THE NIGHT OF THE MI'RAJ

By Zoe Ferraris (2008)

Among the well-to-do families of Jeddah, Palestinian-born desert guide Nayir is an outsider. But when Nouf ash-Shrawi, the sixteen-year-old daughter of a wealthy Saudi dynasty, disappears just before her arranged marriage, Nayir is the man the Shrawis trust to bring her home.

Days later Nouf's body is found in a desert wadi, but Nayir's task is not over; he feels compelled to uncover the disturbing circumstances surrounding her death. His search takes him far from his natural terrain, away from the endless dunes and empty skies of the desert and into the city of Jeddah, with its oppressive monuments, foreigners' compounds and shuttered apartments. Most troubling of all, his investigations force him to work closely with Katya Hijazi, a forensic scientist. He finds himself struggling with emotions he has fought all his life to repress and with loyalties he has never before questioned: to old friends, to his faith, and to a culture in which women take their secrets to their graves.

Vivid and suspenseful, The Night of the Mi'raj is an extraordinary psychological drama and a mesmerising portrait of a society at once exquisitely cultured and profoundly claustrophobic.

SIX SUSPECTS

Six suspects by Vikas Swarup

THERE'S A CASTE SYSTEM - EVEN IN MURDER
Vicky Rai, the son of a high-profile Minister, has been shot dead by one of the guests at his own party. They are a glitzy bunch, but among them the police find six strange, displaced characters with a gun in their possession, each of them steaming with a secret motive.
India's wiliest investigative journalist, Arun Advani, makes it his mission to nail the murderer. In doing so, the amazing, tender and touching, techni-colour lives of six eccentric characters unravel before our eyes. But can we trust Advani? Or does he have another agenda in mind...?

ANOTHER GIVEAWAY

This is a new year giveaway by My Sweet Den.
If you want to join the giveaway, go to her blog and do what is requested of you (see below)

Here's what you need to do to win this Giveaway.

~ Post about this giveaway in your blog. (You earn FIVE extra entries into the drawing if you post an entry about it in your blog.)
~ Leave a comment to this post with a link to your post. .
~ Be my follower.

The giveaway will be closed on Sunday, January 31. So please leave your comment here before that time.

The winner will be picked randomly and announced on Tuesday, February 2.

Good Luck..

BUTTON PLANET ENTERPRISE

It's Button Planet Enterprise 1st birthday today. As such, it is giving away 3 vouchers worth RM20 each. If you are interested to participate, do visit BPE now for more info

WATER

Correct timing to take water, will maximize its effectiveness to Human body.

Two (02) glass of water - After waking up - Helps activate internal organs

One (01) glasses of water - 30 minutes before meal - Help digestion

One (01) glass of water - Before taking a bath - Helps lower blood pressure

One (01) glass of water - Before sleep - To avoid stroke or heart attack

p/s: sent to me by a friend.

DECEMBER READING

1. Ketika cinta bertasbih (1 & 2)

Entah kenapa tiba-tiba ia merasa berdosa. Ia merasa berdosa dan jijik pada dirinya sendiri yang begitu rapuh, mudah terpedaya oleh tampilan luar yang menipu. Ia jijik pada dirinya sendiri, yang ia rasa terlalu cair pada lawan jenis yang belum halal baginya. Ia sendiri hairan kenapa jati dirinya seolah pudar saat berhadapan atau berdekatan dengan Eliana. Apakah telah sedemikianlemah imannya sehingga kecantikan jasadi telah sedemikian mudah menyihir dirinya. Ia beristighfar dalam hatinya. Berkali-kali ia meminta ampun pada Dzat yang menguasai hatinya.
Azzam meratapi kekhilafannya dan memarahi dirinya sendiri. Dalam hati ia bersumpah akan lebih menjaga diri, dan hal yang menistakan seperti itu tidak boleh terjadi lagi. Ia juga bersumpah untuk segera menemukan orang yang tidak kalah hebatnya dengan Eliana, tapi bertudung litup, solehah, boleh berbahasa Arab dan berbahasa Inggeris dengan fasih. Kalau terpaksa gadis itu orang Mesir tidak mengapa. Yang jelas rasa terhinanya harus ia sirnakan.
Ia harus menemukan kembali kehormatannya sebagai seorang Azzam yang memiliki harga diri. Meskipun masyarakat Indonesia di Mesir mengenalinya hanya sebagai tukang masak atau penjual tempe, tapi harga diri dan kesucian diri tidak boleh diremehkan oleh siapapun juga. Ia yakin akan memperolehi isteri yang lebih jelita dari Eliana, dan lebih baik darinya. Ia yakin itu tekadnya. Ia ulang-ulang tekad itu dalam hatinya. Ia rajut dengan doa. Ia bawa tekad itu ke dalam tidurnya. Ke dalam mimpinya. Dan ke dalam alam bawah sedarnya.

2. Slumdog millionaire

Ram Mohammad Thomas has been arrested. Because how can a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school correctly answer all twelve questions on the television game show Who Will Win a Billion? - unless he has cheated.
As the story unfolds, Ram explains to his lawyer how he knew the answer to each question by telling a chapter of his amazing life - from the day he was salvaged from a dustbin to his meeting with a security-crazed Australian army colonel while performing as an overly creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal. Stunning a television audience of millions, Ram draws on a store of street wisdom and accidental encounters that provides him with the essential keys not only to the quiz show but also to life itself.
In a beguiling blend of high comedy and poignancy, Vikas Swarup has created a kaleidoscopic vision of the struggle of good against evil, and what happens when one boy has no other choice in life but to survive.

KHALID HOSSEINI

Finished reading 2 books in November. Both are by the same author: Khalid Hosseini. The stories took place in Afghanistan during the Russian occupation right to the new millennium. Things didn't change much for the better for them (the characters). They however survived the turbulence.
Great readings as you can get some insight about what happened in the patriarchal society where women were being greatly discriminated (in my opinion) even though they claimed that its for their (the women) own good.
1. THE KITE RUNNER

Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the approval of his father and resolves to win the local kite-fighting tournament, to prove that he has the making of a man. His loyal friend Hassan promises to help him - for he always helps Amir - but this is 1970s Afghanistan and Hassan is merely a low-caste servant who is jeered at in the street, although Amir feels jealous of his natural courage and the place he holds in his father's heart. But neither of the boys could foresee what would happen to Hassan on the afternoon of the tournament, which was to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the family is forced to flee to America, Amir realises that one day he must return, to find the one thing that his new world cannot grant him: redemption.

2. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.