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: A Thousand Splendid Suns

GoodReads Review

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Housseini is a very emotional and powerful book. It takes place in Afghanistan mainly, during the war. It tells the story of two women: The first is Mariam; who is a harami, born to the wealthy Jalil Khan and his housekeeper. Upon her mom's suicide, she is forced to marry Rasheed, a man older than her. The second woman is Laila, born in an educated family. She marries Rasheed later on, after her parents both die, in an attempt to save the child she's carrying from her childhood friend/ lover, Tariq. Mariam is jealous and unkind to Laila at first, stating that Laila stole her husband from her- despite the fact that Rasheed is mean and unfair. After Laila tries to stop Rasheed from beating Mariam once, the two women become close.

The book sheds light on the problems those women face: from wanting to be loved, to being oppressed both by their husband and the Talibans, and being treated badly. I recommend this book, but not to everyone. It is loaded with emotions and can make you cry. If you're into emotional books, then this is the one for you.

Quotes from the book (in no particular order):

• "Marriage can wait, education cannot"
• "A society has no chance of success if its women are uneducated"
• "Of all the hardships a person had to face, none was more punishing than the simple act of waiting" 
• "You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things that, well, you have to see and feel"
• "But if you have a book that needs urgent reading,' she said, 'then Hakim is your man"

My Life in A Picture #1

My life summed up in a picture!

Please note that it was my aunt, Nawal Farhat, who first tagged me to this picture on facebook. Thank you! :P