السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

So the middle of the year is now August, lol. This tag seems appropriate to do especially before the academic year starts to reflect on how a year of reading is going, here's mine. 

 ونص السنة صارت بأغسطس. هالأسئلة مرة لايقة للصيف بالذات لأن الصيف بمثابة فراغ ما قبل الدراسة وبكذا إلي يسوي هالتحدي يراجع كيف قاعدة تمشي سنته القراءية. خلينا نشوف كيف كانت سنتي.

best book you've read in 2017 (so far) // أفضل كتاب قرأته في 2017 حتى الآن

 

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Now most people refer to the show upon hearing this title, but I knew the book first and it holds a special place in my heart. It changed so much in me, I started advocating for mental health and actually speaking about it, working breaking the stigma hopefully. Because you should never be ashamed to reach out and speak out, you should never be ridiculed and always be listened to.

 I personally loved this book; it was emotional, gripping, and hard to read at times. the format in which it was written in, a first person that read like a dialogue but was comprised of two monologues. That made the book linguistically simple to read. 

 It gave you an inside look into someone who lost grip on their thin thread of hope,  and an outsider looking in. Which is why I feel mental health novels are the best to read, because they help you understand and spark a conversation through a character or person's experience; and that's what 13 Reasons Why did for me.

trigger warning: rape and suicide

best sequel you've read in 2017 (so far)  // أفضل كتاب مكمل قرأته في 2017 حتى الأن

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling

 It completely escaped my mind that I finished the series this year, in fact I finished this book a day ago. And can I just declare officially that this is my favourite book out of the 7?!

It was intense and provided an ideal conclusion to the series. I am simply out of words I love this series so much. 

I wanted to finish the series but at the same time I didn't, you know when you feel that way with a book? You cherish the first time you read it that it kind of slows you down.. Is it just me? 

I alternated between audiobook and ebook for this one, I loved both formats. The text was easier to keep up with and faster to read, you get to fully take in the words she wrote. But with the audiobook you get the movie in your head, Stephen Fry does a fantastic job with it. 

Thank you Harry Potter for the best time <3

new release you haven't read yet, but want to.. // كتاب طلع هالسنة لسا ما قرأته بس ودك تقرأه

 

المرأة الكاملة للكاتب سلطان الموسى

لو إنه كاتب ثاني كتب هذا الكتاب يمكن ما أعطيته انتباهي، بس لأنها رواية تعنى بالحضارات (الحضارة الفرعونية بس أقصد أساسها علم حضارة) وسلطان ما شاء الله ملم بها لو تتابعونه بسناب ولا قرأتوا كتبه بتعرفون مدى اهتمامه بها وسعة علمه ما شاء الله بها. فحمسني شلون بيطبق علمه هذا في قصته ويجعلها سند قوي للرواية. متحمسة اقرأها. 

most anticipated release for the second half of 2017 // أكثر كتاب متحمس يصدر في النص الثاني من 2017

Because You Love to Hate me by a bunch of youtubers and authors

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The illustrated edition of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (illustrated by Jim Kay)

 

forgive me for the little lazy stunt I pulled there, but they're a lot of names! 

Anyways this one might be kind of cheating but technically this was released in July which lies in the second half of the year, so this qualifies for this question.

I meant that I chose a book already released but its release date was in the second half of the year, I don't keep up with releases all that much but the ones I pay attention to are the ones I am most excited for, and along with One of Us is Lying, these two are my most anticipated releases.

I started reading it a couple of hours ago and I am in love! Completely in love!

  

As for the latter, I always look forward to new editions of Harry Potter. But the illustrated ones in particular get me excited, being an art hobbyist myself its only fitting to be feeling this way towards such exquisite illustrations. 

biggest disappointment // أكثر كتاب خيب أملك

 

The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace

The irony here is that I finished this in a day.
The first book I ever finished in a day if not a couple hours is a book I completely hated.

The reason it disappointed me was that I didn't connect to the poems, I was just reading to read, flipping pages trying to get to the last page. I loved some of the way the poems were written (in a creative way) but the overall writing style wasn't my cup of tea, and I don't recall loving any of the poems. 

biggest surprise // أكثر كتاب فاجئك 

حوجن للكاتب إبراهيم عباس
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Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

 

ما أدري إذا تذكرون، بس قبل كم سنة كان هذا كتاب مسوي ضجة مو طبيعية وكثير ناس كانوا يقولون "أوه مرة ودي جني يحبني" ولغبة ويجا اشتهرت... على الأقل هالخرابيط صارت بمدرستي . فما شجعني الوضع أبد إني أقرأه وكان كل ما قال لي أحد "جربي" أقول "بلا سخافة منب مضيعة وقتي في تفاهات"  بس هالسنة قررت إني أقرأه وأشوف هل صدق سخافات ولا فيه شي يستاهل؟

والصراحة كان ممتع، ما فيه شي يستفاد الصراحة بس قرأتي لحوجن ساعدتني اتقبل القراءة للمتعة ولا اترفع عن كتاب بكون هدفه المتعة. أحس صغت الكلام أزين في مراجعتي للكتاب بقودريدز ، الرابط هنا.

 

Everything, Everything, my god I thought this would be a sappy contemporary that told the story of a boy saved her from the shackles of her sick life, almost. It wasn't like that at all, not even close to what I had in mind, it was a freaking tragedy, Romeo and Juliet level tragic.
Also both character seemed like individuals, and even their attachments were plausible. You would argue that Maddy was a bit too attached to Olly, but it was with reason. She wasn't simply lovestruck, Olly was all she couldn't have and he happened to live next door, it was more of a greed thing. I think the want fueled her rather than just love for Olly, I think her love for Olly was also a thing she couldn't have so.. Man this is getting a bit jumbled up.
Anyways, I wouldn't say this was a 5-star read, what I would say though was that it wasn't what I expected at all. And definitely my favourite romance novel.

favourite new author // كاتب جديد عليك وحبيته

 

Lemony Snicket

Honestly his writing style is one of my favourites, if not my favourite, His witty and dark humor just captures the reader, and despite his books being targeted towards children you still enjoy them because of the way he tells the story. He mostly uses second person perspective, which I find is a trait to his style. Through his storytelling you feel as though someone's wrote you a letter, it does feel that personal. I also love when he goes into tangents , blabbers, and unnecessarily long explanations; it is a distinctive characteristic too. He isn't flowery or descriptive, he is straight to the point. Which is a good thing to some people and a bad thing to others, in Snicket's case it is ideal. I can't imagine him being poetic to be frank. His style can turn disturbing when speaking about misfortune and bad happenings, but all the while another trait to add to the list.

You just need to read a book of his to get what I'm saying, and I think I explain it better in my goodreads review of the second book of A Series of Unfortunate Events, which you can find here.

newest fictional crush // أجدد إعجاب خيالي

Chaol Westfall from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

This love affair, or should I say appreciation of the beauty that is Chaol Westfall started at the tail end of 2016 and continues to live to this day and forward. He is simply marvelous.

newest favourite character // أجدد شخصية حبيتها

Lysandra and Elide from the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

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Sherlock Holmes from the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Let's start with the ladies shall we? Lysandra's personality in Queen of Shadows made me fall heads over heels for her, she is remarkable to say the least. I do not know how much I can say without giving stuff away but honestly she is extraordinary.

As for Elide, she is different for someone of her position. I expected her to be this weak and shy captive who is too helpless to speak. But girl, was she a surprise! 

Now moving on to Sherlock, I have to plead guilty here because I haven't read the books. I own them, just haven't read them. But most of the shows I watch tend to be adapted from the books into their own version of Sherlock. He is a character I truly admire. I want to read more about him and explore the character that is Sherlock more. 

a book that made you cry // كتاب خلاك تبكي

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling
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13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher

 
The only reason I'd believe that your heart wasn't stomped upon in this book is that you have no heart.
Haha, but lets be serious here. the deaths were heartbreaking, but there were also heartwarming reunions. And this book made me cry over both. Not to forget the stories told by the characters and Harry's thoughts when he was alone.
One distinctive scene that made me cry was Harry's experience with the resurrection stone, I mean that scene.. It made me appreciate the resurrection stone as a hallow when I thought I could never pick it when asked that question.

 
For 13 Reasons Why, I think this made me cry the most. I cried loads while reading this book. It was hard to read at parts, and despite me knowing this is just a work of fiction it felt real, because really.. How many people are feeling this way? How many people are being invalidated, bullied, taken advantage of, and have much more horrendous thing occurring to them? How many people aren't getting the help and support they so rightfully deserve because of a ridiculous societal stigma set upon by fear that made us so afraid to speak?
When Hannah reached out she was shamed, and nobody deserves to be shamed for circumstances out of their control when they're doing their best to cope.
I steered off the track with this but just remember god loves you, and he always listens to you. And is very capable of anything.

a book that made you happy // كتاب خلاك تفرح

A Series of Unfortunate Events (book #1 and #2) by Lemony Snicket
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The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

  
I'll go in reverse this time and start with HP. I was going to just put A Series of Unfortunate Events (what I read of anyway) but Harry Potter needs to be mentioned in the happiness category too! It makes me smile remembering that wizarding world.
Its inspiring, heartwarming, uplifting, and hopeful. So grateful for these stories.

 
Now, A Series Of Unfortunate Events is THE children's book of the century in my opinion. As a person fairly older than a child I enjoyed it immensely, the amount of wit and morbid humor did it for me.. Someone finally understands my sense of humor (this either sounds pretty bad or pretty sad, lol). It was a fun and easy to read book that's equally dark in its tone.
As for it being for children, I honestly would recommend it for them and for people trying to learn English too. For the latter its the easy language and explanations it includes of expressions and words. For the former however.. I dislike the fact children's book always try to form a child into a certain individual and give them this rainbows and sunshine view of life. A Series of Unfortunate Events reinforces good morals, but also reminds the child that bad things do happen, and things will go wrong more than once. The author explains it better in his interviews and such so I recommend that to see why its befitting for a child, and likewise for an adult.
It makes me happy that this smart book exists.

favourite book to screen adaptation you've seen so far this year // أحلى فيلم/مسلسل مقتبس من كتاب شفته هالسنة

 
Spiderman: Homecoming
This may count as cheating, but Spiderman is a series of comic books.
I am not the biggest fan of superhero movies, I like some but a movie being labelled as "superhero" or screams marvel or dc doesn't always catch my eye. However I always had a thing for Spidey so.. I had to watch it.
My god this movie, it is unlike any other superhero movie I've ever seen! It emphasised spiderman as a kid , a human kid. All the other ones thrust this power into him and he took charge of it. In this movie he got a power and responsibility thrust upon him, without asking for it, and you can see how reckless and fanboy-ish he is about him being a superhero in the beginning. Basically what a kid would do if he suddenly got powers.
He slowly learns what this power means, and properly grows into his role as an Avenger.
It also gives the message of trusting your gut and breaking your mold.

 
If anyone's wondering on my thoughts on 13 Reasons Why's Netflix adaptation, I did think it was impactful, but I do not know what expression of inclination is best suited for it, love? Like? Because it was good in my opinion.
Though I'm pretty wary of how I talk about it and to whom. Its not something "I recommend" and its not something for everyone.

favourite post you've written so far this year // أحلى تدوينة كتبتها هالسنة حتى الأن

Hands down my mental health post, which you can read here. The feedback I got was amazing and that was post I needed to write, I needed something like that to be roaming the bookish blogging world, especially the arabic realm.

بلا منازع تدوينة الصحة العقلية والنفسية ، تقدرون تقرأونها هنا.
الرد إلي جاني من ذيك التدوينة كان شي ما توقعته، يعني احمد ربي إني كتبتها وإنكم استفدتوا منها. حسيت إنها تدوينة كان لازم اكتبها ولازم تكون موجودة في عالم التدوين عن الكتب خصوصًا العالم العربي.

The most beautiful book you've bought this year // أجمل كتاب شريته هالسنة

 
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
فن الحرب للكاتب سن تزو
I'm not usually one to go for the special edition covers, because more likely than not they're expensive, real expensive for what they're offering in this versus the regular edition. I'd rather go for the acceptable looking paperback thank you very much.
I like beautiful, I like special covers, but they're not always within a price I'm willing to pay.
Lucky for me, this beauty was. I have had this book in mind for so long, picking it up on ebook or physical has always crossed my mind, and while travelling I came across this edition..I fell in love. It wasn't expensive either so I had to get it.
It has this magnificent leather cover with Chinese art style dragons, the warm color scheme matches that really well. In addition to that it has gold edges. In addition
My heart is weak.

أنا مو من النوع إلي يشتري الإصدارات الحصرية أو مميزة ، لأن أكثر الأحيان يكون سعرها مرتفع ولا يسوى إلي يوفرونه زيادة في هذا الإصدار مقارنة بالإصدار العادي. أحب الاغلفة الحلوة ودايم تلفتني وأفضلها لو لقيتها بس تكون في نطاق مالي معقول لمحتواها أو للإضافات.
والحمد لله الجمال هذا كان في تلك الحدود.
فن الحرب كتاب دايم دار براسي ودايم أنوي قراءته، ويوم شفته بسعره وغلافه هذا حسيت إنها فرصة ما تتفوت. غلافه جلد وعليه نقش تنانين صينية ، والألوان دافية تجنن ، وبعد حواف الصفحات ذهبية وحجم الكتاب نفسه كيوت .. قلبي الصغير لا يتحمل

6 books you'd like to read before the end of the year // ستة كتب تبي تقرأهم قبل نهاية السنة (إن شاء الله) 

I do not like setting TBRs because I'm more of a mood reader, well.. I am an extreme mood reader so TBRs don't work. But I'd like to read The Art of War, Edgar Allen Poe's poetry collection, and Ready Player One.. Hopefully. This could very easily change and I end up reading none of them.

ما أحب أحط لي خطة قرائية، أنا وحدة مرة مزاجية لما اخلص من كتاب وأجي اختار إلي بعده. ولا بشكل عام لما أجي اختار كتاب أبي اقرأه. أحس إني قرأت كثير كتب انجليزية هالسنة فبقولكم كم كتاب عربي ودي اقرأه قبل نهاية السنة. ألا وهم : تجاوز ، اختراع العزلة ،اخرج في موعد مع فتاة تحب القراءة.. عادي جدًا إني ما اقرأ ولا واحد واقرأ غيرهم فلا تعتمدون أبد.


And that wraps up my first tag on the blog, this was fun! I hope it was just as fun to read it, let me know what are your answers to these questions and what are you most excited about reading this year?
See you next time :)

وكذا اختم أول تاق لي على المدونة، مرة كان يونس! وإن شاء الله كانت تونس قراءته بعد. شاركوني إجاباتكم لذي الأسئلة وقولوا لي وش أكثر كتاب متحمسين تقرأونه هالسنة أو أكثر كتاب اعجبكم للحين؟
وإن شاء الله أشوفكم في تدوينة جديدة قريب ، مع السلامة.