Midsummer reading update

Hello dear reader. I am roughly halfway through my summer. 

Alhamdulillah earlier this month I took part in my library's summer reading challenge and received a medal for earning a certain amount of 'points'. It made me really happy and motivated me to read more engaging and productive material. 

Two months ago I wrote a short post on the books I wanted to read that spring and this summer (you can read it here). My tbr was made up of fifteen books total. The following section will be the books I read from that list, a short summary, and my thoughts.

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1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni 

The Kite Runner is a heartbreaking story of a friendship between two boys, a wealthy boy and the son of his father's servant. The book is set in flashbacks in Afghanistan which in the book is in the process of being destroyed. Themes such as betrayal, redemption, s#xual assault, violence, drinking, and father-son dynamics (with a focus on class and sacrifice) are heavily present throughout the novel. 

I have a lot to say about this book. First, it should be known that the book is written by a man who did not live to experience Afghanistan's wars. (Bear in mind that he has acknowledged this -- I mention this only because events in the book are not based on true events he has lived or experienced). Second, the book is extremely emotional and built upon triggering themes. Third, The Kite Runner, should + probably would make you feel extremely grateful for family and will surely make you value all truths more, which reminds me of this great quote featured in the novel, “There is only one sin and that is theft... when you tell a lie, you steal someones right to the truth.” Isn't that amazing? 

Here is a draft of a short text intended to comment on the themes of social class and religious barriers that are described in the novel. 

2. The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali 

Kamali's novel set in 50s Tehran is a cute romance between Roya and Bahman. Roya is an idealistic and academic teenager who resides within the spines of internationally acclaimed translated copies of classics, frequenting Mr. Fakhris 'stationery shop.' Bahman, like Roya, is politcal and shares her love for Rumi. The day the couple intends to marry, the result of a coup d'etat changes their country and their lives forever. Fate separates the couple and more than sixty years later, an accident reunites them and offers each the chance to ask the questions which have burdened them for more than half a century. 

I liked this book as it was a simple romance. If I've discovered anything from reading this year, it's my love for romances, ESPECIALLY Persian/Middle Eastern ones since our cultures don't really elaborate on the intimate relations of the couple; it's romance, and romance alone, not so often does one read sensual material in middle eastern (classic??) romances due to the shame present in those cultures. I don't know about contemporary novels, however, although The Stationery Shop of Tehran is an exception. 

3. When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson 

This book was just so... suspenseful. It follows the story of three women, connected with a secret, living under Saddam's regime. Themes of trust, friendship, betrayal, and motherhood weave the events of the novel. Events in the story are inspired from the author's own experiences. 

I remember finishing the second half of this book in less than a day, it had such a grip on me. Extremely emotional and made me cry in some parts. This book was very eye-opening leading me to sympathize with the mothers of war-torn countries. I never thought to consider their sacrifice and struggle to give their children another chance at life. 

4. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

I'm not really sure how I would summarize this book except by prefacing it as one set in an Islamicate world with djinn, muslim, and sahir characters and frequent allusions to the story of Prophet Sulayman (pbuh). 

5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Oh my, this deserves a review of its own which I probably will not come around to composing any time soon, definitely not later in the month. (Haha). To say the least, I did not like this book. 

6. A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Amazing review and summary that captures my thoughts well. I found myself able to relate to a lot of the events in this book. 

This update, as you may notice, only includes six of the fifteen books. I know, I know. You may be wondering why I read so out of my tbr these past couple of months and I'll tell you why - it's because I'm spontaneous with my reads! If a cover or synopsis interests me, I'm gonna scoop it up right then and there. 

Remaining books to read on the tbr 

1. The Saffron Kitchen 
2. The Beekeeper of Aleppo 
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns
4. Call Me By Your Name
5. The Metamorphasis 
6. The Catcher in the Rye
7. Flowers for Algernon 
8. Secrets of Divine Love 
9. Heros of Islam 

I don't really want to read all of them. I'll probably not end up reading The Catcher in the Rye or Flowers for Algernon in the next five weeks (what is left of my summer). My sister thrifted a collection of works by Kafka which features The Metamorphasis so hopefully I can read that in a few weeks time. The first three in the list compliment my goal of reading more modern Middle Eastern fiction plus the plots seem interesting enough. I also want to check out The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. Somewhat hesitant to read Call Me By Your Name but I have a copy of the ebook and may read it later this month, who knows, but I'm sure it'd reawaken my fourteen year old spirit so I may relive her era of peace and nerdiness, Inshallah. I'm actually not sure why I haven't finished reading Secrets of Divine Love since I really liked it. Hopefully I can finish it by September. DNF Heroes of Islam... not much to say why, just didn't finish it. 

Inshallah I achieve all my reading goals or do better than anticipated ! 

June goal

For June, my goal was to read 1, 671 pages total to beat my 2018 record of 953 -- alhamdulillah I beat this by three times, finishing the month of June with 3, 159 pages total over ten books. 

July goal 

Not too sure what this month's reading goal is. I suppose I'd like to read at least three non fiction books so I can implement what I learn into my life more effectively. (This isn't to say you can't do this with fiction, it's just harder since fiction doesn't really expose you to any 'habits' or 'science' directly, it's all from what you interpret as you're not taught it). I'm currently reading Beautiful World, Where Are You by Rooney (I read Normal People last month and loved it) and have some books from the 'Shatter Me' series by Mafi checked out and on hold at the library. I'd also like to finish '1984' by Orwell preferably before this month ends. (328 pages, cr on 104, div by 7 [var. days of week] = 32 pages a day to finish it in a week's time). 

I'd like to read at least five books this month, Inshallah. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope I'll you again soon. Until next time, bookslayer xx