Archive for the ‘Recommended Books’ Category

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Pride and Prejudice

Saturday, September 18th, 2010

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51U50ZHYY3L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpgI had read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin when I was in school in India. Also, I had watched a movie based on the book, Pride and Prejudice. I had enjoyed it a lot. I still remembered the story but I wanted to read it again and this time I wanted to read the original version. I wasn’t sure if I am going to enjoy it this time as I know the story very well. Also, it’s actually a very simple story. To my surprise, I had a new understanding and I enjoyed it much more than ever before.

In India, there was a TV series that was based on Pride and Prejudice but applied to Indian life. It was so wonderful that I feel like watching it again. Pride and Prejudice is an amazing story that will never get old and applies to all cultures in all countries. No wonder it is a classic!

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Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories of a Prodigal Daughter

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Things I've Been Silent AboutFor the first time, I understand the history of Iran because of the book, Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories of a Prodigal Daughter by Azar Nafisi. She has explained the history of Iran very well by narrating her own life history. Iran’s culture is so rich and deep but it’s so sad that the fanatics have been trying to erase her heritage. They don’t realize that they can only put a veil on the rich literature of Iran for a time being. It is impossible to erase it completely.

Azar’s mother was an interesting person. It seems to me that all she needed was lots and lots of love, praise and encouragement. To me, it seems like Azar’s mother was stuck in a vicious circle of self-pity and low self-esteem. Her mother was a very intelligent person but she went through her share of tragedies. Probably that’s why she seemed like a very hard person to live with. I kind of agree with her mother’s observation that sometimes children find the parent who indulge more charming than the parent who discipline. One lesson that I hope I never forget is when Azar tell us that parents usually protect kids from strangers but not adult relatives and friends. It is usually the relative and friend we trust who harm our children.

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Three Weeks in October

Friday, August 13th, 2010

Three weeks in October by Charles Moose and Charles Fleming is the first book I read that takes me inside the life of a police officer and inside a police department. Also, I do remember the terror caused by the sniper but I didn’t know the details. Hence it was interesting for me to read what the police did in this case. Another interesting aspect of this book is that Charles Moose is African American and hence gave me a glimpse into how it feels to be African American police officer.

It was a very interesting book unlike any I have read so far. We do have to consider that this book is just one side of the story even though it is a very interesting side of the story.

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Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail

Monday, August 9th, 2010

What a Story! Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail (Oprah’s Book Club) by Malika Oufkir is a window into the political society of Morocco. First part of the book gives a peek into the affluence and royalty in Morocco and the second part gives a peek into the lives of political prisoners in Morocco. It is absolutely cruel of king Hasan II to punish the family for the deeds of a father, irrespective of the fact whether the King was right or General Oufkir.

I am very impressed with the strong will and determination of the family, especially Malika, to not only survive but thrive despite all the torture in the jail. It’s a miracle that they did manage to escape and make this ordeal their past. I have a 3 and a half year old son and I just cannot imagine how the youngest one, Abdellatif, spent his childhood and adolescent in the jail. He was 3 and a half when he was sent to jail with his family and the day he escaped from the jail he was 18. My heart shudders with this thought.

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3 Year old Preschool Curriculum for my son

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

My son is being home schooled right now. He is three and a half years old and his curriculum includes the following.

Reading Books: I love Sonlight P3/P4 curriculum as we are reading quality books and also, we do some of the suggested optional activities for each book in the reading list. We read Nursery Rhymes once a week. We participate in a book club once a week.

Activity Books: I have him working on 5-6 types of activity books at a time. I let my son do a page from each in a day. I like Kumon and BrainQuest Activity books. I have following types of activity books that he has been working on: dot-to-dot, mazes, tracing, cutting, folding, coloring, thinking skills, sticker books, and so on. We do these 3 days a week.

Reading Lesson: We are working with “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons“. Teaching my son to read has been a cake-walk because of this book so far. The best part is that he is enjoying it thoroughly. (more…)

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Posted in Children / Kids, Children's Books, Meditation | 3 Comments »

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