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Allah Does Not Have an Exit Visa
Book
This is a personal look at one life, lived by an ordinary guy, who has visited some extraordinary...
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The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Cycling
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Everything you need to know about cycling for fitness and leisure, training for both sport and...
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The Moor's Account
Book
In 1527 the Spanish conquistador Panfilo de Narvaez arrived on the coast of modern-day Florida with...
Funding Feminism: Monied Women, Philanthropy, and the Women's Movement, 1870-1967
Book
Joan Marie Johnson examines an understudied dimension women's history in the United States: how a...
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On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Book
Poet Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the...
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Stupid Christmas
Book
A new collection of outrageous, laugh-out-loud anecdotes about the weird and wacky things that...
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HeartStar BP Monitor
Medical and Health & Fitness
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HeartStar is the easiest app for monitoring blood pressure. With optional sharing and reminders,...
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated More Than Just a Pretty Face in Books
Jan 12, 2021
This is the first book I've read where the main characters are Muslims. It's a good insight into the religion and the various ways people follow it.
So this starts with Danyal. He's not the best in school, but, as quite a few people point out, he's got a pretty face. It's not that he's stupid or anything. He just has other interests in life such as cooking, which he is very good at and wants to become a chef. His father doesn't agree with his career choice and they have several tense conversations. His mother, on the other hand, cannot wait to marry him off to someone who would be good for the family.
I've just struggled to write the above description without giving too much away about this story.
I did enjoy this. Danyal, as I mentioned above, may not be the brightest guy but I really grew to like him. He was quick witted and passionate about what he cared about. His Renaissance Man speech showed that perfectly. History was far from his favourite subject but the Bengal famine became something he wanted to let people know about and he did it in a way that didn't judge so much as inform. Very well thought out.
I also quite liked the romance. It was a very slow burn. They spent quite a lot of time together but mostly as friends. The more time they spent together, laughing, studying and cooking, the more the feelings grew and I was willing them to get together properly, family be damned. It took a long time, though, with other factors getting in the way.
This book was a great insight for those of us who aren't Muslim into what the religion is like and the broad range of ways you can follow it. Sohrab was very invested in the religion, Intezar wasn't following it that much, if at all, and Danyal was like a happy medium.
This was enjoyable but, for me, it was a little too focused on the history and Churchill for the Renaissance Man challenge. I know it was a big part of the plot but History for me, like Danyal, bores me. I wanted more of the romance.
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Paris: A Love Story
Book
Marton first spent time in Paris during college in 1968, when France was in revolt; as a young...
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Shorthand Letters of Samuel Pepys: From a Volume Entitled S. Pepys' Official Correspondence 1662-1679
Book
Originally published in 1933, this book presents the content of 56 shorthand, or partly shorthand,...