Photograph by .Bradi.
I have always been an avid reader, often reading two or three books at a time, yet I realized when I did this I couldn’t recall the finer details of these very much appreciated books, whom, cliché as it may seem, have been my dear friends for a long time. I couldn’t recall the great words (perhaps because there’s just been too many) that made me smirk, tear up, and laugh aloud – the words that made me live with them as they drifted from one sentence into another, the words I would have liked to hold on to, and refer back to. Thus, I’ve decided to savor each book that I read. Mark down passages. Think. Contemplate on them. Taste them and ponder at their flavor for a while.
Having said so, the following is a list, which is not in any particular order, of what I’ve read recently, what I’d like to read, what I should read (don’t know what that means), what I’d like to reread, and what I may or may not read. The list may actually grow longer rather than shorter, as I seem to discover a new book each day, but that cannot be helped - I am a very greedy reader.
So, without further ranting …
The Reading List:
(Suggestions are welcome!)
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The Woman in White (Penguin Classics) by Wilkie Collins
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Silk by Alessandro Baricco
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The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by R. A. Dick
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Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen
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Persuasion (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen
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Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Brontë
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Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
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Washington Square (Signet Classics) by Henry James March ‘09
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My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
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Anna Karenina (Penguin Classics) by Leo Tolstoy
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The Crucible (Penguin Classics) by Arthur Miller
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Madame Bovary (Oxford World’s Classics) by Gustave Flaubert
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Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates
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Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
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A Room with a View (Bantam Classics) by E.M. Forster
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The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
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Victoria (Penguin Classics) by Knut Hamsun
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The Lover by Marguerite Duras
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Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
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Atonement by Ian McEwan
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Dracula (Enriched Classics Series) by Bram Stoker
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Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier Unfinished
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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (Broadview Edition) by Robert Louis Stevenson
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The Seducer’s Diary by Sören Kierkegaard
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Artemisia: A Novel by Alexandra Lapierre
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The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
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The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
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Ocean Sea by Alessandro Baricco and Alastair McEwen
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Umrao Jan Ada, Translated Khushwant Singh by Mirza Mohammad Hadi Ruswa
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Perfume by Patrick Suskind Unfinished
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Beasts (Otto Penzler Books) by Joyce Carol Oates
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Disquiet (Penguin Original) by Julia Leigh — An odd little book.
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In the Name of Honor: A Memoir by Mukhtar Mai
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Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier March ‘09
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A Cup of Tea: A Novel of 1917 by Amy Ephron April ‘09
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The Mark of the Angel: A Novel by Nancy Huston April ‘09
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Snow : A Novel by Maxence Fermine April ‘09
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Asylum by Patrick McGrath
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The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
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These is My Words by Nancy Turner
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White Rose: Una Rosa Blanca (Ballantine Reader’s’ Circle) by Amy Ephron April ‘09
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The Painted Kiss: A Novel by Elizabeth Hickey June ‘09
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Lust, Caution: The Story by Eileen Chang June ‘09
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Jamilia by Chingiz Aïtmatov June ‘09
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One Sunday Morning: A Novel by Amy Ephron Sep. ‘09
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Love and Summer: A Novel by William Trevor Oct. ‘09
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May 24, 2008 at 8:51 pm
You must read The Thirteenth Tale – brilliant and somehow reminds me a bit of Rebecca!
May 25, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Pari Jan – Thank you for the suggestion, I’ll be sure to check it out. I absolutely loved reading Rebecca.
May 31, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Let me know how you like it! So many books, so little time
June 1, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Seekingnoor -I will, and indeed time is of the essence!
June 1, 2008 at 7:16 pm
As salam ‘aleykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
I don’t see any Hesse on your list! Buy Siddhartha!
http://www.amazon.com/Siddhartha-Hermann-Hesse/dp/0553208845
June 2, 2008 at 11:45 am
Rafael – Wa Salaam.
I looked up your suggestion – Thank you, it looks like something i should enjoy and benefit from. This is way input and suggestions from all different sources and people is so important. Thank you again!
June 2, 2008 at 11:07 pm
And you *better* like it because it’s my favourite novel. You have been warned.
June 3, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Rafael – Ahh…i see, so i’ve been warned, have I? It must be some novel to come with such a recommendation.
I can’t say i’ll get to it right away, but Insha Allah i will get to it.
June 5, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Very nice collection of titles
….and very nice blog.
I like your ID too…takes me back to the childhood when evenings were full of ‘raat ki rani ‘ and ‘ mutti ki khusboo’
June 5, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Zios – Thank you, and yes those languid childhood evenings are most definitely represented in those words, as is the sweetness of our land.
June 6, 2008 at 3:18 am
A very impressive list! I’d love to read even half of it!
Your blogs impressive too!
June 6, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Aadil – I too would love to read even half of it!
Thank you for your kind comments.
August 15, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Impressive list indeed….
You might want to try One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
One of my favorites……the resiliance and power of man to survive and find comfort in small things…you might like it.
Hope all is well with you and yours…
Alan
August 15, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Alan! How are you? Yes, I’m fine, thank you and doing well. How have you been?
And you’re right, i just might enjoy One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, actually i was looking at the book a few days ago
I’ll be sure to put up on my list and get to it eventually (god willing).
August 15, 2008 at 8:27 pm
It’s good to hear from you…..
I missed your words of wisdom.
Havn’t had much internet access!
I’m doing well… been doing a lot traveling of late, very satisfying but tiring as well. (actually love almost every minute of it!)
Take care …..and may God keep you in his sights.
Alan
August 16, 2008 at 6:39 pm
Alan, yes, it’s been a while, but I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself
Traveling! i wish i had a bit more time for that. All in good time I’m sure.
Do keep on having all that fun, but keep in touch! You miss my words and i your great photographs!
Jazakallah (God do you good), and take care.