Where to get English books

Number one (English) readers problem in Tunisia: Where to get books ? 

Today, I’m going to show you where I get most of my English books from. English books are harder to find than Arabic or French books, so this article can be pretty useful.

1- The old library in England street:
This library has some amazing books sometimes. I got “Life as we knew it” by Suzanne Beth Pfeffer from there and I absolutely enjoyed it. But, it’s all a matter of luck. Sometimes, they have the greatest books you can imagine. Sometimes, they have some random books. But it’s so worth a visit. Besides, it looks amazing. The old book, the smell of old books, the wood… It’s just awesome. 

2- The library behind Palmarium Mall:
Okay, this one is pretty interesting. This library has some English books, but they are not famous, but that doesn’t mean they are not good. A friend of mine got a book called “Soul Murder” from there and she loved it. However, the owner of the library promised to bring some Stephenie Perkins books and some amazing titles. They are not here yet, but we’ll keep you updated.

3- Al Kitab library:
My absolute favorite. Yes, it can be a bit pricey, but the books are totally worth it. 99% of my books are from there. They have amazing YA books like Vampire Academy series, Divergent, Percy Jackson, John Green’s books, classics… You name it, they have it. The books they recently brought are extremely interesting. You can visit their website by clicking HERE.

Sarah Laajimi

(sarahlaajimi.blogspot.com)

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Three reasons why you Ought to read An abundance of Katherines by John Green:

If romantic relationships are your biggest dilemma in life—the way they work, their mechanisms and consequences—then you should definitely read “An abundance of Katherines”.

Why?

1- It’s super funny and clever; the characters are authentic and intriguing.

2- The novel is beautifully written: it’s encyclopedic (there’s math, history, religion, philosophy etc…) the dialogues are just amazing and perfectly put.

3- John Green has done a good job in demonstrating the best in Arabic and Islamic culture (Through the Lebanese character “Hassan”) and showing the bright side in Arab people.

All in all, it’s the kind of book you want to crawl into and live inside. It’s a page turner and will give you sudden bursts of laughter all along. This book is the kind of books that awe-strike you and leave you richer. So! What are you waiting for? Go grab the book and start reading!!

 Emna Rihani.

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Book Review: Eleven Minutes - Paulo Coelho

It has been a while since I’ve finished reading the book, yet it is still haunting me. It is not a book you read and forget within a couple of days. Through this book, one knows too much about a world they barely heard about before. Maria, a young lady, has chosen to be a prostitute. Shortly before I started reading this novel, I used to believe that women do not choose to be prostitutes; life forces them to be so. But now, I started to think that, at some point, they had the freedom to quit and liberate themselves; yet, they never did. They preferred to remain slaves to easy money. Maria, however, quitted, and that is what is so unique about her. Maria has set a deadline and was brave enough to not give up. She was unique in every possible way. Being a prostitute has never stopped her from being a cultivated and honorable woman. She never lost respect of herself though. Persons who have not read the novel or have read half of it perceive it as a sex book. I would say that only dirty minds and poor souls would think of it this way. Symbolism is quite present in the novel and every little detail is highly significant. It is an analysis of human beings and their psychology. It proves that love can exist without sex and that sex can be performed without being felt. This book shows that all human beings secretly want to be loved, feel protected and cared about. Maria was seeking freedom in love and wanted to demonstrate that falling in love liberates humans from all boundaries and does not tie them like some people think. She believed that while reaching the limits, one gets to know themselves and it is not in fear that human beings will discover their strengths. People know everything about their weaknesses but little thing about their strengths.  Fewer are the ones who reached the point where being strong is their only choice. At that moment of their lives, they will know what they are truly capable of doing and figure out that, actually,  nothing can stop them.

Abir Mars

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Readers hate

Interruption

When someone is reading, LEAVE THEM ALONE!
Seriously, holding a book means Do Not Disturb.

Spoilers

For all people who love to spoil books or movies or anything, we want to ask you a question: WHY! Why take the surprise away! Why do you have to ruin a whole book (or worse, a series) for us, readers?

Food

Eating while reading is almost impossible. You can’t hold a book, hold the page so it won’t turn, hold a plate and eat. So unless you have three hands, you have to make the decision betweed starvation or reading.

Cats

Is it just my cat that likes to stick around me jumping on my face and biting my book while I’m reading? Cats have this bizar way of thinking that drives them to do literally EVERYTHING but let you read in peace.

Finding a comfortable reading position

*lie on my back*
*leane on my side*
*roll on my stomach*
*sit upside down*
*shoot! The book fell from my hand*

Not having enough books

You know how most girls always complain that they do not have enough clothes? Same problem with us readers. We Never. Have. Enough. Books.

Lending a book

Most of the times, when you lend a book to somebody, it either:

1. Never rever returns to you.
2. Returns to you in awful shape.

So people, if you borrowed a book, please take care of it. Seriously, do you kill bugs with it? What else could possibly damage a book?

Having to stop reading because of school or work

Can’t everything else hold on for a second? We’re reading!

Sarah Laajimi

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"Our Reading Club" Book club

One of the things that bother me the most about my beloved county Tunisia is that we do not have enough readers, English readers in praticular. So, I was very thrilled when my friend, who also happens to be writing for the magazine, Amal Bedhyefi, created a group that unites readers. It’s called Our Reading Club. Most of us are tunisians, but we have some members from marocco.

In ORC, we share book reviews, book recommendations, questions about books… Everything that is book-related.

A while back, we organized a reading marathon. Its purpose is to read as much books as possible during a week to accomplish challenges like re reading a the book, reading a classic… there were seven challenges and who completes then wins the readathon. The thing is, during this readathon, you challenge yourself and if you win, you don’t win anything, just the books you’ve read. It’s about trying to push yourself to do better : read more, read faster, and prove to yourself that you can do it.

Although none of us actually won the readathon, because we couldn’t make it through the seven challenges, we did have fun. At least, I know I did.

The readathon is over now, in case you’re wondering. There will be another one, though.

However, we are organizing another event. We are choosing a book every month and we read it together, then discuss it at the end of the month on google hangout. We chose Divergent by Veronica Roth for September. I read it before so I know it rocks. I am really excited for the rest of the group to read it.

Do you want to be a part of our little book addicts comunity ? Clic HERE and join us.

What are you guys reading this month ? Let us know in the comments bellow.

Sarah Laajimi

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Contemporaries recommendation : Back To School special

Contemporaries are one of the most popular books these days. Not only they are entertaining and amusing, but they are also short which makes them the best books to read when school returns (which is very soon, I might add).

Today, I’m suggesting my top six (because I couldn't make them five. These books are simply too good not to be recommended) contemporaries for you to read. Also, I couldn't figure out my favorite of these six books (trust me, I tried) so I'm not putting them in a particular order.

We were liars by E. Lockhart

This book was one of the most anticipated books of the year. Everyone says it’s better to dive in it without knowing anything. I think they are partly right, but I wish someone told me to pay extra attention while reading it. All I’m going to say about it that it’s really, really good, unexpected and thrilling. It’s also really short, I finished it in two days. To be honest though, it’s my least favorite of these books, but it’s a good read, you’ll enjoy it, trust me.

Panic By Lauren Oliver

The plot and the story is so amazing. The story is set during the summer in a town called Carp. Carp is in the middle of nowhere. Nothing exciting ever happens, and the only reason people don’t leave it is because they don’t have enough money to do it. Out of boredom, the seniors of high school came up with a game called Panic. Panic includes a series of challenges that can be illegal. Basically, if you’re caught playing Panic, you’re in trouble. After each challenge someone is eliminated. The winner wins over fifty thousand dollars. That’s a lot of money that can change the lives of people of Carp.
I gave it five stars on goodreads. It’s that good. The characters development is amazing, the story is captivating and thrilling. You’ll find yourself catching your breath so often. It’s one of my favorites. Just read it.

Before I fall by Lauren Oliver

Surprise, surprise ! Another book by Lauren Oliver.

Before I fall is about a girl, Samantha, who dies and re lives the same day of her death seven times.

You’d think it would be boring to read about the same day, with the same events, over and over again. It isn't. Lauren Oliver has a gift of telling a story without making you want to sleep. I especially loved the ideas within this book : how the smallest act can lead to a series of events that can change your life as well as people around you. I also loved how family, friendship, school life, bullying, trust… and so many other subjects are included. It’s a book that makes you think. I loved it so much and I highly recommend it.

Eleanor & Park By Rainbow Rowell

This book is about a really cute love story about two different people : Park who is an asian cute boy, and Eleanor who is new in town and who is chubby, has a very wrong choice in clothes and is red headed. She gets bullied by almost everyone in school.
Rainbow Rowell is the QUEEN of contemporaries. You get hooked after reading the first page. I’m not even kidding. The way she describes Eleanor and Park as they fall for each other is so beautiful you find yourself smiling and giggling.
Something else I love about this book- besides the cuteness - is that she included a very serious topic which is the harassment Eleanor, her siblings and her mother suffer from her stepfather.
Let me tell you something. I cried while reading this.

Attachements By Rainbow Rowell

Also another book by Rainbow.
This book is also a cute romance set in the 90’s. Unlike Eleanor & Park, it’s an adult contemporary (which means that the main character is a grown up). It’s about this boy, man really, who works as an internet security gard at a newspaper building. He monitors other employees’ emails to make sure they don't misuse the internet during work hours by using it for personal purposes.
Lincoln comes across two women exchanging e-mail : Beth and Jennifer. He knows he should report them, but he doesn't because he finds himself entertained by their e-mails. Eventually, Lincoln falls in love with Beth.
When I heard abou this book, my mind instantly jumped to the movie « You’ve got mail ». We all love that movie, don’t we ? Anyway, this book is better.
Again, like Eleanor & Park, it isn’t just about the romance. The main character Lincoln develops and finds himself through the book. This book is so cute and entertaining. You'll love it. All of Rainbow’s books are amazing.

Last but not least, The perks of being a wall flower by Stephen Chbosky

I read this book twice. Never happened before. That’s how good this book is.
I really love the writing style of this book. It’s in the form of letters a boy, Charly, sends to a friend telling him about his life. He first started writing to him because he's terrified of starting high school. What I absolutely adore about this book is how that you can relate to it so much. The story of Charly is touching and interesting even though it’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s really short and it’s a page turner. One of my best books ever.

What are you reading this month ? I’m planning on reading Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, Life as we knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer and Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green. I will also re read Divergent by Verronica Roth for the ORC read along.

We hope you enjoyed this article. What do you think we should write about next ? Tell us in the comments.

Sarah Laajimi

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The maze runner movie.

Have you guys heard of the best seller « The maze runner » By James Dashner? No? HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK! It's turning into a movie already!

The maze runner, which is a dystopian trilogy and one of my best series of all time, is turning into a movie starring Dylan O’Brien. It’s releasing Semptember 19th so if you haven’t read the book yet, what are you waiting for ?

The book is about a boy who wakes up to find himself in a field surrounded by enormous walls. He can’t remember anything about himself but his name, Thomas. He finds himself in a comunity of boys and he learns that behind the enormous walls there is a maze. In the walls there are gates that open at sunrise and close at sunset to protect them from monsters outside the gates.

The book is so thrilling. I don’t remember breathing while reading it. I know I did but it was so captivating I found myself literally shaking in anticipation.

Let’s talk abou the cast. As thomas there is Dylan O’Brien who I think is perfect for the role. Kaya Scodelario as Teresa which is also fine with me. But Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Newt is bothernig me a bit. He’s supposed to be the second in command, strong, responsible, tough looking… but I don’t think Brodie-Sangster is suitable for it. Everytime I look at him, I remember him in Nanny McPhee. Do you still remember that movie ? I think he’s cute and sweet, not the best Newt that could be. The rest of the cast is excellent though. Alby, Galy and Chuck are just prefectly fine.

The maze. Oh my God, it’s exactly as I imagined it to be. The walls with the ivy, the gates, everything is amazing. I thing that this adaptation is going to be A-fricking-MAZING.

The maze runner first trailer was released the 17th of mars 2014. The second trailer premiered in comic con but was on youtube the 30th of July. And let me tell you, it’s amazing.

Three absolutely thrilling clips were released on youtube and they are amazing. Watch them now :

I’m counting days until the release of this movie. Are you as excited as I am ? You’re supposed to be. Read the maze runner if you haven’t already before the 19th of September. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments.

Sarah Laajimi

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Twenty books, two words.

·       

       

The Fault In Our Stars, John Green: Touching, beautifully-written.

·         Let the circle be unbroken, Mildred. D Taylor: classic, attribute.

·         To kill a mocking bird, Harper Lee: soft, abstemious.

·         Where things come back, John Cory Whaley: strong, sentimental.

·         My cousin Rachel, Daphne de Maurier: legendary, dramatic.

·         The Lover’s dictionary, David Levithan: sarcastic, authentic.

·         The Kite Runner, Khaled Husseini: eye-opener, genuine.

·         The Spellman files, Lisa Lutz: fast-paced , funny

·         Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom: a trip, powerful.

·         Every me, every you, David Levithan: heart-breaking, bitter

·         The school for dangerous girls, Eliot Schrefer: shocking, page-turner

·         Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell: Dark, bottomless.

·         Looking for Alaska, John Green: a journey, unexpected.

·         A great and terrible beauty, Libba Bray: Dreamy, gothic.

·         The crush, Sandra Brown: smooth, sophisticated.

·         Murder List, Julie Garwood: romantic, chilling.

·         Reservation Road, John Burnham Schwartz: dark, thrilling

·         Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho: a masterpiece, profound.

·         Mutant, Peter Clement: scary, shocking

·         The five people you meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom: revolutionary, philosophic.

     Emna Rihani 

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Confessions of a young Bookaholic

Hello. My name is Sarah, I am 16 years old and I am a bookaholic.

When I was young, my mom used to read to me before I sleep which resulted in me growing up with a hunger for books. I used to read all the time. But when I became older, I stopped. I became less interested in books and more found of movies. I would watch three movies a day and I would still want more.

One of my favorite movies was twilight. When Breaking Dawn part one came out and I watched it, I was dying to know what happened next. I searched it on the internet hoping for a summary or anything, and then I found out that the movie was originally a book.

I never read a book in English back then. I was always worried I wouldn't understand the words and didn't give it much thought. But then, I remember thinking: I can read this book, and even if I don't understand a few words, I know what happened because I watched the movie anyway. And so, I read the twilight serie.

I must say, thanks to Stephenie Meyer, I am now the bookaholic I am. After I finished Twilight, I searched for books that were turned into movies, and tried to read as much as possible like "warm bodies", "the notebook", "safe haven"... and I realized that reading in English isn't as hard as I thought it would be. It wasn't hard at all. After a while, I started to do it for fun.

Pretty quickly, reading became a hobby, then a want, then a need. I read more and more and more, and I ended up able to finish a book within two days instead of a couple of weeks. Lately, it became all I wanted to do. I managed to finish seven books in twenty days. I am proud of myself. Reading is now oxygene for me. I literally can't live (normally, at least) without a book in my hands. I would feel guilty when I am on facebook or whatever thinking that I could use that time to finish a book.

I read a lot of good books, but if I had to pick one as a favorite, I would choose "Before I fall" by Lauren Oliver. 

This book is literally amazing. It is not so big (about 350 pages) but it combined so many topics and issues that we all can relate to in an artistic way and an amazing writing style. Lauren Oliver spoke (and even criticized) some of the most common situations in a teenager's life in this contemporary book. She spoke about popularity, bullying, friendship, familly... and especially life and death and making decisions and trying to be a better person. It combined almost everything I, as a teenager, wonder about. 

This book is about Samantha who is a senior in highschool and who has a perfect life. Then she dies and she lives the day she died over and over and over again.

-Sarah laajimi

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