Read in 2012

For the past few years, my target has been to read one book each week on average (not including manuscripts I edit or children's books I read to my children). I'm short by 6 this year, and I'm happy enough with that. Here are the books that I've read in 2012 (copy pasted from my Goodreads record):

1. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie
2. The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, Alexander McCall Smith
3. Laughing Gas, PG Wodehouse
4. Stories (an anthology), Neil Gaiman
5. Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success, Claire Shipman & Katty Kay
6. 1515, Faisal Tehrani
7. Animal Farm, George Orwell
8. Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki & Sharon Lechter
9. The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins
10. Love & Dr Devon, Alan Titchmarsh
11. Poke The Box, Seth Godin
12. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World, John Wood
13. The Devil You Know, Louise Bagshawe
14. Food For Thought, Philip J Romano
15. Suu Phea, Abu Hassan Morad
16. Mengapa Rasulullah Tidak Pernah Sakit, Dr Adi Hashman
17. Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World, Zig ZIglar
18. Gifted, Nikita Lalwani
19. Snow, Orhan Pamuk
20. Indahnya Hidup Tanpa Derita, Noor Laila Aniza Zakaria
21. In the Footsteps of the Prophet, Tariq Ramadan
22. Permata Aurorius, Ahmad Patria Abdullah
23. The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag, Alan Bradley
24. Divided Kingdom, Rupert Thomson
25. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
26. The Book of Tomorrow, Cecilia Ahern
27. 100 Kisah Kehidupan, Zakaria Sungib
28. I Want to be a Writer, Ummu Hani Abu Hassan
29. Noorah, Ummu Hani Abu Hassan
30. Googled, Ken Auletta
31. Travelog Haji, Muhd Kamil Ibrahim
32. Panduan Ibadah Haji, Umrah & Ziarah (TH)
33. The Foundling, Georgette Heyer
34. Soal Jawab Ibadah Haji & Umrah (TH)
35. Nat Geo Amazing
36. 50 Tip Motivasi Haji, Muhd Kamil Ibrahim
37. Haji Muda, Ridzwan Bakar
38. Catatan Penglipur Lara Sang Majistret, Zabidi Mohamed
39. The Footprints of God, George Iles
40. Pecah, Khairulnizam Bakeri
41. From My Sisters' Lips, Na'ima B. Roberts
42. Next, Michael Crichton
43. Syed Mokhtar Albukhary, Premilla Mohanlall
44. The Help, Kathrynn Stockett
45. Mr Mulliner Speaking, PG Wodehouse
46. The Qur'an and I, Anas Zubedy

I'm not into writing book reviews I suppose, but occasionally I would feel like saying a thing or two about a book (not quite a review, just some thoughts) like the previous post on The Help.

Happy new year, by the way, and hope we'll all be enriched by the books we are going to read next year :)

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The Help

The Help, written by Kathryn Stockett, is the first book from this year's Big Bad Wolf Sale that I've read, and I think it's really good. The story is about black women working as domestic maids back in 1962 (till 1964). These are some of the things that made the book interesting (perhaps a bit from the technical point of view):
- The story is told from the point of view of three different people, with clear distinction between the three in the chapters splits, the style of narration as well as the narration itself
- The story moves at a good pace (not too slow, not too fast)
- There are 'mystery' plots to keep reader guessing and in suspense
- The plots are not all predictable
- Good dose of humour as well as heart-warming moments

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A well-rounded education

Personally, I want a well-rounded education for my children, an education that includes learning about their deen; becoming fluent with written and spoken languages; learning Arabic; understanding Maths, Science, the way things work; understanding and learning how to recite and memorize the Qur'an; knowing world history and culture as well as their Islamic heritage; developing their creative talents through art; learning about discipline and their physical abilities through sport; developing good manners, an honourable character, a love of learning and of reading, and encouraging a curiousity about life and people and a desire to live a life that is full and meaningful. It is that balance of spiritual, mental, and physical development - of deen and dunyah - that, as Muslim parents, we strive to attain.

- Na'ima B Roberts in her book, From My Sisters' Lips

Thanks Mrs Roberts for eloquently summarising the hopes and wishes of most Muslim parents (including myself) when it comes to the education of their children. 

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Buku dalam drama

Dalam satu status FB yang dikongsi oleh Tuan Zabidi Mohamed beberapa minggu lalu, beliau menyatakan dalam setiap dramanya yang diangkat ke layar televisyen, ada satu atau dua buku yang dipilih sebagai bahan bacaan watak utama dan jelas kelihatan kepada penonton. Ini satu langkah yang patut dipuji. Pertama, ia menjadi promosi langsung kepada buku-buku tersebut. Dan yang lebih penting lagi, ia membantu memupuk budaya membaca kerana memperlihatkan suasana yang mesra buku dan membaca sebagai sebahagian kehidupan sehari-hari. Apa yang kita lihat, tonton, mempengaruhi kita.

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Festival Sastera Kanak-kanak 2012

Ayuh, jom bawa anak-anak ke Festival Sastera Kanak-kanak 2012! Festival yang dianjurkan oleh Perbadanan Kota Buku ini bakal berlangsung dari 1 ke 6 November 2012 di Fakulti Sastera dan Sains Sosial, Universiti Malaya dari jam 9 pagi ke 5.30 petang.

Klik laman web ini untuk mencapai maklumat lanjut.

Sayang, tarikh festival ini cuma seminggu lebih awal daripada cuti sekolah. Bukankah lebih optimum jika penganjur menganjakkan sedikit tarikh festival supaya berlangsung sewaktu cuti sekolah?

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Catatan Penglipur Lara Sang Majistret dan buku umum, umumnya

Tidak banyak yang mahu saya perkatakan tentang buku tulisan Encik Zabidi Mohamed, bekas majistret/peguam kini penulis skrip, kecuali: saya amat terhibur membacanya! Namun, bukan sekadar terhibur semata-mata, tetapi pengetahuan-pengetahuan dan pengalaman baru yang dikongsi oleh beliau juga amat menarik. Ada kisah beliau yang sungguh pelik sekali (kisah terakhir), tidak sangka kisah sebegini betul-betul berlaku di dunia sebenar. Betullah kata bidalan, truth can be stranger than fiction (kadang-kadang kisah benar lebih pelik berbanding kisah fiksyen)!

Pada pandangan saya, buku bukan fiksyen yang diterbitkan dalam bahasa Melayu di Malaysia yang bersifat umum masih kurang variasinya. Lebih biasa kita temui buku-buku travelog atau perkongsian pengalaman (termasuklah biografi/autobiografi) termasuklah buku Catatan Penglipur Lara Sang Majistret, buku panduan/how-to, dan buku motivasi.

Maksud saya buku umum (secara peribadi), adalah buku dengan topik pengetahuan am (general knowledge), yang boleh jadi sarat dengan ilmu (tetapi digarap dengan ringan dan menarik, bukan terlalu ilmiah sehingga tidak accessible kepada khalayak umum) atau buku yang menghiburkan. Berikut antara contoh-contoh buku yang saya maksudkan:

A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson

An Uncommon History of Common Things - Bethanne Patrick, John Thompson

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops - Jen Campbell  

Outliers - Malcolm Gladwell (and all his other books)

Nat Geo Amazing! - Melina Gerosa Bellows

Apakah buku-buku seumpama ini tiada kelompok peminat sendiri? Barangkali penerbit tidak mahu mengambil risiko mencuba genre baru di pasaran tempatan.

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50 Buku Pilihan MBKM

Pesta Buku Frankfurt sedang berlangsung kini. Melalui blog ilustrator yang saya kagumi, Puan Emila Yusof, saya mendapat tahu senarai buku-buku yang terpilih sebagai 50 Best Titles oleh Majlis Buku Kebangsaan Malaysia (National Book Council of Malaysia) iaitu:

Art/Art & Crafts: 1. Shadow Play 2. Crafted in Malaysia 3. Wayang Kulit Melayu Traditional Kelantan 4.Susur Masa 5. Batik Malaysia

Biography: 6. Portrait Of A Thousand Smiles 7. Biografi Tun Abdul Razak 8. Kanang

Children: 9. Longhouse Days 10. Kailash 11. Puteri Tioman 12. Siri Merah Cinta Kita 13. Hikayat Hang Tuah 14. The Malaysian Art Book for Children 15. DearYayah,The Series

Cooking: 16. Malaysian Favourite Recipes 17. 1 Hari 1 Resipi: 365 Resipi 18. Gourmet to Health 19. 300 Menu Ramadhan &Syawal 20. 202 Khasiat Herba

Environment: 21. Taman Negara 22. Ocean Tapestry 23. Antartica 24. Siri Pendidikan Alam Sekitar: Pemeliharaan dan Pemuliharaan Hutan Hujan Tropika

Fiction: 25. Mustafa Kamal Atartuk 26. King of The Sea 27. The Beruas Prophecy 28. Antologi Karya Sasterawan 29. Legenda Elfarren 30. Adam dan Hawa 31. Tiara Pesona 32. A Cold Wind Blows

Islam: 33. Indahnya Hidup Bersyariat 34. Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah 35. Fundamentals of Syariah in Islamic Finance

Malay Classic & Award Winning Titles: 36. The Old Man at The Foot of The Mountain 37. Cinta Sekerdip Embun 38. Senja Kala 39. Panglima Awang 40. The Last Day of An Artist 41. Le Champion 42. Antologi Cerpen Berunsur Islam – Cinta Masitah 43. Laut Takjub

Non Fiction/Language/Finance/Social: 44. Peribahasa Melayu 45. Catatan Latiff Mohidin 46. Empayar Melaka: Tradisi Agung Melayu 47. Nuansa Nusantara 48. Arowana: Ikan Hiasan Bernilai

Poetry/Play: 49. At A Plank Bridge – A Play 50. At-Tariq

Semoga penawaran ini mendapat perhatian pihak-pihak yang berminat untuk mendapatkan hakcipta penerbitan semula/terjemahan buku-buku Malaysia dan merancakkan lagi industri penerbitan tempatan!

Baguslah MBKM sudah ada laman sesawang mereka. Jikalau tidak silap, saya pernah mencari laman web mereka dua atau tiga tahun lepas tetapi tidak bertemu apa-apa.

Di bawah pula, senarai 50 judul buku bagi tahun lepas (2011).

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Understanding poverty

"My Umi rationed food so we also have food at dinner too. I could take the rice with only planta and soy sauce, yes I could take that. I was irritated at the way my Umi would divide everything into small portion sfor each of us siblings. But I could deal with that. Also the quarrels and fights when my big brother would 'sapu' some of my portions too - but really, I could handle that as well. I could also shower without soap or not brushing my teeth and the bad breath in school.

But the psychological trauma of seeing my parents quarrelling over and over again angered me so much then. At times, an RM5 issue would throw the family into days of distress, pain, misery, anguish, fear and sorrow.

It was a pain that pierced right through my heart that even as I am writing this now, today, year 2009, when I am no longer living in poverty, tears are rolling and rolling and rolling down my cheeks. The tears just wouldn't stop. The brain is a funny instrument. It does not seem to know the difference between the past and the present. So the past becomes the present, just by thinking about it! God it was so tiring ... I feel tired now just thinking back!"

-Anas Zubedy in his book 'The Quran and I', recounting his childhood

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