Favorites & Autumn TBR

My Favorites :

•  Ibookpile.com

This is simply a Treasure for Bookworms . you'l find almost all series and Ibooks you are looking for , and if you don't find it , you can leave them a recommendation and they will upload in a matter of days/weeks.

•  Overdose:

This is basically my new favorite corner in Sfax , It opened recently , Its a coffeehouse/dinner with a Cultural theme , artistic events will be held there along with an amazing bookshelf as you can see in the picture below . Overdose will literally provide you with an overdose of books , art and food .

• UB Reader

This is a very very recent discovery , I grew tired of using Aldiko , and the books I was looking for weren't available , so I started a search and found this gem , you can easily get hold of a lot series with UB library + Ibookpile *wink wink*

Overview of my Autumn TBR list : 

• Non-Fiction :

- The soul's code : In search of Character and Calling :

I had this on my TBR for more than year now , I always read few pages from it then leave it for months then go back to it (on and off , on and off ...) Not because the content is not interesting , but because the content of the book , needs time to sink into one's psyche , each time I read few pages I end up pondering about several things that were mentioned in it .

This books deals with psychology , sociology , and philosophy and a wide range of other topics all included in one book . This book will simply open your mind to a whole other set of possibilities and alternatives in life , it will certainly challenge your perspectives .

- The Wilde Truth:

this one is a very dear book to me , I always loved and appreciated what Chris MacCandless.  Although I think he was a bit  foolish in certain decisions ,  he is  still one of my all time favorite human beings.

• Fiction : 

- The Time Machine : (Read and reviewed)

Full review here 

- Doctor Who : Nighshade
I am reading this book due to the fact that I am a HUGE fan of Doctor Who , so finishing all the seasons and waiting for the new one to come out isn't enough for me . so I downloaded a couple  of Doctor Who Novels/scripts to read , and this is the one I am going to start with .

-Hannibal
Hannibal , Hannibal , Hannibal !!
What shall I say about this one ?  Silence of the lambs and Hannibal rising were a bliss
so after finishing with the Movies and the Series , I decided to Read the Last part since it hasn't been filmed (as a movie nor a series) yet .

-Lost Tales of Mercia:

These tales  are in the form of Historical Fiction , telling about the times where the Viking Danes invaded parts of England, That's to say parts of  Mercia , Wessex and Northumbria , But the Focus in these Tales is Mercia.

*During the 10th Century England consisted of 3 Kingdoms : Kingdom of Northumbria ( approximately current day Scotland and Newcastle ) Kingdom of Mercia (approximately current day Northern England - from  Lincoln to Chester in the north to Essex and Gloucester in the south) and Kingdom of Wessex (approximately current days' southern seaside meaning from Kent to around the Half of Current day Devon )

- Red Queen (and It's sequel Queen song )

I have come across this a lot recently and a lot of book-tubers recommended the book (+add to that , the fact that the cover is amazing) so I am intrigued and If I like the Main Book I will eventually read it's sequel .

My Top 7 Favorite Heroes/Heroines

Top 7 Favorite Heroes/Heroines

The Original Post was Top 20 Favorite Heroes/Heroines , I  cut it down to My favorite 7 those I always remember and hugely had a crush on .

I /MY UTMOST FAVORITE: Lisbeth Salander - Millenium trilogy By Stieg Larsson (Also Widely known as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Portrayed by Naomi Rapace In the original Swedish movies.  

Quote: 

"Mikael Blomkvist: I've got absolutely no idea who these people are or how they're connected to the death of a sixteen year old girl, but they must be somehow. What we're going to do is find out who these people are, what happened to them, and what these Leviticus verses have to do with anything.
Lisbeth Salander : [gets up and begins walking away]
Mikael Blomkvist : What're you doing?
Lisbeth Salander : Getting started. You can keep talking if you want."

II/ Bernard Marx - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 

Quote 1 :

Lenina : Cleanliness is next to fordliness.
Bernard : Yes, and civilization is sterilization.

Quote 2 : 

“…because progress is lovely, isn't it ?” said Lenina . “ five hundred repetitions once a week from thirteen to seventeen “ said Bernard wearily as though to himself . “what did you say ?” “I said progress was lovely…”

III/Atticus Finch -To kill a mocking Bird by Harper Lee:

IV/Gregor Samsa - The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka :

V/Dorian Grey - The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde :

Quote:

"- Love 

-An illusion 

- Religion 

- The fashionable substitute for belief 

-You are a sceptic 

- Never ! scepticism is the beginning of faith 

- What are you ?

-To define is to limit"

VI/  The Biologist - Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer :

Quote:

“I leaned in closer, like a fool, like someone who had not had months of survival training or ever studied biology. Someone tricked into thinking that words should be read.”

VII/ Elric Of Melniboné - from the Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock:

Quote:

“And now, Elric had told three lies. The first concerned his cousin Yyrkoon. The second concerned the Black Sword. The third concerned Cymoril. And upon those three lies was Elric's destiny to be built, for it is only about things which concern us most profoundly that we lie clearly and with profound conviction.”

Book Haul #1 : Waterstones VS Ark bokhandel

Book Haul #1

(Waterstones VS Ark bokhandel)

Books I got from Waterstones :

When I am in a such wonderful bookstores I tend to go for big books and bulky complete works or collections and anthologies . because the chance to be in such bookstores doesn't happen that often .

Waterstones was my first real bookshop experience . I felt in my element and I was hardly able to leave the store .

My first decision was to buy the Complete work of Edgar A. Poe , It was a must for me , he is one of the Very first authors that I read for , basically the one that got me through my teenage-hood (along with Baudelaire) and will always be something vital in my reading experience . a vital Tome in my Shelf .

My second decision was to buy Oscar Wilde's complete work , I was torn between either  buying "The importance of being Earnest or the Picture of Dorian Grey , then fell on the collected works . so without doubt bought it instead . what's better have a single book or two ? or a Whole Tome of Wilde's work ? of course a whole TOME ! 

Later on I wanted to buy something that isn't most likely available in Tunisia , so I stumbled upon this Vampire Anthology which I instantly fell in love with . This book which I find hauntingly beautiful focuses on the Myth of vampires and studies their origins and tracks down the source of those legends From the  moors of Scotland to the lands of Vlad The impaler . It without doubt a great RIDE.

Books I got from Ark Bokhandel :

So the deal was like this "you get Three books the Fourth will be half the price !" 

So I went for the deal , Books are technically the cheapest thing in Norway , from what I experienced. everything was taxed except books  . Ark bokhandel was simply another Bookworm's favorite corner , they always have discounts and special offers like the one i just mentioned. it's simply a Heaven for book Readers.

Here is  a  concrete comparison between Al-Kitab bookstore and Ark Bokhandel : the Lord of the rings Trilogy will cost us 120dt if we bought it from Al-kitab but in Ark bokhandel it only costs 60dt (Half the price)

I was going after Philp K . Dick's Scanner darkly , I found a hardback copy that costed almost the same as this 5 Novels paperback Collection by the same author . buying  4 more novels for the price of a single hardback copy is Certainly the  best deal to make . (this is the book I ended up having for half the initial price)

I always looked forward to reading this Jeff Vandermeer's Trilogy , He's quite the precursor in his own genre and in the Steam-punk genre which makes it hard to label him , he might be a Steam-punk addict and he might have written about it a lot but his Fiction is hard to pinpoint into one genre and that's what I always look forward to in his books.

Airport pickups : *My favorite random and amazing pickup* 

This one I got when I was on the run in Frankfurt airport to catch my flight back to Tunis-Carthage , i got a snack then when I was about to pay for them I came across it , it was like its meant to be . I grabbed it without having second thoughts , Because Chris MacCandless' story  is honestly the best  yet most heartbreaking nonfiction  I have ever read . and this books is like behind the scenes of Chris' story written by Jon krakauer; Who is a better writer to write about Chris than his own sister ?

The Time Machine #Full Review

The Time Machine Review

This relatively short story of 95 pages is a classic Sci-Fi novella written by Herbert G. Wells .

This Novella obviously deals with Time travel as it is stated in it's title . The term " Time machine" was coined and popularized by Wells .

It was  very nicely , and neatly written , quite descriptive and filled with interesting perspectives ; 

the plot revolves around an English Scientist and inventor , refereed to simply by "The time Traveler". The novella was in form of lectures made and presented by the time traveler to his co-scientists and journalists   that he meets on a weekly group dinner . he gives an account of his current  invention " The time machine " and then later he gave accounts on his Time travel experiences , with detailed descriptions of the different times he have been to and how humanity evolved in those times, with its splendid upper world and underground world. how human nature changed with its beautiful as well as its ugly side .

Dystopian /Sc-Fi Novels and Novellas are one of my favorites genres , it makes you wonder and open your mind to several possibilities and alternatives , It makes you ponder and look deeper into human values and acts . The decisions of today , are those that will shape our future  , It all depends on us NOW. this current century . the future will be the fruit of our current work and decision making , if the world turns into a monstrous place to live that's because we allowed it to be that way , if the world turns to be a better place in the future that's because we worked on making it a better place .

The analytic side of me was taking over ,back to The Time machine . If you want to challenge yourself  try to read it in one sitting or two , and maybe reread it or take your time after few pages ,look deeper into the novella don't stop at the Surface . 

All in all it was an amazing read :D 

Tag #2 : Top 5 books I will Never Read

Top 5 books I will never read/or finish :

The order :  N°5 most likely to be read
                   N°1 least likely to be even touched .

N°5 Looking for Alaska

Here is the thing about John Green , I highly  appreciate the author and his work on his Youtube Channel and specially on Crash course  

a lot of people recommended me to read his Novel Looking for Alaska , I never thought that Alaska would be a Girl ..
Anyhow, I started  reading , only to be turned off after few pages , it turned out to be a super teenagy romance/drama which isn't exactly my type of books . there was no intrigue , it simply wasn't a page turner for me .

N°4  TFiOS (The Fault in Our Stars)

There was this whole big FUSS/BUZZ about it on social Media when it came out and all of my friends where running after it and buying the book and all , and I just stood back til the movie came out , the book simply sounded lame to me , but since there is a movie coming out I will watch it . that's what happened.
 My intuition never betrays me, it turned out exactly how I thought it will be, a sappy love story with a touch of drama .
But Still I LOVE JOHN GREEN and HANK.

N°3 Twilight Saga

 From where should I start ? this one is a whole saga not a single book
Me Being the Fervent Vampire lover I am , I was devastated after watching the first movie to the point where I decided to never read the books EVER.
PS: want books/movies about vampire that are worth your time ? Read Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles ; with Akasha ,Lestat , Louis , Armand and the whole bunch of Anne Rice'S Vampires

*Meme time*

Lestat trying to read from Twilight (Interview with a vampire , Tom Cruise Starring as Lestat De Lioncourt ) 

Louis , Lestat and Armand laughing at Edward Cullen

Akasha and Lestat (Aliyah as Akasha , Stuart Townsend as Lestat in Queen of the damned)

N°2 Fifty Shades of Grey (Trilogy)

Ehem , from where should I start ? from the fact that it is a Twilight fanfiction turned into a book or from the bad writting style of  E L James ? never mind, this came out when I was in England it was huge ,all bookstores had it on their windowpanes and it was on discount and everyone was buying it , I fell into the pit/hip and got the first two books out of curiosity , I read no more than 7 pages and then i threw it away , as far away as possible . I can't be tolerant , I can't tolerate bad writing , I have no issues with Erotica , but this , this thing ,honestly, shouldn't be called a book at all .

N°1 Grey (Fifty shades sequel) 

Ehem, same thing applies to this one too ...

Tagging time ;

Ben Hazem Sahar from MybookClub and Nesrine koôli from Romans entre Amis

Tag #1: The Courtship Book Tag

Phase 1: "Initial Attraction": A book that you bought because of the cover.

The Poe Shadow

Phase 2: "First Impressions": A book that you got because of the summary.

Obedience (the 1st impression was surely on point)

Phase 3: "Sweet Talk": A book with great writing

Brave new world

Phase 4: "First Date": A first book of a series that made you want to pursue the rest of the series.

Elric of Melniboné (This one is addictive)

Phase 5: "Last Night Phone Calls": A book that kept you up all night long.

Dead Set

Phase 6: "Always On My Mind": A book that you could not stop thinking about

Essential Rumi (Rumi selected poems)

Phase 7: "Getting Physical": A book in which you love the way it feels.

Oscar Wilde's complete work
( Everything about it is Fantastic )

Phase 8: "Meeting The Parents" : A book in which you'd recommend to your friends and family.

Essential Rumi , Poems by Jalleludin Rumi and/or The prophet/Jesus son of man by Gibran Khalil Gibran

Phase 9: "Thinking About The Future": A book or series that you know you'll re-read many times in the future

Once again Essential Rumi (I already read it several times and ready to read it again)

Phase 10: "Share The Love": Who would you tag

anyone who is interested .

Favorites & Summer Reads

Favorites : 

Location  : Gløshaugen -NTNU campus- Norway 

This Place holds a lot of good memories , It's certainly a destination to go back to in the future whether as a student or just a visitor ! Kudos to all the people that made my Norwegian Hogwarts experience  possible and delightful . 

Bookstore : Ark Bokhandel butikk , Trondheim Torg , Norway

This is a promising location to lose all your pocket money and be happy with being penniless afterwards !

Gadgets:  Rollei and Vintage Polaroid Pictures : 

These are few Gems that I found recently in my parents' souvenir case , a bunch of vintage Polaroid pictures from my Dad's working days in Germany and a classic manual Rollei camera , he unfortunately sold the Polaroid Camera ages ago ! I wish it was within reach .

Music : 

Norwegian Folk/pagan Music all the way with a dash of Alternative rock with Moddi and Hozier 

i will leave you in the hands of the gods with My favorite Wardruna song 

Summer Reads :

This started long before summer , I was on a trip to Norway and I had "La confession d'un enfant du siècle" book on my TBR list since I can remember so instead of taking with me several books  -which is something i am accustomed to when I am on the road- I decided to take a different approach I took a single book which was the above mentioned one . on the plane and I  read a considerable chunk of it and I enjoyed it but as soon as I arrived to Norway I got swamped by all the plans and when I went To Ark bokhandel ,I was ensnared by other books and kept buying books ... so I sort of ended up neglecting Musset's book (not that i am reading another book , its just that i am too engulfed in buying new ones)

La confession d'un enfant du Siècle - Confession of the Child of the Century by Alfred de Musset :

                                      
*I finished it in late June*

Confession of the Child of the Century is  basically a French Classic from the Romantic Era ,
this was a challenge for me as in 1st I don't usually read French 2nd I am not a big fan of the Romantic Genre
This is in a nutshell an autobiography slightly altered (Musset used different names and attributes and locations ...) It basically gives us an  insight into Musset and George Sand's love story with  a very lethargic ,slow  and dramatic approach .

Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer : 

*started it in July , finished it in Early August*

1st book : Annhilation

In Annihilation Vandermeer introduces us to  a female expedition planning to go to "Area X" . what is really striking is the absences of Proper names , the characters are introduced as The biologist , The Linguist , the psychologist and the surveyor , they sit for preparation sessions and hypnosis , they afterwards cross the border to Area X and that is when the fun starts 

2nd book : 

Authority focuses on the Southern reach itself as an agency ,  a new  set of important characters is also introduced , and it  dives into the past of the agency as well .

3rd book : 

Acceptance , has a different approach , it travels back and forth in time and switches  from one perspective to another which makes it versatile and makes us able to understand the whole of the trilogy . 

Elric of Melniboné  by Michael Moorcock :

*Finished it in three Afternoons*

This one is for Fantasy Freaks , its the 1st book of a larger saga called " The Elric Saga" 

It talks about a Fantastic world and race of people called the Melnibonéians , the Aristocracy and the Monarch are Dragon Lords With superpowers and witchcraft at their side 

its about the Rise of Elric as the new king and his Adversary with his Own Cousin Yyrkoon. 

- cool nordic names (Elric , Yyrkoon , Dyvim Tvar , Cymoril ...)

- Fantasy world

- Dragons 

- WitchCraft

-  Islands and Long boats 

-  Paganism

what are you waiting for ? GO GRAB IT !

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu : 

*Finished it in one sitting*

This is by Far one of my favorite Horror and Gothic stories and lord knows I've read plenty, 

From Lord Dusnay's Novels to Poe passing by H,B lovecraft and a bunch of others . 

Joseph S Le Fanu 's masterpiece is a about an English  teenage girl that moved to Germany after her father bought a big estate there ,  the girl speaks English and German fluently 

Their Schloss (i'll be using Schloss and Castle interchangeably)   was situated in a very secluded area of Germany ,  the nearest lived estate was several miles  away and their own Castle was near the premises of an old ruined Castle , the views are breathtaking but the main character feels so lonely , one day an incident happened and they welcomed another young girl in their Schloss the rest is for you my dear readers to discover .

Dead Set by Richard Kadrey :

*Finished it in three nights*

I never dared to read a teenage fiction before , but then this one came along  it was given to me by a  very dear friend of mine and I trusted his taste and I honestly  wasn't disappointed at ALL .

Zoe is the main character , she's a high-school student who just lost her dad , she moved to San Francisco with her mother for a fresh start , but one day coming back from school she stumbled on a  record store , seeing that it had an old collection of Vinyl punk records she was tempted to discover more , and as we all know Curiosity killed the Cat ,. 

The borders between dreams and reality became blurry , confusion settled and Hecate ruled .

- punk music references 

- fantasy 

- Mythology

- Suspense 

- the living meeting the dead 

and yeah Abysenth we shouldn't forget about her !