My Thoughts On 2 Books - The Flying Carpet To Baghdad, and A 101 Days

AZ and I had to run some errands in the central place near our home a week or so ago. While he had to have his haircut, we both decided I should wait in the neighbourhood library.

Alhamdhulilah, I am really thankful to be blessed with a husband who loves the library as much as I do. While our reading habits vary, and of course, our reading choices vary too (a lot), I was really glad at the first time I discovered that he appreciated spending time in the library with me. While we head off to different sections once we get there - he heads towards IT, multimedia, and now aviation and I to the Islam and Middle East, it is still always so serene when I know that the library is a place that we can both relate to. Alhamdhulilah.

My reading choices have heavily changed over time. In the most recent years, I find myself turning to books related to my faith in some way -  such as books by converts, books by Muslim authors, books about the Gulf countries and similar fiction and non-fiction.

Most times, my books are from our neighbourhood library, which gives me limited choices in this genre (basically because it is one of the smaller libraries). This time I was there, I picked up one book (which I will write about in a later post), and came across two other books I had read earlier which I would like to share my thoughts about.

This is the first, and one book that I liked quite a lot. Although I read it some months back, the storyline and characters and sequence of events are still fresh in my mind.

Maybe because the author is a journalist, and I could relate to her psychological battles in getting a story done while managing the emotions of the people the same story talks about.

This book is about a war journalist's struggles in saving two little girls of war - one of whom she plans to adopt, having no children of her own. A true story by Hala Jaber. While it sure disappoints and leaves you heavy-hearted when you find out whether she succeeds, you actually appreciate her thought processes, which show a clear, mature sense of balancing raw emotions and practicality. Inevitably, as war brings with it moments of grief, anger and stories of death, so will this book.

The next is this book, also by a journalist. But one that I didn't enjoy.

Also a true story. I felt the author had already made up her mind about the kind of stories she was looking for from the people she speaks to. Many times, disappointment jumps at her stories because of this pre-tuned mindset (and therefore disappointed me as a reader too). Putting aside this, a well-narrated insight on the trials of war on common, innocent people's lives and their dreams.