The Book Thief

Topic:

Tuesday, September 24: Review a book, place, or product.

I decided to review a book I recently finished reading:

Title: The Book Thief

Author: Mark Zusak

Paperback Edition: 554 pages

First Published: January 1st, 2005

GoodReads Average Rating: 4.36/5 stars

The Book Thief tells the story of a girl, Liesel, who lives near Munich in Germany during World War II in 1993. Liesel learns how to read and write with the help of her foster father, and soon becomes so attached to books that she steals them. She is friends with a boy named Rudy, and soon becomes friends with Max; and Max is a Jewish man who hides at their house in fear of being caught by the Nazis.  It also shows the indecency and brutality of war and of the Nazis, it reveals the torture Jewish people (and anyone who sympathizes with them) faced. Liesel loses so many people she loves during this war, and there are very hear-touching scenes; such as when her foster father gets whipped after throwing bread for the Jewish, or when she recovers the dead bodies of Rudy and her foster parents... Overall, the book is very emotional (I read too many emotional books!), and something I really liked about it was the fact that it was narrated by Death. (yes, Death.)

The book is very well written, the events are realistic, the characters are easy to get attached to.

Check my GoodReads review of The Book Thief here.

Happy Birthday John Green!

John Green was born on August 24th, 1977 (so technically, his birthday was 3 days ago). He's an author (one of my favorites), specifically a Young Adult Fiction writer. He once said that "Nerd life is just so much better than regular life", now how cute is that? He also runs a YouTube channel with his brother Hank called VlogBrothers, and their videos have reached more than 2 million views! Their slogan is DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome), and their followers are called Nerdfighters.

Blog: (John Green's blog)

Twitter account: (@realjohngreen)

YouTube Channel: (VlogBrothers)

His books which I have read (and loved)

• An Abundance of Katherines (GoodReads Review): A book that will make you LOL. It tells the story of a boy, Colin, who has a thing for girls named Katherine (with a 'K'). One of my favorite characters is Hasan, who is Lebanese and Muslim. But that is not why I liked his character, but because he's very spontaneous and funny.

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

• Looking For Alaska (GoodReads Review): His first novel. And Alaska is actually the name of a girl, not the place. The book tells the story of Miles, a boy obsessed with peoples' last words, who goes to a boarding school and meets Alaska, the Colonel, and others.. Everything changes for Miles, and this book talks about it.

One of my favorite quotes from the book:

• THE FAULT IN OUR STARS (GoodReads Review): The book, which has an average of 4.51/5 stars rating on GoodReads, talks about how Augustus (former cancer patient) changes the life of a girl named Hazel (who has cancer). The story is very sad and tragic, and yet you cannot stop reading it once you start. The Fault in Our Stars is one of my favorite books. Ever. And it's being made into a movie now! Yay, I'm so happy :]

Some of the quotes I loved from this book

All four novels (including Paper Towns, which I haven't read yet) have been bestsellers. (They deserve it!). I hope he keeps on writing books til forever! 

A Book I Read: Inside Apple

Inside Apple by Adam Lashinsky 

(GoodReads Review)

I read the Arabic version of this book, and the translation by Daniel Saleh was really good and easy to follow. The book goes deep into one of the largest, most successful companies in the world, discussing points like:

• The importance of secrecy within the company
• Giving attention to even the slightest details
• Company tactics
• Apple University
• The company going against major business concepts
• Apple's relation with its fans
• Steve Jobs: his personality, temper, obsession with details etc...

The author poses a few questions concerning Apple's future:

• How long will the company survive after the death of Steve Jobs?
• Does the company have what it takes to stay on top?

The language used in the book is easy and interesting, and it keeps you reading until the very end. I highly recommend it especially if you're a fan of Apple products, if you're into technology and technological devices, or if you're simply just curious. Other books I discovered (but haven't read yet) after reading Inside Apple were:

• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (A biography)
• Inside Steve's Brain by Leander Kahney
• The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick