مزرعة الحيوان | جورج اورويل

مزرعة الحيوان ~ جورج اورويل
المترجم: محمد بن عيد العريمي

By: Um 3azzan
Blog: Um 3azzan’s Thoughts

قبل ان اتحدث عن الكتاب يجب ان اشيد بترجمة هذا الكتاب حيث انني لم اشعر ولو للحظة انني اقرأ كتاباً مترجما!

الرواية هي عن مجموعة من الحيوانات التي قررت ان تثور على صاحب المزرعة وبالفعل ثارت ونجحت في ايجاد استقلالها ولكن المغزى الحقيقي للرواية هو ما يحدث بعد الاستقلال.

قرأت الكتاب قبل سنوات ولم افهم معناه مثلما فهمته عندما قرأته والشرق الأوسط يصنع ثوراته. ، لقد ابصرني ان ما اتخيله نجاحا باهرا قد لا يكون كذلك وان علينا في الفترة الحالية التريث وتقييم وضعنا كعرب قبل الانجراف نحو ثورة بعد الأخرى.

بصراحة تقييمي للكتاب هو ٩,٥ من ١٠ و ذلك ليس للغته او القصة والحبكة ولكن لان الكاتب استطاع بفكرة بسيطة ان يفسر سلسلة كل ثورة ونهايتها!

انصح بقراءة الكتاب لكل مهتم بالاحداث الراهنة ومن يبحث عن تفسير وتقييم لها، لا انكر ابداً ان الكتاب بالفعل غير وجهة نظري للوضع الحالي و هذا قل ما يحدث!

Nineteen Minutes | Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes ~ Jodi Picoult

By: Kitten
Blog: Hallucinations of a Kitten

A boy named Peter has been bullied by the same students for 17 years of his life. Ever since day one of kindergarten his superman lunch box that his mother got him had been thrown out of the bus. Coming into highschool was no different when you're in the same school, Sterling High where anyone knew everyone.

One March 6th 2007, Peter goes to school and kills off 10 students and wounds another 18 of them. A policeman interferes just in time to spare the lives of the rest.

The next 450 pages or so deal with trying to crack up the mystery and motives of Peter. Truth be told, only few were working on Peter's side when all of Sterling wanted nothing more than to see him dead. The parents of the deceased cannot see a reason why he should be alive when their sons and daughters aren't.

The question that Picoult lays in front of us is: If your son says the bullying was unbearable but his revenge was murder, what would you do?

Personal opinion: The reason why I like Picoult's work is that throughout her novels she leaves you hanging on the many details yet little clues. She gives you room to ponder on your own, to come up with scenarios while having the scenes of the story playing in your head over and over again even when you've put the book down. You'll find that there's always a reason to come back and read in order to find out if your assumptions were right and that's the most important silver lining; they're not. Most of the time, that is.

My Rating: 8.5/10 I liked it a lot that giving it a 15 would suffice but then I wished if the ending was different. I wished if it didn't have to be a sad and painful ending to the characters. One way to find out is to read it. You'll easily find it in Borders; just look for the shelves with Picoult's name.

I recommend it to those who would want to understand what a mother-daughter/son relationship is like, especially if those in the question were high school teenagers.

الأبله | فيدور دوستويفسكي

الأبله ~ فيدور دوستويفسكي
ترجمة: مؤيد خطاب و عوض الحسين

By: Um 3azzan
Blog: Um 3azzan’s Thoughts

هذه اول رواية كاملة اقرأها لفيدور دوستوفيسكي، وكنت فعلاً متشوقة لقراءتها بعد ما سمعته عن اسلوب الكاتب في الكتابة عن الحالات الانسانية

الرواية تدور في احداثها بين مدن روسية واحيانا اوروبية، وتحكي قصة شاب مصاب بالصرع وما فهمته ان اصابته هذه اثرت على عقله، ولكنه مع ذلك كثيرا ما كان يقيم الامور بدقة وبصراحته يفاجيء من حوله، وأنا اقرأ الرواية شعرت وكأن العادات والتقاليد المتبعة يوما ما في روسيا هي ذاتها التي نتبعها نحن (او المفروض ان نتبعها) من احترام للاخرين وخصوصية وضع المرأة واحترام سمعتها، ونقطة اخرى تطرق لها وهو ان الكاتب بين ان للحب انواعاً كثيرة، فهي مشاعر متخبطة لا تفهم وتحمل بين طياتها الكثير من المشاعر الأخرى

رأي الشخصي: لا انكر انني استمتعت كثيرا باحداث الرواية، وحزنت لبعض الشخصيات (و ان كانت الاسماء الروسية ترهقني) ولكن(وقد تكون للترجمة سببل في ذلك) لم اجدها بالعمق الذي توقعته. ولولا عنوان الكتاب لم افهم ان شخصية البطل هي لشخص ابله. اعتقد ان نقل الاحداث من الروسية الى العربية لم يكن بالعمق المطلوب، حتى ان بعض المواقف استوقفتني وكنت اجزم انها حتما كتبت بطريقة افضل في الرواية الاصلية.

تقيمي للكتاب: اعطي الرواية ٧ من ١٠ ولكني ما زلت اعتقد انني كنت ساستمتع فيها اكثر ان كانت ترجمتها افضل من هذه

انصح بها لمن يريد قراءة شيء من الأدب الروسي ولكن يحبذ ان تكون لمترجم أخر. سمعت ان ترجمة د. سامي الدروبي لأعمال دوستوفيسكي افضل بكثير

Shadowland | Peter Straub

Shadowland ~ Peter Straub
By: Fatma Al-Hajri

Shadowland, by Peter Straub begins in a private prep school for boys. In this school, Del and Tom, two freshmen boys fascinated by magic, find each other and form a strong friendship. Together,they form a bond based on their interest in magic tricks. In the seconed half of the book, the boys retire for the summer to the estate of Del's uncle, Shadowland.

Del's uncle is a half-crazy, alcoholic, retired magician. He sets about teaching the boys magic or the art of illusion. At Shadowland, nothing is as it seems. An hour can feel like all day. The sun can set at 11am. You can find yourself suddenly half-way across a continent, just to find that you haven't moved from your spot at all. There are others living at Shadowland that are unseen, and whose existence is denied. There are rules that are made in the hopes of being broken. In the end, the boys struggle through an alternate world where dark forces are at play so they can escape from Shadowland.

Personal Opinion: I usually love horror coming of age books but I failed to like this one. I felt that it consists of many interesting events but there was no connection between them. The first half of the book was in a universe and the second half was in a different universe. Also I didn't get the point of going on and on about the character SKELETON in the first half if he wasn't really important in the second half. Also I didn't like the heroes, Tom Flanagan and his friend, Del Nightingale. They were boring and a bit annoying. Even the villain was boring.

My rating: 3/10

I recommend it only to Peter Straub hardcore fans.

Fragile Things | Neil Gaiman

Fragile Things ~ Neil Gaiman
By: Fatma Al-Hajri

A collection of stories (and a few poems) by the famous fantasy author Neil Gaiman. In this book amysterious circus terrifies an audience for one extraordinary performance before disappearing into the night, taking one of the spectators along with it . . . In a novella set two years after the events of American Gods, Shadow pays a visit to an ancient Scottish mansion, and finds himself trapped in a game of murder and monsters . . .

In a Hugo Award-winning short story set in a strangely altered Victorian England, the great detective Sherlock Holmes must solve a most unsettling royal murder . . .

Two teenage boys crash a party and meet the girls of their dreams—and nightmares . . .
In a Locus Award-winning tale, the members of an excusive epicurean club lament that they've eaten everything that can be eaten, with the exception of a legendary, rare, and exceedingly dangerous Egyptian bird . . .

Such marvelous creations and more—including a short story set in the world of The Matrix, and others set in the worlds of gothic fiction and children's fiction—can be found in this collection, which showcases Gaiman's storytelling brilliance as well as his terrifyingly entertaining dark sense of humor. By turns delightful, disturbing, and diverting.

Personal opinion: It is hard to rate a book that is a collection of short stories. Some stories were great and some were OK and then there were some which were just ugly.

I was really excited to read some of the stories, like "A Study in Emerald" which combines Sherlock Holmes with the world of H.P. Lovecraft. I was really curios to see how it would turn out and it was very good.

My other favorites in this collection are:

- "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire " which has a strange name and a stranger blot, but is really enjoyable.
- "Other People " show us hell and it is really scary.
- "Harlequin Valentine " I liked it even though I don't know anything about Harlequins.
- "Sunbird" really engaging, you read it and you will have an idea about what will happen next and you can see the characters going slowly to their doom and that what makes this story great.

"October in the Chair ", "Bitter Grounds ", "My Life ", "Feeders and Eaters" and " Goliath " were good too.

Now we move on to the ugly starting with " Keepsakes and Treasures ", I really cant understand why this story was ever written. It tells the story of unlikable group of people and knowing their background didn't make me like them or appreciate their twisted life.

"The Problem of Susan" made feel uncomfortable, it is disturbing and I couldn't enjoy it.

"The Monarch of The Glen", I didn't read AMERICAN GODS so I didn't care much about Shadow. Also Beowulf was the worst movie I have ever seen, so reading this story reminded me of the movie and I immediately hated it. Not to forget the presence of the horrible Mr Alice and Mr Smith from "Keepsakes and Treasures " which was another factor to destroy the story for me.

The rest of the short stories didn't leave an impact on me, they just weren't memorable

My Rating: 7/10

I recommend it to readers who like fantasy and can enjoy a collection of short stories. Also for readers who want to read their first Neil Gaiman book.

Review Policy نظام القراءات

Reviews can be in both Arabic and English and should be sent to:

omanibookmania@gmail.com.

Our review system are supposed to be like the posts published before:

(1) Your general review (The plot of the story).

(2)Personal opinion (What you personally thought of it, how did it keep your attention, what stopped you from reading, etc)

(3) Your Rating (0 to 10, 10 being the highest)

(4) Your Recommendation (who would you recommend it to, which age group, and why)

Sending a book review with an attached picture of the book cover is preferable. Make sure to submit your name and the URL link to your online profile (Blog/Goodreads page)

نظام القراءات

نستقبل قراءاتكم وآرائكم عن الكتب بإحدى اللغتين: العربية أو الانجليزية، على أن ترسل إلى البريد:
omanibookmania@gmaill.com
على أن تشتمل القر اءة على النقاط التالية:

1. (انطباعك العام عن الكتاب (الحبكة في حالة القصة

2. (رأيك الشخصي (كيف وجدت الكتاب شخصيا، كيف جذب اهتمامك، ما الذي نفَرك عنه..الخ

3. (تقييمك للكتاب (من صفر إلى 10، باعتبار 10 أعلى تقييم

4. (تزكيتك للكتاب (لمن تنصح بقراءته؟ ولأي فئة عمرية، ولماذا؟

يستحب ارسال تقييم الكتاب مع صورة لغلافة. وتأكد\ي من ارسال اسمك ووصلة لأي ملف الكتروني أو موقع خاص بك

Change of Heart | Jodi Picoult

Change of Heart ~ Jodi Picoult

By: Kitten

Blog: Hallucinations of a Kitten

The story is set about a mother (June) who lost her first husband in a car accident then married a police officer, Kurt, who raised Elizabeth, the first husband's daughter. Kurt and Elizabeth get killed by Shay, the house's carpenter.

The mystery surrounding the character Shay and his attitude struck me and I had to figure out what he truly was. He was sentenced to death and after waiting 11 years in prison for his fate, things become exceedingly interesting for truth reveals it self eventually. Once inside the prison, Shay was somehow responsible of turning water into wine, bringing back a bird from dead, healing an inmate from AIDs completely, multiplying food from one item. This whole drama caused people outside the prison and inside to mistake him for Jesus or a Messiah.

Meanwhile, Shay claimed nothing about himself of that sort that Micheal, a saint and a member of Shay's jury who convicted him years ago, struggles to heal the inmate's soul. Shay then fascinates Micheal by quoting some of Jesus' sayings that is not written in any gospels of Bible but on the mysterious gospel of Thomas, written two thousand years ago.

Father Micheal doubted that Shay would have read such a rare book given his condition of having difficulty in speaking, writing and reading. Shay all the while insisted on donating his heart after his death to Claire, Elizabeth's sister and June's daughter from Kurt. An attorney, Maggie, fights alongside Shay and Micheal to make Shay's final wish happen by insisting on taking an alternative manner of death sentence which is none other than hanging since it only causes brain-death and keeps the heart functioning.

At this point Picoult captivates her readers by a thought-provoking situation when June, the mother, decides on either forgoing the past or accepting Shay's heart that will somehow ensures her daughter's Claire transplant and would give her years to live.

The ending sparks endless questions on my mind so I wouldn't ruin it for you, except that if I ever got the change of asking Picoult anything it would be these;

What is Shay exactly? How could he revive the dead and do other miracles?
How can he insist on going to jail instead of someone else?
How did he know things of other people's lives?
When and why did he steal Micheal's grandfather's picture?

Personal Opinion: Philosophy and religions were mentioned a lot in this book that I would have skipped some pages if it weren't for the thought-provoking storyline and to admit that this book kept my insominac for three long nights isn't an exaggeration for it deserves more than just this.

My rating: 8/10, Picoult continues to amaze me.

I recommend it to whoever's interested in knowing how's it like to be in prison, and how to make up your mind on the hardest decisions. If you're interested in the philosophy of religions and faiths with an unfolding social event then this is the right book for you. Give it a try, you won't regret it.

War and Peace | Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace ~ Leo Tolstoy

By Noor

Blog: Spreading My Wings

I picked it up thinking I wouldn't understand anything, but I simply felt it was now or never. I read in the introduction somewhere it had over 500 characters, and that scared me more, because I was already scared of how huge the book was, and how heavy!

At first, I didn't get much and I was mixing up characters and I wasn't constant with my reading. When I got a little less than 200 pages, I decided that I had to give it its due, and if it didn't work out then at least I could say I tried. Suddenly, it got more interesting. I was interacting with the book and it felt good.

Bit by bit as I got more into the book I started loving it, truly loving it. The characters held me captive, though I disliked them at times. I had to read more. At night I wouldn't want to sleep because there was more to be read, and more yet to unfold.

A novel, though Tolstoy doesn't consider it as a novel, as big as War and Peace where everything is relevant yet when you look back at certain events that took place a few pages back they look so insignificant compared to how everything worked out and how things were being shaped at that certain moment. Tolstoy keeps you hoping for a certain thing to happen, so you wait and you wait some more. He’s so good at his writing that just before that certain event happens, you no longer care if will take place or not, you’re only left wanting to know what happens next. Most of the time I felt I was being told a story of people that actually happened. They truly feel so real, that you’re simply left observing the course of their lives without judgment over how it turns out, you’re only studying these characters and you’re thinking them over.

Tolstoy was very concerned with history, and if you look at the title; War and Peace, it’ll tell you everything you should be expecting. It’s Tolstoy’s attempt at making us see things that actually happened in his reasoning. He wants us to know what actually happened, who was to blame and how people lived at that time. He truly wants you to understand history, and would take the trouble to dedicate chapters to relate this history and what historians said about the events he’s describing. I actually thought that was the fun part for him, while for me to be honest it was tedious work. I have never read history, and I don’t want to. I didn’t understand much of the ‘pure’ history parts, and I didn’t bother most of the time to concentrate on it. I simply read it to get to the good parts with the actual characters of the novel.

Coming to the characters, they were superb. Each one of them has something special and Tolstoy took the time to give each character life. All of the leading characters left an impression on me, though I have to speak of one certain character and that is Pierre. He is absolutely one of my favorite characters if not my all time favorite. He is amazing. His soul has such depth, that it’s impossible not to relate to him in everything he does or thinks of. I simply love him, and although he isn’t as charming as other characters in the novel, he possessed something that made me dwell much on him and on everything he did and thought. I can’t explain it by words but this character became very close to my heart after the time I spend with it, which was quite lengthy.

Personal opinion: I will conclude by saying, it is a great novel and you must have the patience to understand what the author is trying to tell you to get the full enjoyment of it. I am grateful for having picked up the book at that certain moment defying my fears of it. Now I can proudly say I’ve read War and Peace, and I’ve enjoyed it.

My Rating: 10/10

I recommend it to all classic lovers out there who love to get lost in that beautiful era and enjoy a bit of history.

الزهير | باولو كويليو

الزهير~ باولو كويليو

By Faith

Blog: Dear Me

هل تؤمن بأنك ستتعلق في يوم ما بشخص معين لدرجة الاستبداد؟ لا يكاد عقلك وقلبك ينفكان عن التفكير به؟ فيصبح شغلك الشاغل، تنام وتصحوا على خياله، ويظل يلحقك أينما حللت، ويلازمك كظلك؟
أو ما يسمى بالصوفية بالتعلق بالزهير، كما ذكر في مقدمة الرواية، وهو الظاهر والواضح والذي لا يمكن أن يمر دون ملاحظته، بل ويصعب نسيانه
في إطار روائي مشوق بسيط الحبكة، ملئ باللفتات الفلسفية والعبارات العميقة، أضاف كويليو إلى مجموعة رواياته ال25 رائعته "الزهير" التي تجلى فيها بشكل ملحوظ تأثرة بالثقافة الشرقية و الفلسفات الصوفية
تحكي القصة باختصار عن قصة كاتب معروف تمكن من النجاح والتغلب على الكثير من جوانب شخصيته المزعجة بمساندة زوجته التي اعطته بلا حدود، وفجأة وبدون سابق انذار تهجره زوجته، ويبدأ برحلة مشوقة يلتقي فيها بشخصيات غريبة، وفي ظروف أغرب وأقرب منها إلى الخيال، تبادل فيها الحوارت المميزة واستمع إلى فهم وتفسير الناس لمفهوم طاقة الحب الكونية، والغرض من الحياة، لينتهي به الحال إلى إدراك حقيقة أنه في الحقيقة قد ضيع نفسه قبل زوجته، وانه في رحلة للبحث عن نفسه أولا لكي يتسنى له ايجاد زوجته
يلتقي في بحثه على شخصية "ميخائيل" الذي يساعده في فك طلاسم اختفاء زوجته المحير، ويعطيه دروس بأغرب الأساليب في فهم معنى الحب، وطاقة الحب، وحاجة الكون بأسره إلى التوازن في الحب...لينتهي بهما المطاف في أحدى سهوب كازاخستان حيث اعتزلت زوجته "استير" المراسلة الحربية السابقة بنفسها واكتفت بتعلم نسج السجاد الكازخي وتعليم الأطفال الفرنسية بعد رحلة طويلة لاكتشاف المغزى الحقيقة من حياتها، ولتتيقن من مقدار حب زوجها لها، ولتبرهن لنفسها أن المال والشهرة هما أمران طارئان في حياتهما وأن السعادة تشمل معان أخرى، وكذلك الحب، يتجاوز العالم المادي الذي لا زلنا نحصر أنفسنا فيه

رأي الشخصي: وقعت رهينة حب هذا الكتاب وحلق بي في فضاءات جميلة، لا تزال بعض العبارات العميقة الواردة في الكتاب عالقة بذهني
تقييمي للكتاب ٨ من ١٠ اذ ينقص الكتاب الغنى في الحبكة، اذ ركز الراوي على الاسهاب في وصف المشاعر والأفكار التي تجول في أذهان شخصيات القصة

انصح بقراءة الكتاب بشدة، لمن يبحث عن الروحانية، القصة، والفلسفة البسيطة، والمعاني العميقة في كتاب واحد

Why Omani Book Mania?

(1) I've searched around for an Omani-based blog about books, English ones to be exact and I couldn't find any. We can say it's one-of-a-kind in town.

(2) Sometimes, I get messages from different people to recommend books quickly when they're in a bookstore and I always reply late so before heading out, check this place for reviews and choose on your own.

(3) This is a special area for us readers to rave and rant about our latest reads, favourite authors and characters. Where you'll actually might find someone sharing same ideas as yours.

(4) I'll publish guest reviews as well. Remember: this is NOT a personal blog, but it's more of a readers' cafe to express their thoughts and share their reviews. You can e-mail them to me on: omanibookmania@gmail.com

The main purpose of this blog is to make it easier for all of you out there to get your hands on the right books. Here we will review and your only task is to choose what appeals to your taste and start reading.

I hope that that explains my reasons for those who hate numerous blogs but the new one is totally different. I’m having high expectations for Omani Book Mania and since it’s something I’m really passionate about, I’d put my heart and soul into it in order for it to work out into something big. Oman seriously needs book clubs. We’d start out slowly...untill we gain many followers and then we could start discussing.

In the mean time, I’d really appreciate it if you send your suggestions or queires about what I’m going to do for Omani Book Mania. Any ideas are more than welcome. If you’re interested in sharing your book reviews or being part of the team e-mail them here: omanibookmania[at]gmail[dot]com

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1. بحثت كثيرا عن مدونات عمانية تتحدث عن الكتب، والانجليزية منها بالذات ولكن باءت محاولاتي بالفشل. لذا يمكننا بأن نقول بأن هذه المدونة هي الأولى والوحيدة من نوعها.
2. في بعض الأحيان، أستقبل رسائل من أشخاص مختلفين يطلبون مني ترشيح كتب سريعا عندما يكونون في المكتبات، وغالبا كما أقوم بالرد عليهم متأخرا. فقبل خروجكم، تأكدوا من القاء نظرة على القراءات في هذا الموقع، طب وتخيَر كما تريد!
3. لنعتبر جميعا هذه البقعة مكان لنا نحن القرَاء مكانا يجمعنا لنتحاور ونتبادل الآراء عن آخر ما قرأناه، كتَابنا وشخصياتنا المفضلين.
4. سوف أقوم كذلك بنشر قراءات لضيوف المدونة، تذكروا أن هذه المدونة ليست شخصية! ولكنها أقرب لأن تكون إلى مقهى للقرَاء، نوَفر لهم فيه المتنفس للتعبير عن آراءهم ومشاركة قراءاتهم. فقط أرسلوا ما تودوا المشاركة به على بريد المدونة: omanibookmania@gmail.com

هدفنا الأساسي من هذه المدونة هو أن نجعل تجربة اقتناء الكتاب الصحيح تجربة سهلة وممتعة. سوف ننشر القراءات، ومهمتك ستكون اختيار ما تهفو إليه نفسك ويروق لذائقتك من كتب!

أتمنى بان يكون ما سبق يشرح ببساطة أسباب تفكيري ببدأ مدونة كهذه. آمالي لهذه البقعة كبيرة جدا، خصوصا أنها من الأشياء التي طالما عشقتها! عمان بحاجة حقيقية لأندية القراءة. قد تكون البداية بطيئة، إلى أن نظفر بمتابعة كبيرة حتى نستطيع أن نبدأ بالنقاشات على مستوى أكبر.

في الوقت الحالي، أقدر أي أسئلة أو اقتراحات قد تجودون بها علي بخصوص هذه المدونة. أفكاركم ستكون حتما في محل الترحيب. إذا كنتم من المهتمين بمشاركة قراءاتكم أو إذا أحببتم أن تكونوا جزءا من فريق العمل، لا تترددوا بالتواصل معنا عبر: omanibookmania@gmail.com