My Journal: What I Am (Should Be) Thankful For

I thought I would mix it up a bit for this week's writing post with something from my journal. I made it a goal to journal every day this year and I thought I would share some of my personal writings once in a while.

Some days, I realized that there are small blessings that I never considered until I took the time to really think about it. I wrote these down to remind myself that there is always, always, always, something to be thankful for! Of course this list is very brief and there is much, much more that I could add, but the ones I am going to share I am sincerely grateful for (or should be...) I am not doing this just for the typical things. This is to help me learn to be more grateful iA and maybe help someone else too.

Also, I am not posting this today just because today is Thanksgiving. I know I usually post on Sundays, but I really didn't have time that day thanks to hw... The semester is almost over (only 12 more days!!!) so this is crunch time for many students in uni./ college, not just myself. I thought I would still post today rather than skip a week because it is better late than never! Now on to the actual list of what I am/ should be thankful for.

Alhamdulillah (all praise is to Allah) for...

1. Islam (will explain exactly what in a future post iA)

2. being born as a Muslim. Hearing the obstacles (ex. parents, friends, society, etc.) reverts sometimes go through should make any Muslim born into Islam appreciate that we have it easy in some ways. But then again, sometimes I think being a revert helps one appreciate Islam more since they are usually more committed to Islam. I wonder...
3. my family, especially my Mom
4. variety of food and drinks
5. nice clothes
6. roof over my head
7. being alive for 20 years +

8. chance at a college education

9. money

10. laptop = internet (or else I'd be bored!!!)

11. soft warm bed

12. cold and hot water for drinking and shower (in order)

13. living in America and not BD....

14. electricity

15. heating for the cold months...

16. cars and not having to walk far

17. proper indoor toilets and bathrooms

18. books for entertainment

19. email and phone for communication

20. beautiful, breathtaking nature

21. my knowledge thus far

22. no serious hardships like others

23. my teeth

24. no allergies

25. rain

26. people like Yasmin Mogahed

27. fresh, cool, natural air

28. air conditioner

29. the few compliments I get on my hair, petite body, etc.

30. few, but good friends
31. single at my age
32. being fluent in English (universal language)

To conclude this post, here is a hadith (report of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad (SAW) that I try to keep in mind that has to do with the subject of being grateful. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: "Look at those who stand at a lower level than you [with regards to worldly possessions] instead of looking at those who stand at a higher level than you, for this would make the favors (gifted to you by Allah) insignificant (in your eyes)" (Book 42, Hadith 7070).

My Top 10: Favorite Children's Books/ Authors

Here is a short list of my favorite books/ authors that I enjoyed reading as a child (and a little older too ;) which I think are suited for children under 12, both girls and boys. I think the books below are not too difficult to read, but still interesting. Let me know in the comments what you think of the books I chose and also books you loved as a child (or older ;) and recommend to a young audience.
 
1. Dr. Seuss (for anyone who loves cute short stories with rhyme)
2. Shel Silverstein (for poetry fans, again those who enjoy rhyme like me ;)
3. Roald Dahl (Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvelous Medicine, etc.) 
4. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (for fantasy readers)
5. Warriors by Erin Hunter (for fans of cats, action, and adventure)
6. Dolphin Diaries by Ben M. Baglio (for those who like sea life mixed with adventure)
7. Monsters by Dian Curtis Regan (cute stories with a different story line)
8. Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George (great intro. series to "princess fairy tales")
9. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (love!)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Jules Feiffer (Illustrator) (my review)  

A-Z Poetry by Me: E

Elegy to Childhood

Childhood: years of innocence, adventure, play,
No responsibilities, free time galore, and cheerful every day.

Sunny days riding bikes with friends and family picnics at the park,

Imagination running wild, making shadow puppets in the dark.

Running wild outside flying kites and playing tag,

Looking forward to school in your new outfit and bookbag.

No dreaded days at school of bullying and thoughts of suicide,

No pressure of where you want to be in 15+ years as the days pass by.

The days pass by watching PBSKids, a child of seven by Generation O,

But times have changed and so has PBSKids Go!

Times have changed you realize one day,

And childhood isn't looked at in the same way.

Children are growing up and learning much faster,

Gone are the many innocent days of fun and laughter.

The Zion Deception by Dr. Laurence B. Brown 4/5

 

I haven't done a good old fashioned single book review in a long time, so I think it is finally about time I did one again. I was very excited when I found out Dr. Brown came out with his 3rd work of fiction, The Zion Deception, so I grabbed it in my summer haul. I plan to review his other two novels that I read and loved, but for now, here is a review of his most recent published book.

The back of The Zion Deception reads: "David Cohen’s wife didn’t deserve to die. Sarah Weizmann shouldn’t blame herself for Leah’s murder. But the shocking crime served a militant Zionist group’s strategic purpose. When David and Sarah team up to find Leah’s killer, they are drawn into a maze of murder and intrigue designed to conceal the ugly history of Zionism. Following a path through Poland’s WWII death camps, they are forced to fight for their lives against both a psychopathic Nazi war criminal and Israel’s Mossad. When they discover the dark secret that links their two antagonists, they realize something is bound to die – themselves, the horrifying truth, or all together. The Zion Deception is a fully-annotated and meticulously researched work that expresses pro-Jewish, anti-Zionist views popular among Jewish revisionist historians. Although controversial, it challenges what readers know about anti-Semitism, Zionism, and Israel. With a keen sense of closure and awareness of the interconnectedness behind history’s failings, author Dr. Laurence B. Brown exposes popularized fallacies, and reveals the threat Zionism poses not only to Jews, but to the world as a whole."

The Zion Deception is a real eye opener novel. It is surprising, sad, detailed, and relevant to the world today. Some parts are gruesome and action packed, typical "Brown" fiction. I am not complaining by any means. The action and adventure in Dr. LBB's books made me a fan of his in the first place after reading his previous novels. His book descriptions really catch my attention and gives me high expectations.

The Zion Deception includes some history which I think was interesting, but confusing at times with all the details. I think rereading this book will help me better digest the material. As I said, this book brings in current events, so for someone like myself who really isn't into the news and what is happening around the world (I know this isn't good, but the news is depressing...) the book was interesting and "enlightened" me about the situation between Palestine/ Israel and Zionism in general. Yes, this book is a work of fiction, but there are facts weaved within the story as Brown mentions at the end.

From The Zion Deception, readers will get yet another example of how war changes people through Sarah's experience (pg. 24-25). And I'm sure this wouldn't be the first time either for readers to hear that with joining the army, comes brainwashing. As Sarah explained to her friend, "killing an American was murder, but the army taught us the Iraqis weren't human. In the American soldier's eyes, they were animals. It's the same old story...the Germans were Krauts, the Japanese were Nips, the Chinese, Chinks... the Viet Cong were gooks. In every conflict, the military think tanks dehumanize the enemy, to make it physiologically easier for the soldiers in the field to kill them. After the war, we meet them, maybe managing the corner convenience store, and realize they're just as human as we are" (53). Sounds familiar?

Brown uses a lot of abbreviations like MP, POW, APC, etc. and while some of them can be easily figured out, I wish Brown spelled them out at least once so we wouldn't have to guess at their meanings. There are some disturbing bits in The Zion Deception such as the details in being spied on page 139. The gruesome history of Zionism and the Zionist Jews contribution to the Holocaust stands out the most in the book though. For those people who don't know what Zionism is, it is the "political movement to establish a Jewish nation-state" (Foreword). In chapter 20 in which Sarah tours the concentration camps, we learn about Josef Mengele. Mengele would perform "experiments" usually on twins, "dissecting them side by side, alive, without anesthesia... even went as far as to remove limbs and stitch siblings together" (161). By the middle of the book (pages 196-197), readers will be in shock when they read about the Transfer Agreement.

Readers will also be surprised and in suspense at almost every turn of the page. Closer to the end of The Zion Deception, we learn something shocking. I won't ruin it here, but let me just say that learning the origin of the majority of Jews makes Brown's book worth reading. Besides all the interesting, surprising, detailed facts mixed in with a good storyline, there are some funny bits as well as a lot of action. I could go on about this book (I wrote down a ton of notes), but will spoil the story no more.

Overall, I gave this book ****/***** I would consider The Zion Deception to be a realistic historical crime fiction novel (is that even possible???). Anyone into that sort of stuff would really enjoy this book. If you can digest some of the material that I have mentioned and want to learn more about this subject, I also highly recommend The Zion Deception to you. If you would like to purchase this book, go to http://ziondeception.com/

Rubyredskin

A different version of a fairy tale I wrote for Children's Lit. class this semester. Which story do you think the main plot is inspired by?

Once upon a time in Rulan, there lived a merchant, his wife, and their teenage son. They had the misfortune of living on the brink of poverty due to their selfish king. The king took his subject's goods by force, giving them a measly pay in return. The farmer and his wife wanted to teach the king a lesson, so one day the tale of their boy turning dust bunnies into gold reached the king's ears. The king quickly summoned the farmer's son. When he arrived at the King's marble castle, King Kelvin led the boy in the dead queen's chamber which hadn't been cleaned in years.

"Get to work, boy. I want this dusty old room to be filled with gold by tomorrow morning,” the king growled as he locked the door.

"If I could turn dust into gold, I would have gotten my family out of poverty. What a silly king for not having thought of that. But what am I to do?" the boy said to himself.

"I can help you there, my boy," a female voice spoke. The boy turned around until his gaze fell upon an old lady dressed in dirty old rags standing in the corner of the room. Her skin seemed to be glowing red, as if she was on fire.

"How can you help me when you can't even help yourself?"

"Looks can be deceiving child. I heard about your dilemma and I can help, but what will you give me in return?"

"Anything you want in the future,” the boy said desperately.

“You have yourself a deal.” The old lady whispered some words and waved her arms around while dust from the top of the four poster mahogany bed collected in front of them. The dust flew in a blur of gold for a few minutes and suddenly stopped. The sound of metal could be heard as hundreds of gold coins fell to the floor.

“I'll leave you to rest. After all, you have a big day tomorrow," the witch said.

The merchant's son was pleased with the turn of events and happily fell asleep on the pile of gold. Early the next morning, King Kelvin stormed into the boy's room, waking him up.

"What, you actually managed to make gold? As your King, I order you to make more by tonight. If you can, you will have the honor of marrying my daughter." From behind the King, stepped a beautiful maiden. Her gaze lowered, Princess Pearl's long shiny brown hair was tied in a Dutch braid that reached her back. When she looked up, the boy noticed her stunning green eyes and dimples as she shyly smiled at him. He immediately fell for her looks.

After the king and his daughter stepped out of the room and locked him in, the boy thought of searching for the witch. This wasn’t necessary, as she soon appeared.

“Make me some more gold so I can present it to the king tonight and marry his daughter.”

“And how do you plan to repay me?"

"You can have whatever you want, once I marry the princess."

"In that case, promise me your first born child. If you fail to hold your side of the bargain, I promise you, you will suffer," the witch warned.

“I promise,” the boy said hastily, not thinking things through. As promised, the witch turned more dust lying on the wardrobe into gold and the boy soon married the princess.

The newly weds lived happily together for many years and eventually had a baby daughter, but unfortunately, the mother lost her life. To make things worse, the peace and quiet came to an end one evening. As the baby’s father was putting her to sleep, the witch appeared.

“It is time for you to repay me as you promised many years ago. You may have forgotten, but your first child belongs to me,” the witch said with a wicked grin.

“Take my jewels instead and go marry any guy that will take you. Then you will have a child you greatly want,” the man said protectively covering the baby.

“It is not any baby I want, but yours. I will give you another chance. If you can guess my name by tomorrow evening when I shall return, you may keep the child. If not, kiss your daughter goodbye,” the witch cackled as she disappeared in the blink of an eye.

But try as he might, the baby’s father couldn’t think of any name for a witch. The next evening as promised, the witch returned.

“Have you any clue of my name?” the witch asked as she slowly walked towards the sleeping baby’s crib.

“…Gothel? Medusa? Medea? Willow? Wicked? Bellatrix?” the man asked desperately.

“No, you fool. Now step aside as your daughter is now mine.”

But the man would not give in without a fight. He ran to push the old lady out the window, but she easily evaded him as he tumbled down to his doom.

“Serves you right. You shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep after all.” Quickly and quietly, the witch took the bundled baby and disappeared from the castle forever.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Many years passed and the baby grew to be a beautiful young lady with long brown hair. The witch, who the girl believed to be her mother, kept her in a tower in the middle of a forest. “For protection,” the witch claimed when the girl asked. This girl was later known as Rapunzel. 

A to Z Bookish Survey "Tag"

I came across an interesting book survey on http://fida-islaih.blogspot.com/ and decided to give it a try. I am also making it into a tag, but whether you got tagged or not, if you want to answer these questions feel free to do so.

For those who aren't familiar with tags online, it's basically a questionnaire that people answer and they tag a number of people to also answer them as well. For my tags, I will try to vary my answers without making them up and ask that everyone else try to do the same. Feel free to answer the questions here in the comments below ;)

Author you've read the most books from: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events

Best Sequel Ever: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

Currently Reading: Stories of the Quran by Ibn Kathir

Drink of Choice While Reading: I'm fine without.

E-reader or Physical Book? Old school physical book

Fictional Character You Probably Would Have Actually Dated In High School: I don't date.

Glad You Gave This Book A Chance: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (read my review @ The Phantom Tollbooth)

Hidden Gem Book: The Game of Triumphs (The Game of Triumphs #1) by Laura Powell

Important Moment in your Reading Life: When it became a hobby?

Just Finished: In The Early Hours: Reflections On Spiritual and Self Development by Khurram Murad

Kinds of Books You Won’t Read: Lovey dovey romance

Longest Book You've Read: Most likely the longest book in the Harry Potter series

Major book hangover because of: idk...

Number of Bookcases You Own: 1

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times: My multiple means only twice, so Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed

Preferred Place To Read: In bed

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read: Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.” ― Brandon Mull, Fablehaven
 
Reading Regret: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Series You Started And Need To Finish: 3rd book in If I Should Speak trilogy by Umm Zakiyyah

Three of your All-Time Favorite Books: (My newer favs.) In The Early Hours: Reflections On Spiritual and Self Development by Khurram Murad, Far from Home by Na'ima B. Robert (read my review @ Far From Home), and Wonder by R.J. Palacio (read my review @ Wonder)

Unapologetic Fangirl For: idk...

Very Excited For This Release: Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

Worst Bookish Habit: Reading too slow?

X Marks The Spot: (Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book) Eragon and Eldest(Inheritance, #1-2) by Christopher Paolini

Your latest book purchase: Islamic Book Haul

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late): The Zion Deception by Laurence B. Brown

A-Z Poetry by Me: D

Dreaming A Life?

How would you like to make the world a better place?
Dreams are for that and more,
Some are exciting, familiar, scary, or sad,
Taking you to another realm where anything can happen.

I'm finally on a vacation in England and it feels like a dream!
My mind blanks out in class and when I finally come back to Earth,
I wonder when I got there (class) and when I will get out...
Making plans for the future, even if it is just a trip to NYC.

The familiar construction sights, sounds of traffic, and smell of Asian cuisine take up my senses.
A city were some say dreams come true.
Could being a teacher make a world of a difference?
Even if it helps one child, yes it does.

Like in Mad Hot Ballroom,
Students experience activities out of their comfort zone and being prepared for the "real world"
Sharing the challenges they face at a young age,
With a helping hand, someones life can be turned around.