Life-Changing and Inspirational Books

My Beginnings - Why Read Books? (April 3rd 2020)

Books make me travel through wonders, see the world from a different perspective, and understand humans, their behavior, and how they respond to their environment. I started reading since I was a 4-year old child. I used to read any kind of kids' story or magazine that falls into my hand. Reading ignited the spark of curiosity in me. Throughout the past years, I read diverse kinds of books including short stories, mysteries, adventure and love books, and biographies in Arabic, English, and French.

My love to books was strengthened by the stories that I took at school (Sisters of Nazareth) and read in the summer, which had a great effect on me. Because at every class level, I had one or two stories and a poetry book; this started at 3rd grade. These books included The Prince and the Pauper, The Black Tulip (one of my favorite novels), A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre (the most favorite book), Tom Brown's Schooldays, Little Women, American and British Short Stories (included stories for H.E. Bates; J. Thurber; S. Maugham; W. Saroyan; O. Henry; H.H. Munro; M. Twain; F.M. Crawford; and S. Leacock), Selected Tales for D.H. Laurence, Classic Short Stories (F.S. Fitzgerald; A. Chekov; S.T. Warner; K. Chopin; E. Hemingway; E. Taylor; K. Mansfield; B. Head; C.P. Gilman; T. Hardy; W. Collins; O. Wilde; J. Rhys; Hawthorne; S-G. Colette; G. Greene; J. Joyce; and J. Frame), The Merchant of Venice (also one of my favorite stories), and Macbeth.

I read for Ihsan Abdel Quddous, Naguib Mahfouz, Taha Hussein, Ahmad Amin, Ghada al-Samman, Nizar Qabbani, Gibran Khalil Gibran, Kalila wa Demna (كليلة و دمنة) , Homer, One Thousand and One Nights, and other books. I used to borrow books from my late grandfather "Suleiman Mousa", whom I used to help in editing his books as he was a historian (still participating in editing the new prints). I read most of my grandpa's books and my favorite one is "Eighty - the Journey of Days and Years".

One of the captivating books that I read when I was a teenager was "Juebat Alsiyad (جعبة الصياد; The quiver of the hunter)" for Saeed Freiha in which he talked about his travel adventures, including the story of Lady Godiva Statue in England (I am not sure if the name of Godiva chocolate is based on this rebellious woman). And when I was 16, I challenged myself to read "Le Comte de Monte Cristo" novel in French. It was my dad's, and consisted of 6 (~350-page) parts. Following this accomplishment, I registered at the French Cultural Center in Amman and read Joan of Arc and other novels for Dumas and Hugo.

Later in my twenties, I read stories for Ahlam Mosteghanemi that I really enjoyed. But after reading five books, I felt that all of them discuss one thing (a mix of women, love, and patriotism; she compares women who suffered from failed love stories with countries that did not exchange the love of its loyal citizens). And I needed to read different books to help me thrive. So I read biographies including King Hussein, Queen Noor Al-Hussein, Guevara, Mandela, Gandhi, Queen Soraya of Iran, Zorba, Jalal Al-Din Al-Rumi, and I am Malala. These compelling books allowed me to know and learn about other cultures, the struggle that these persons went through, the horrible circumstances that they had to face, and the price of freedom that they paid to stay alive (and obtain independence). Other controversial books were "Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyámرباعيات الخيام " and "A Meeting with the History by Abdel Qader Al-Haddad". I also read about historic figures such as Zanobia, Cleopatra, and Omar bin Al-Khattab.

All these readings made who I am today and helped me to stay sane during grad school. In this blog I wanted to share with whoever comes across it my thoughts about some of the fascinating books that nourished my mind and my soul. So maybe then, if you did not read any of these books, you will be inspired to read them and may be affect you the same way they changed me.