice

[Sohaib]

@Zenab blown away I am... will be reading your list for sure :-)

[Arbaaz]

Awesome zarnab. Nice.

[Sohaib]

@Zenab I think aap ko ab dharna de dena chahiye :-P

[Zenab]

Seriouly guys! ab pehley toh ayini raastey nikalun gi. Phir long march. Phir dharna. Sudhar jao sarey.... Zenab aur Zarnab are two ppl.

[Zenab]

You know aalia i go through phases too. With three kids and school these days I am reading what I call "airport books." They are books I'd take in a plane with me, easy to read, quick to finish, easy on the mind. Something you don't want to think too much about. Sandra Brown and Nora Roberts are my current go to authors. They are fun, there is romance, passion and a murder or two thrown in the mix.

[Arbaaz]

Aalia, is lolita a erotic book?

[Kamran]

Novels not in a particular order and written by Pakistanis, and in English.

A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Moth Smoke
Agency Rules - Never an Easy Day at the Office
Badal: The Revenge
In the Line of Fire : I know its non-fiction but reads like an action packed fiction story.
A God in Every Stone
Maps for Lost Lovers
Bullets and Train

[Sohaib]

@Aalia agreed but some books just sray with for a lifetime... and do teach us something.. so a list plz :-P:-)

@Kamran their effect on u is aldo needed :-)

[Jibran]

Hard to choose but here I list my 10 favourite books, and why.

I'm sticking to fiction and poetry for uniformity. There are many 10-book lists I can do on other, different subjects but that's for another day. In random order

1. Franz Kafka - The Metamorphosis
A landmark in fiction, a fusion of dream and reality through which the writer explores the possibilities of human interaction. It has one of the most startling opening lines, "When Gregor Samsa woke one morning after unsettling dreams, he found himself transformed into an ugly insect". His transformation tests his family's limitations of love and care. It's almost a philosophic proposition: so you are the beloved son, daughter, mother, brother - whatever - but will you still be loved if your form changes? It's a masterpiece of 20th century fiction, and it's short!

2. Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
One of the best prose stylists you can read. It's taught me the extent to which people go for their self-gratification. I was particularly interested in the unreliable first-person narration, which shows and hides the 'truth', and pushes the reader to see more than what the narrator is telling. This book has been maligned unfairly for its controversial topic. But it's not pornographic at all and it's not a justification of paedophilia.

3. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - One Hundred Years of Solitude.
A great epic. A rediscovery of everything that exists in the world. It's a pioneering work in magical realism which has come to define a whole generation of writers, many of them caricaturing it but anyway. The central stylistic theme is the idea that primordial myth directs and moulds our modern destinies, that we are never past history, since it comes back to us again and again, with the same names and similar motives, to destroy our lives again. The impulse to destruction may not be everyone's taste but it's an excellent work of art which I can't praise enough. Marvelous depictions, beautiful descriptions, heartfelt characterisations - esp the scene when the blood of the killed son flows out from the crime scene to encircle the feet of the mother many miles away: a solemn yet gruesome way to inform a mother than her son's been killed.

5. Pablo Neruda - Collected Poems
Faiz Ahmad Faiz was called Neruda of South Asia, now I understand why. Although I'm still reading him - Neruda - but I have read his love poems and thematic poetry on revolution - two themes also close to Faiz's heart, whose Nuskha-haye Wafa I read like Quran - and was shaken to the core of my self. Poetry can be so simple yet so powerful and moving; that images and metaphors can open up new possibilities of seeing the world and the people - I learned this from Neruda.

The rest for the next time. The post has become too long, sorry. I almost wrote short essays on my favourite books!

[Maira]

Jibran wrote: "Hard to choose but here I list my 10 favourite books, and why.

I'm sticking to fiction and poetry for uniformity. There are many 10-book lists I can do on other, different subjects but that's for ..."

I love Lolita. and it is one of my fav. books.

[Jibran]

Maira wrote:I love Lolita. and it is one of my fav. books.

Good to know, Maria. I suppose everyone who likes good writing likes Lolita :) Arguably one of the most enduring tales of obsession told with a remarkable facility with words.

[Hina Tabassum]

Peer-e-Kaamil is one of the books that I totally love too.

I'll do the 10 book challenge in a couple of days as well. At least I will try to.

[Jibran]

Apropos post #94, sorry Maira I misspelled you as 'Maria', though I'm sure I'm not the first one to have made this typo :-)

[Maira]

Jibran: no biggies. I am used to being called Maria. ;p
lolita is a very good book and although the topic is based on many disturbing things but the story is very gripping and you cannot just put it down once you start reading it.

[Jibran]

Thanks @Yusra. I'm glad to have kindled your interest in those book :) It so happens that the most rewarding books are sometimes difficult to get through, due to their intellectual weight and layers of meaning. But the cumulative educational value of one masterpiece is greater than dozens of books put together. Those are the sort of books I like and recommend.

[Ahmad]

In no particular order

1. Harry Potter Series
2. The Autobiography of Malcolm X
3. The Catcher in the Rye
4. The Godfather
5. What's it All About?
6. Prayers for Rain
7. The Kite Runner
8. The Complete Sherlock Holmes
9. Alan Turing: The Enigma
10. Animal Farm

[Fahad]

1 An Old man and the sea
2 Alchemist
3 1984
4 Hitchhiker's guide Vol 2
5 Hitchhiker's guide Vol 1
6 Hitchhiker's guide Vol 3
7 To Kill a mocking bird.
8 Crime and Punishment
9 Frankenstein
10 7 Habits of Highly Successful People