Meditating on Words
It's been a while since I wrote something worthy of readying or sharing. My vocabulary seems to diminish and my thoughts seem to revolve around the same issues. And all I whine about is about my study and my atelier projects and artwork.
Thinking of vocabulary, I've always thought the set of words we use depends on the material we read. It's all about linguistic competency. And writing is just applying this competency and turning it into words. I've always blamed myself for not reading enough books but as I grew older I still face the same problem. I use very simple sentences with very simple adjectives and adverbs; only as needed that at times I don’t know how to describe things. I feel I'm just out of words, speechless as you may say.
Relatively I'm a fast reader but I tend to reading more than one book at a time because I get bored and move to another book but then I do go back to the old book and get interested in finishing it. Or I have a new book and I can't wait to start reading. Through the last couple of years I stopped reading novels. I think the last one was Alice Walker's Meridian. I used to read the book while waiting for the bus or when I'm on my way to the institute of Arts.
I started to read books more about self motivation, management and development in addition to biographies or autobiographies. Previously I liked books by Latin novelist like Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez. There's something about reality and magical realism in their writings that captures me. I've always hated history books but when it comes to novels we read the real story behind a revolution or a war and how it affected people like ourselves. So after stumbling on a lot of useless books and stories I decided to be more careful in reading, not just because it's a bestseller or making a big fuzz. I don't want to waste time reading something useless.
One of the best books I read lately was Sharon and My Mother-in-law: Ramallah diaries by Suad Amiry. Such a book that makes you laugh and cry by reading the same sentence. Make you close the book and think of this world and where it's going. It draws such a real picture of headlines we saw on TV and read in the newspapers.
Looking at the shelves with tens of books, I decided to read Sons and Lovers. I don't know what got into my head but I was a couple of days before my travel to Amman to get officially engaged. I needed something that I can read without thinking. And that what happened; I read while thinking to myself "this is boring" "this is torture" "this is useless and not good for me to read at such times." I left to Amman and left the book in UAE. Coming back I thought I shouldn't be a quitter. Morbido was reading the book again to refresh so I thought it's a good motivation. Everybody was praising the book; mom, aunt and even my mother-in-law. I'm finishing this book. Well I haven't finish the book yet because I read like couple of pages per day but yesterday, only yesterday I got what this book is all about. Maybe that's because I don't have a brother or a son, nor the clash of two different classes. But it was an agony to read the first part.
Another book I'm currently reading (well, I was reading. Don't seem interested with the last twenty pages) is The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, a self help book by Eckhart Tolle which seeks to bring about a transformation of human consciousness. Andrea Sachs from Time Magazine has called the book "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for those looking for practical advice". With every line I read I think I have to edit this book or write a reply to the author. He should really consider Islam instead of the mumbo jumbo he's lecturing. (Don't steal my idea. I hope I'll be able to do this project some day).
What else?
*mind freezes for a second*
* Mouse curser flashes*
*The rest of the white page begs for more words*
Na'a … no one is fooling me. That's all for now
I think I wrote enough nonsense for one post
Thinking of vocabulary, I've always thought the set of words we use depends on the material we read. It's all about linguistic competency. And writing is just applying this competency and turning it into words. I've always blamed myself for not reading enough books but as I grew older I still face the same problem. I use very simple sentences with very simple adjectives and adverbs; only as needed that at times I don’t know how to describe things. I feel I'm just out of words, speechless as you may say.
Relatively I'm a fast reader but I tend to reading more than one book at a time because I get bored and move to another book but then I do go back to the old book and get interested in finishing it. Or I have a new book and I can't wait to start reading. Through the last couple of years I stopped reading novels. I think the last one was Alice Walker's Meridian. I used to read the book while waiting for the bus or when I'm on my way to the institute of Arts.
I started to read books more about self motivation, management and development in addition to biographies or autobiographies. Previously I liked books by Latin novelist like Isabel Allende and Gabriel García Márquez. There's something about reality and magical realism in their writings that captures me. I've always hated history books but when it comes to novels we read the real story behind a revolution or a war and how it affected people like ourselves. So after stumbling on a lot of useless books and stories I decided to be more careful in reading, not just because it's a bestseller or making a big fuzz. I don't want to waste time reading something useless.
One of the best books I read lately was Sharon and My Mother-in-law: Ramallah diaries by Suad Amiry. Such a book that makes you laugh and cry by reading the same sentence. Make you close the book and think of this world and where it's going. It draws such a real picture of headlines we saw on TV and read in the newspapers.
Looking at the shelves with tens of books, I decided to read Sons and Lovers. I don't know what got into my head but I was a couple of days before my travel to Amman to get officially engaged. I needed something that I can read without thinking. And that what happened; I read while thinking to myself "this is boring" "this is torture" "this is useless and not good for me to read at such times." I left to Amman and left the book in UAE. Coming back I thought I shouldn't be a quitter. Morbido was reading the book again to refresh so I thought it's a good motivation. Everybody was praising the book; mom, aunt and even my mother-in-law. I'm finishing this book. Well I haven't finish the book yet because I read like couple of pages per day but yesterday, only yesterday I got what this book is all about. Maybe that's because I don't have a brother or a son, nor the clash of two different classes. But it was an agony to read the first part.
Another book I'm currently reading (well, I was reading. Don't seem interested with the last twenty pages) is The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, a self help book by Eckhart Tolle which seeks to bring about a transformation of human consciousness. Andrea Sachs from Time Magazine has called the book "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for those looking for practical advice". With every line I read I think I have to edit this book or write a reply to the author. He should really consider Islam instead of the mumbo jumbo he's lecturing. (Don't steal my idea. I hope I'll be able to do this project some day).
What else?
*mind freezes for a second*
* Mouse curser flashes*
*The rest of the white page begs for more words*
Na'a … no one is fooling me. That's all for now
I think I wrote enough nonsense for one post
posted by attawie at Sunday, May 09, 2010
5 Comments:
Dear Attawie,
Don't say nonsense. You do an excellent job of posting. I enjoy reading your posts and appreciate you for taking time to keep us informed. Thank you very much. I hope all is going well with you and your family.
i want to say, that u r so cute i am considering starting to like u, lets not push it and wait and see where will that go from there:D
Nonsense? no way Attawei I love reading your posts whenever and keeping up to date with everything no matter what you write about =)
So are these books you've been reading good? I've been wanting to read Alice Walker's Color Purple when I get the chance, have you read it before?
Attawie, this may surprise you, but your level of English language competency is much higher than most Americans! I find that rather amazing considering that you are not a native speaker of English.
Lucky for you that you are a fast reader. I am not. I read every word in my mind and I form mental pictures of what the characters are doing as I read. So, my mind is very busy while reading! ;) Fortunately, I can type nearly as fast as I can think the words. :)
I have not read the sort of books that you have. I read almost exclusively science fiction and some fantasy. However, I do like to learn about history and the biographies of famous people. But, for that sort of thing, I like to watch documentaries on TV and DVD. I can absorb information much faster if it is presented in an audio-visual format.
A few years ago, one of my friends suggested I watch "The Secret". It is supposedly a sort of self-help guide to spiritual enlightenment also. Well, I found it rediculous! The basic idea was that all you had to do was ask the universe for anything you wanted and it would magically appear. Anyway, my advice to anyone would be not to put blind trust into any sort of philosophy that purports to tell you what the right way to live is. I think that each person must come to know themselves and decide for themselves what is best for them. Of course, I do not advocate that a person should do whatever they want without any regard for other people. Its just that I feel very strongly that there are many right ways to live that can satisfy a person's needs while safeguarding the rights of other people.
As others have said, you have not written nonsense Attawie. :)
Take care.
Attawie, books are never nonsense!
I have always said that when someone says they're not a reader, they just haven't met the right book yet. :)
I often will read two books at the same time, and sometimes on the rare occasion three. Usually one is fiction and the other non-fiction, so I won't mix them up. While both may be good, like you, I may get bored and want to switch subjects for a bit.
I like mysteries and history the best, but will branch out and read fantasy (Terry Pratchett is great), classics (such as To Kill a Mockingbird), etc. Currently I am reading a mystery by Brian Freeman, "In the Dark" (excellent) and a book by one of our military doctors who served in Iraq. I think I will finish the mystery first though. It's got me hooked. lol!
David is right, you write very well for someone for whom English is a second language. That's one thing I noticed when I first started commenting on blogs, what a terrible writer I am. lol! It really is a craft that needs practice.
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