Game of Thrones: part 2

     
     

     So, it's been five months since I read A Game of Thrones, the first book in The Song f Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, and I finally got to reading the second book of the series, A Clash of Kings.

     AS mentioned in the first post, I decided to chronicle my journey reading these hefty tomes and to share with you some glimpses of my experience in case someone wants to do the same or just join me on this.

     A Clash of Kings clocked in at 728 pages and it took me two weeks to finish it. Two weeks of A LOT more reading than I'm normally used to mind you. But I must say, I enjoyed it much more than the first book. I have already seen all four seasons of the HBO series and according the the internet, the TV show takes us up till the end of book three, which will be my next step in this journey. The first season turned out hat it stuck pretty much to the books but It seems that for book two the TV show creators began deviating a little; not much, but enough to keep the books still interesting and a little surprising. Another reason I may have enjoyed A Clash of Kings more is that I have watched season one of the TV show more than once but I only watched seasons two through four only once and I was binge watching so my memory of them is vague at best.

     I must also say that from the TV show my best character is Tyrion Lannister, portrayed by the genius Peter Dinklage, and reading the books just made my admiration for him increase ten fold. The character and all his lines are perfect and he is just a delight to read and follow whether on the page or on screen. Tyrion's character got a lot of air time in A Clash of Kings, which in and of itself is a reason to love this installment in the series.


But knowing that the TV show is deviating from the books I hope I don't get surprised by his death in the books any time soon. And please if you are reading this and already know the answer to that, please no spoilers. Even if he does live till the end of the most recently published book five, I still don't want to know. The anticipation is as sweet as the wines of Arbor.

     Long story short, for book two of the series things are getting interesting and engaging. I read a lot over these past couple of weeks but it didn't feel like a chore, which reading should never feel like anyway. And stretching my reading speed is always good exercise.

     The interesting thing right now is that season five of the show has just began airing and GoT noise in the media and on the internet has been relentless. I've been dodging spoilers left and right. I plan not to watch the show until I finish the books; the ones that have been published anyway. All reports say that the story lines are beginning to deviate greatly and will deviate even more as the show moves into season six and probably even seven. And of course right now the whole trouble revolves around whether GRRM will be able to finish the books ahead of the HBO series or are we going to see the ending on TV first. As an avid fan of reading I always prefer to get the first taste of a story printed on the pages of a book so I'm rooting for George and I hope he's already finished the books and just playing the fool for some marketing stunt or something.

     I'll break away from the world of Westeros for a while with some other books off my TBR list and I'll be back again with A Storm of Swords.

     Until then, Valar Morghulis.

Can you really shut down your brain?

     

     I really must admit at the get go that I do not claim to be 
able to actually answer any of these questions, nor am I going to cite any studies or official sources of information on this subject or any other subject I bring up for that matter. I can only claim, and promise this, that I will try to speak of these topics from a personal point of view, out of personal experience, hoping that maybe you, or someone else out there, will come across it and think "someone out there is feeling the same as me and I am not alone".

     You will probably say that in this day and age and with the all encompassing existence of the internet no one still feels they are alone, no matter how rare, or weird for that matter, whatever it is they are experiencing may be. Well, true and not true. True because, Duh! I can't deny a fact like that, but not true because I believe in two things: one, that with everything on the internet brining everyone closer and connecting those who used to think they were lonely islands in the world, there was someone who started writing about it or posting about it or whatever about it at some point. Not only that, but people with a certain interest in a certain topic continue to post stuff about it. No one has ever reached a point regarding any topic on earth and said, "Oh, I guess there's enough of that out there. Let's declare this topic closed or on hold till further notice."
Just look at all the porn out there. Not that I know of it myself, but people talk.

     The second thing I believe in with regards to this point is that maybe my post, my meagre little two cents on the subject turn out to be the post that you read from among all the heaps out there. Maybe my words strike the chord and you can make that connection you were longing for and that brought you here in the first place. And yes, I do believe my words can have that effect. Well, not really, but I kind of hope so.

     So, to sum up, there are loads of stuff out there already on almost any and all topics. Someone started it and people have never stopped since despite the enormous information already out there. So I will also continue to add to the pile. And despite the pile being humungous, my words could be the needle and you could be the lucky one to find it in the haystack.

     Now that being said, you may wonder when I will begin dazzling you with my unprecedented insights and heart-felt words, and gut-wrenching prose that will bestow upon you the epiphany of your life?

     Well, I already have. You see, the topic is, Can You Really shut down your brain? And the five previous paragraphs you've been wading to until now are the answer to that question, No, you can't really shut down your brain. No matter what you do, your brain will continue to think and come up with ideas words and images that can be world-changing or in other cases, like what I have just been writing and you have just read.

     So, before you curse me or throw something at your screen and before you start sending hate messages to me on Facebook or Twitter (I won't mind it by the way, I am desperate for attention), hear me out. If I, since I cannot get to shut down my brain, have taken these past few minutes from your life and have had the audacity to type out these words and post them to waste the time of unassuming poor souls such as yourself, then you might as well do the same. I know you can't shut down your brain either (the title did grab your

attention after all), and now you are either so angry at me, or so amused by my wit, or so impressed by my abilities, in all cases, now is the best time for your to pull out a fresh page and take it out on the world!
You are, after all, unable to shut down your brain, might as well

lay it down on the world, because when you do, I'm quite sure you will send into the world something better than what you've just read, and maybe, just maybe, you can actually get to make a difference.


M.Refaat
2nd March, 2015
On an airplane to Dubai.

Stephen King: A suggested reading list

        When it comes to Stephen King, I find it difficult to choose what his best novel is. This could be in part because I am a big fan and my opinion is biased, it could also be in part to the fact that I am still very much behind on reading enough of his work to be able to make such distinctions. So, when asked "what should I read first if I want to begin reading Stephen King?", I can only draw on my own experience which admittedly isn't very long, but I think can be helpful nonetheless.

Stephen King writes big books and although they are engaging enough to keep you hooked and entertained throughout, they still can be off-putting for the uninitiated. So bearing all the above in mind, here is what I think a new reader of Stephen King should start with: (click on any name to go to its Amazon page for more reviews)

1- The Shining

2- The Dark Half                         

3- Bag of Bones

This is not by any means a list of my top three SK books but if you have it in you to read big books then you should read these and in this order, I read them all can attest to that.

If you prefer starting of with something a little shorter then Misery and Carrie are for you and of course you must not miss the most famous SK story, The Shining.

1- Misery

2- Carrie

3- The Shining

If you would like fast paced easy reads and more recent King books then you can begin with Mr. Mercedes, which is a great crime thriller and then move down the list. 11/22/63 is a monster of a book but worth every second of reading. If you don't want to tackle a book this size, then of course, yes you said it, go for The Shining

1- Mr. Mercedes

2- Revival (you can also check my review of Revival here)

3- 11/22/63

                  

Here is a list of the Stephen King novels I have read in case you would like to discuss any of them of ask about any of them. Below that are the SK novels on my To-Be-Read list.

Have been read:

• 11/22/63
• Bag of Bones
• The Dark Half
• Doctor Sleep
• Joyland
• Mr. Mercedes
• Revival
• The Shining

On my TBR list:

Misery

The Stand

Lisey's Story

Needful Things

Pet Sematary

Salem's Lot

Carrie

Cell

Desperation

Duma Key

Gerald's Game

It

Thank you very much for reading. Enjoy your journey into the vortex that is Stephen King writing.

WARNING: if you get hooked it will be bad for your wallet and for your time. You have been warned!

Revival

“Lightning never strikes the same place twice,” or so the common wisdom goes. However, unlike lightning, Stephen King strikes over and over and over again.

With his latest book, REVIVAL, released in November of last year, American author Stephen King adds yet another juicy, entertaining and well-thought story to a long line of successes that started with Carrie and ending with Mr. Mercedes (his last novel published before Revival in June of 2014). Although Revival might not rise to the status of some of his other stories such as The Shining or IT, it still does present us with a very rich reading experience. And here’s why.

First off, if you’ve ever listened to any of King’s interviews you will know one important fact about his story telling (and if you haven’t listened to his interviews, I am about to tell you anyway!), he always builds his stories around ideas of What If? Regular, mundane, everyday occurrences that he might encounter which then beg the question, What If? Then he takes that What If, runs with it, and then brings us these entertaining stories that he’s been sending out into the world since the seventies.

Revival is no different in being another one of those What If stories. I can’t really tell you the What If in this book because then I would be giving away some important plot points. But it begins with a young priest, a 5-year old boy, and a lot of what ifs in between until it reaches the climactic ending.

Another important fact about Stephen King’s story telling that shows very well in Revival is his complicated multi-dimensional characters. In Revival, the character of the priest, Reverend Jacobs is the one that stuck with me more, but it was a fulfilling experience to follow this character’s development over the course of the 400+ pages and the five decades over which the story unfolds.

Revival was released worldwide last November but is hitting our shelves recently, and you should pick it up because it has something for everyone. If you never read a Stephen King novel before, this could be a good starting point. If you are a fan, well you really don’t need this review anyway; we both now you’re going to read it no matter what I say. If you are in it for an entertaining read, then you will get the great characters, interesting plot line, and an above-average ending, that doesn’t take away from your overall journey.

But after all that being said, the beauty and strength of Revival and the reason I chose it as a subject for this review is that it’s thought-provoking. In this story, the author tackles so many themes, I’m not even sure he intended to highlight all of them but they struck a chord with his readers nonetheless. There are aspects of friendship, religion, faith, family, addiction, recovery and the big question of what happens after death. The great thing about King is that he does not force his opinions on the reader. He does express them, but he gives you, the reader, room to make up your own mind. And man is your mind going to be tripping after this book!

I can easily say that Revival is one of the most influential books that I have ever read. And the theme of lighting that runs through the whole story felt like the perfect metaphor for what I felt was going on in my mind after finishing it. Even if you don’t want to bother yourself with too many existential questions you are still in for a great ride. I can at least promise you that within the first fifty pages you will encounter one of the few scenes that will linger in your memory or a long time after closing the book.

أنا والصرصار

أنا والصرصار

هو يتحدانى. أنا واثق من هذا. رغم أنه لم يواجهنى ويكتفى بالوقوف ساكناً مولياً ظهره إياى, لكنى واثق أنه يتحدانى. وإلا فلم اختار أن يقطع طريقى أنا, فى هذا المكان وفى هذا الوقت وبهذه الصفاقة؟؟ هل تتبعنى, أم كان قابعاً هنا كل هذا الوقت ينتظر الفرصة المناسبة؟ هو يعلم بالتأكيد أن أفضل فرصة له هى الآن وأنا صاعد إلى شقتى على السلم بدلاً من المصعد الكهربائى كعادتى, لكن كيف عرف, من بلّغه؟ خصوصاً أن الكهرباء ليست مقطوعة, أنا فقط آثرت السلامة بدلاً من أن أحبس ساعة فى الظلام معلقاً بين السماء والأرض. قد يكون هناك من خاننى وبلغه. البوّاب؟ أو فريق مراقبة وتتبع؟ لا, هو يعمل منفرداً, غطرسته وثقته توحى بهذا, وبغض النظر عن آليته فى الاستطلاع فالأكيد أنى فى مواجهة داهية لا يستهان به, فكيف تفسر أنه اختار هذا الدور بالتحديد ليعد المواجهة؟ أنا أسكن فى الطابق الثامن وهو اختار الطابق السادس لإعداد النزال, على السلم بحيث لا أستطيع التراجع إلى الخامس عندما يبدأ هجمته وهو مسيطر على مدخل السادس. ليس هذا فقط, فالطابق السادس هو قمة الشعور بالتعب واليأس؛ النفس مقطوع, الأرجل متعبة والدور الثامن ما زال يبدو بعيداً. هو حقاً داهية, التسرع لن يكون فى صالحى.

الثوانى تمر والمؤامرة تزداد تعقيداً وكثافة كلما تضح أمامى عناصرها. أولاً كما ذكرت, الكهرباء ليست مقطوعة ورغم هذا نور السلم لا يعمل فى أى من الأدوار وأنا فى طريق الصعود. هى حرب نفسية اذاً, وأصابع الإتهام تشير إلى تواطؤ البوّاب. ليس هذا فقط, لكن...مهلاً, ما هذا؟ هذا الذى أمامى ليس من النوع المعتاد ولا حتى النوع الأمريكى المستخدم فى مثل هذه العمليات, لا أرى له قرون استشعار. هل يرتدى خوذة للحماية أم أنه يعتمد على وسائل تكنولوجية معقدة لم يتم الكشف عنها من قبل؟؟ ولونه, أسود قاتم غير البنى المنتشر فى بنى جنسه الذين يعيثون فى خراباتنا وبلاعتنا فساداً. هل هى ألوان الحرب, أم أن هذا نوع خاص لا يظهر إلا فى مثل هذه العمليات الإنتحارية, بلونه الأسود والخوذة وأحدث ما أنتجته تكنولوجيا المعارك؟ سوبر صرصار...كوماندوز.

على أى حال, عقارب الساعة تستمر فى الزحف وخصمى لا تبدو عليه أى علامة للتعب أو التململ. سوف يكون عندى وقت كافى فيما بعد للكشف عن تفاصيل المؤامرة وسأنزل انتقامى على كل من عمل ضدى , لكن الآن وقت العمل, التردد أو الانتظار سوف يكسبه ثقة فوق ثقته وأنا فى غنى عن هذا. حان وقت التحرك.

هو يقف فى منتصف السلم, إلى اليمين قليلاً, ظهره تجاهى ورأسه الخالية من قرون الاستشعار تنظر فى الاتجاه الآخر. لكنه يقف بزاوية لليسار قليلاً تعطيه ميزة تغطية النصف الآخر من السلم إذا ما قرر الإنقضاض. هذا بالإضافة للسُمك الغير طبيعى لأرجله الخلفية, فهو غالباً ينوى أن ينتظر حتى أمر بجانبه ثم ينقض هو على من الخلف. لكن لا, لن ينال منى, أنا لن أمشى من جانبهز سوف أقفز من فوقه, أبناء جنسه لا يستطيعون القفز لأعلى مباشرةً. لكن مهلاً, هل يمكنه الطيران؟! مثل هذا الكوماندو يجب تغطية كل الاحتمالات معه.

قوات المساندة تأتى, هناك نور أبيض يتحرك خلفى صاعداً السلم, أدور فى حركة سريعة حتى لا تتم مباغتتى,

"سلامو عليكو يا أستاذ محمد", قالها جارى فى الدور الثامن, الأستاذ مُسعَد, وهو يلاحق أنفاسه المتقطعة.

"وعليكم السلام يا أستاذ مُسعَد", قُلت حذراً.

"النور قطع تانى, خامس مرة النهاردة, وربنا ستر انه قطع وأنا إيدى على باب الأسانسير, آه والله يا أستاذ محمد"

وقبل أن أحذره من عدو البشر المتربص فى الظلام, كان الأستاذ مُسعَد قد مر منى ولم أعد أستطيع رؤية الصرصار. ثم دوّى الصوت حولنا مقاطعاً صوت أنفاس الأستاذ مُسعَد الثقيلة, لكن الأستاذ مُسعَد لم يُعِره انتباهاً, فقط استمر فى الصعود مخلفاً وراءه بقعة سوداء لزجة وبقايا نِد يستحق التقدير. أحنيت رأسى وأنا أمر بجانب بقايا المعركة وأنا أفكر كيف ومتى ستكون العملية الانقامية, ثم رفعت عيناى وحمدت الله على أنى أسكن فى الثامن مع الأستاذ مُسعَد.

بقلم:

محمد رفعت

Revolution

I have just finished reading REVOLUTION by British comedian and actor Russell Brand, and to feel moved enough to HAVE to write this review now and not later is a testament to how strong the ideas in this book are and how well written it is.

You could argue that I am just another blogger with ADD or something and my rush to review the book says more about me than the book itself. Could be true. I have no way of proving to you that this is not a habit of mine, but despite what our opinion of me or my reasons for writing are review is, please don't make it stop you from picking up this book and giving it a go.

Russell Brand (I just found this out after buying the book) is not only a comedian and actor, he also does stand-up comedy and has published to other books before this one. For me, I had only heard of him because I watched Get Him To The Greek, and I know he starred in Arthur. I didn't really consider him funny and his portrayal of the characters he played was too over the top. As you read this book you will find him admitting to this persona and he doesn't hide it, so I wasn't mistaken in my opinion, but when I turned to the first page of the book when I saw it on the shelf in the bookshop, and after reading the first few paragraphs, I knew I was in for a treat, and that not only is this guy funny, but as one review says on the dust jacket "the bloke can write".

The message of the book basically is that we need a revolution, based on love, non-violence, and more importantly is that it is a personal revolution from within first.

As much as the book is funny it is heavy with information, and IDEAS. And that's why I don't think I can or should try tackling these ideas here in this review, I wouldn't want to ruin it for you anyway.

So since this is a review of the book, I'll stick to the broader elements. First off let me say it again if you missed the point up till now: I believe you should read it.
The writing is witty and funny, so you are guaranteed a few laughs, dependant on your understanding of British humour in general and Brand's brand (see what I did there?!) of humour specifically. At times I did find the topics tedious and repetitive, but thankfully this doesn't happen a lot and usually took place in the last third of the book so you won't be cheated or anything. Also, considering that this is non-fiction and the chapters are short, you can just skip what you don't like and still get huge value for the money you will have paid.
The author is promoting a spiritual revolution and is obviously very invested in spiritual practices that I can't really elaborate on because I didn't understand all of them. Because of this, at time he can get bogged down by talking about what I considered to be esoteric topics that I didn't always grasp. Again, this doesn't happen too often and is grossly outweighed by the value of all other ideas presented in this book. And if you are thinking "what great ideas could a recovering drug addict comedian bring that I don't already know?", let me tell you that the good thing Brand does here is collect for you the ideas of other men much smarter (and socially active) than himself or most of his readers, and that's why you are probably going to pick up a few new things you never really knew about.

That being said, the great thing about this book; the thing that has gotten me to rush to the laptop to send this review out into the world, is that it moves you. After reading through 300 pages of Russell's words most of the time  hearing his characteristic British, Essex accent echoing in your head (could be just me?) you can't help but feel a revelation, an epiphany, even if only a minor one. He presents ideas, theories and statistics in a simple, easy and approachable manner that eventually they stick, they get you to think and if you do your own research, you will be unable to deny them.

I am not sure if I should share with you some examples of these revelations that I had after reading this book, because I don't want to spoil it, but I could tell you this, there are statistics here about imports, exports, politics, elections, agriculture and homelessness that will force you to question many of your own beliefs and all of those that have been forced upon you.

In short, Revolution is an eye opener. They could put the book's cover in the dictionary next to FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Ghosts in the Attic

What do our memories mean? Do they define us? Or is the past dead? I once read that the past is not even past.

Do we just cling on to memories because they remind us of who we used to be, and invariably, people always like who they used to be better than whom they are now; unless may be if you were a drunk or a convicted felon.

Why do our memories move us so much? move us to tears, to hysteric laughter, shake us to our very core; or even drive us to enthusiastically deny that we are moved by them simply because who we are today is ashamed of them.

The ghosts of our past will, apparently, haunt us, may be even till after death. Is this a good thing so that we never forget were we came from and what made us who we are today?

The most vengeful of these ghosts are the ones you never see coming, the ones that were lurking in the shadows of your soul for so long you could never consciously summon them. But there they are very much alive, or dead, or whatever it is these ghosts are. The past is never dead.

We all know that you can never escape your past, shun it or deny it, but we all tell ourselves that that was who we were not who we are now. Could be true. But it will always be there, part, if not the whole, of we are and who we will become. Knowing that the ghosts are there is the worst part of it.

It may be a macabre picture to envision the inside of your soul, of your heart, like a bright beautiful house with a closed attic and basement that you ignore and act as if they are not part of the house. But they are, and that’s where are all the ghosts go to play. And those weird dreams you have sometimes; those figments of a life well behind you that sometimes flash before your mind’s eye; those faint far away sounds that come in and out of focus, that’s where they come from, from that attic and that basement.