Summer Project Report #3

The "project" has come to an end, so did the Summer holiday. It's been fun, really, and I've more books in this short amount of time than pretty much my whole life, so that does say something about how terrible of a literate person I am.
Anyway ! For the final Report I've gathered the last 15 books (and mini-books) that I've read during pretty much the last week of August and the first week of September, I didn't reach my goal of reading 50 books (because I pretty much didn't read for more than a month :v), but still, I'm proud of this first accomplishment, way to go !

21. Bridge to Terabithia :

Author : Katherine Paterson
Themes: Friendship, Fantasy, Alienation.

Rating : 9/10

Mini-review : 
For a short novel (about half the size of a normal novel), this work of fiction accomplishes effectivelythe mission of a story : Give us a world to live in and people to befriend while reading, and a sentiment of sorts when finished. Almost-spoiler alert, this novel might hit you in the guts.


22. الخبز الحافي :

Author : Mohamed Choukri
Themes: Coming of age, family, society, loneliness, suffering..

Rating : 5/10

Mini-review : 
As I finished this autobiographical work, I really wanted to hate it. It had all sorts of things I didn't appreciate in the stories I enjoy : a dislikable protagonist (The author, Choukri), an overly-tarnished world, a linear story with no real intrigue (we can blame that on the fact that this story is autobiographical, but then again, why would you write you're story if it's not intriguing ?), bad writing style (not only unnecessary vulgarity, but also unnecessary vulgarity), slobby supporting characters and just a general growing feeling of disgust throughout the story. I believe that it's what the author want (an "ugly" story, if the term permits), but that was no excuse for the lack of plot integrity. Moreover, I didn't express any feeling towards the character(s) at all, except ar the end, which justifies my not-sure-what-to-think 5/10. I felt finally that the author, amidst his fully-blown Oedipus complex exposure, was on a quest of growing, but surprisingly he never took one step towards that end. The last chapter, though, felt like a miscreant's prayer, a moment of repentance and a light regret, although I'm not sure it really was.
I would have gone on trying to explain to myself why did I fail to put my hand on what irks me about this book, but this is a mini-review and I'm not even sure whether it would be of any help at all.
(Also, why the heck almost every moroccan who reads claims this to be the OMG BEST BOOK EVERRRR!!?)


23. The Rape of the Lock :
24. Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and other minor poems

Author : Alexander Pope, Edgar Alan Poe
Themes: Diverse ?

Rating : 7.5/10

Mini-review : 
I joined those two reviews for two reasons : One is that obviously I'm lazy, and secondly that it almost felt the same. Poetry is grotesque world that still refuses to open the doors for me as a reader, and I sure don't have the patience yet to "take my time" and meditate the subtle hidden beauties of this art. Those two collection of poems made the same impression on me : Sublime at times, lacking distinction at others (especially after you get used to the poet's style). Also, weird mythological references aren't my cup of tea, for the time being.
Beautiful texts nonetheless.

25. الأيام - الجزء الأول :

Author : Taha Hussain
Themes: Childhood, life in the country, Knowledge, societal merit ..

Rating : 8/10

Mini-review : 
I had high expectations on this book because it was one that I knew for a log time and never had the time to read. Unlike Choukri's autobiography, Taha Hussain's vibrant portrayal of the characters around him (he never quite get in the spotlight) made the story worth reading and engaging. Since we get to see the characters from his perspective (he who is blind, accidentally), we get to experience many highlights of his life almost realistically, without too much distance that the previously-cited author does. You get to like the little Taha, or even sympathize with him and then believe him as he guides you around his pitch-black world.
I need to read the sequels, too.

26. Grace :

Author : James Joyce
Themes: Society, life, religion,

Rating : 8.5/10

Mini-review : 
As my first Joyce experiment (who is one of the most acknowledged/controversial writers out there), I can't say I was disappointed in any way. For a very short story, there is barely any explicit story at all. The plot takes too long to unfold and in the end, hardly does. The writing style was quirky and that's the only word I can think of to describe it. There was a subtlety in the way the story is told and the characters are presented and animated, and I silently enjoyed it. I'm not even sure what was that was really all about, thanks to the prompt ending, or rather stopping, of the little tale.
I said it before and I'll repeat it: I love short stories.

27. How to know if your cat is plotting to kill you :

Author : The Oatmeal
Themes: Cats and their wondrous lives.

Rating : 7.5/10

Mini-review : 
That's almost blatant cheating, because this wasn't actually a book, but rather a .. I don't know. If the title isn't informative enough, I don't think my review would be either. For some very silly comedy and some so-stereotypical-it's-funny jokes about cats, this book will please.

28. The Alchemist :

Author : Paulo Coelho
Themes: Destiny

Rating : 8/10

Mini-review : 
Paulo Coelho, here we meet again.
After more than six years of my reading of the Alchemist for the first time (in arabic), I chose to repay it a visit. While some claim it to be one of the most wonderful awesome things that have been ever written and can't be topped, I beg to disagree. I was one of those people that believed that this book is of enormous depth and very maturely laid but I am no more. Let alone the fact that the translation I read was as inspiring as a plastic bag, the story itself didn't hit me hard in any way. After I saw a variety of media that uses the same raw material (inspiration off mysticism and alchemy is the broad sense), I can freely take off the point of originality too. What we are left with is a story that pushes itself forward to an ending that doesn't surprise nor inspire only after ONE READING. I can't say it's a bad novel because it's by no mean that. I'd rather say, personally, I think, it's one overrated novel. And since judging Coelho's works is a requirement to join the "readers" subgroup, I need to read more of him to have a more definite idea. I hope there's more tricks in his bag.
Side note : This was the first "grown up" book I've ever read so .. thanks Paulo ?

29. رمل و زبد :

Author : Gibran Khalil Gibran
Themes: Misfitting quotes.

Rating : 3/10

Mini-review : 
What do we do with phrases we think sound cool but don't quite fit any context whatsoever ? Put them in a book of course.
3 to 10 is about the ratio of decent to what-are-you-trying-to-say-goddamit quotes. I had all my high expectations because this guy can write marvels (Al-Mawakib, anyone ?), but this book really fall short in the worst of ways. I forgot to keep some real quotations from the book to show how hard it tries to be abstract and allegorical and whatnot, but in the end, well, you get a thing that doesn't look like anything.
Read only if you're a hardcore GKG fan, maybe you'll understand the magic that is beyond my average sense of things.

30. The Two Drovers :

Author : Sir Walter Scott
Themes: Honor, Friendship

Rating : 7/10

Mini-review : 
Again, another cheating attempt. This is yet another short story (I like them, don't judge) that doesn't qualify to be a book, but whatever.
As you can clearly see in the themes, the short story goes straight to the point. The dominant themes in the short story are friendship and Honor, those being quite the only themes in the registry of many classical writers. Short stories are cool because they just give you a point. Whether it's a starting or a finishing point, you decide. Simplistically, this is the story of two hot-blooded friends who turned against each other for a vain misunderstanding, and the thing ends on a tragedy. I found the concept quite bizarre, but after I read Romeo and Juilet (see below), I starting seeing the point of it: People of the olden times LOVED honor, lived for honor and died of/for it. This worship of Honor can be taken to some hilarious proportions.
The language is quite challenging too, both for using old phrasal structures and different English dialects (Old English and Scottish), and I didn't really care enough to look up every other word.
The ending was the good part.


31. الكتاب الأخضر :

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Author : Mu'ammer El'Gaddafi
Themes: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Rating : 5/10

Mini-review : 
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
also hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
But seriously, seriously hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Ehem, okay .. This book is very serious. It's SO serious it's claimed by some -the author, mainly- to be of prophetic aspect, almost a revelation, a human feat, a tour de force, a magnificent work of philosophy, sociology, politics, pantology, ecology, pathology, psychology, psychosis, analysis, economy, dichotomy, anatomy (srsly, anatomy). It's a panacea for all human struggle, and some more.
SO rightfully named by the author The Third International Theory (??!).
I can't use words to describe what the book is because I'll never be fair to such grand heights of wisdom, wit and wizardry. Just go read it, it will blow your mind in many ways (for example, have you ever thought that democracy IS dictatorship ? Well yeah, take that Obama).
The only disappointing thing about the book (for which I took off 5 points in my rating) is that sneaky Gaddafi didn't reveal the secrets of his brilliant fashion taste that I so earnestly wanted to discover.

Fun fact : Extracts from the books were aired periodically on the national Libyan channel.


32. L'Art de Guerre :

Author : Sun Tsu
Themes: War techniques

Rating : 7.5/10

Mini-review : 
This book is literally about war techniques of the old times, it's all about strategies and tactics of warcraft and it's kind of awesome in the way.
It made me want to play Age of Empires, which is as remarkable as a book about serial killers making you want to commit a virtual crime.
I always wondered what old military general did in their free time, and writing books about war techniques was far from what I expected.


33. Zen to Done :

Author : Leo Babauta
Themes: Time management and productivity

Rating : 7.5/10

Mini-review : 
I read this book along with the one before in attempt to include more non-fic in my reading diet, and I4m not sure I like it.
I like reading books about time management and productivity boosting and task organizing and stuff, only they never succeed to help Me, hopeless case.
The book presents another approach to do things, named Zen to Done, and has nothing to do with Yoga.
The book is light and has some insightful tricks and hints that can help those who can be helped, but I tend to think that it doesn't include me.
The thing that I liked is that it's much less self-promoting than most other books that promise you to be 13000.6% MORE EFFECTIVE WOWWW!! It just gives you a formula and it's up to you to kick it. So I might actually read it again.


34. Romeo and Juliet :

Author : William Shakespeare
Themes: Love, Passion, Honor, Family, Destiny ..

Rating : 8/10

Mini-review : 
At last, this day has cometh.
I actually read a Shakespearean work, and not only a work, but the Shakespearean work. The Greatest Love Story of All Times. Or is it ?
Now let's see, I think not. beyond the silky curtain of Beautiful language and Masterful style and such, I don't find much to admire about the story itself, or what point it serves.
Let me break it down for you, not really a spoiler since your experience of reading the book won't really be spoiled, because it's kind of not very spoil-y of nature, agreed.
The boy, Romeo, is madly in love with a girl and almost hating the world for keeping him away from her. Surprise #1, the girl is NOT Juliet, but a rather random girl named Rosaline that doesn't even appear in the freaking novel. She's kind of friend-zoning the boy who's kind of stalking her. Upon stalking her at a party, he spots another hot chick of 13 YEARS OLD named Juilet, and surprise #2, he's now maaaad in love with her. He's also the sassiest boy you'd meet, with all his bitching about every single vanity of his noble life, and talking about the moon and stuff, mad stuff.
The thing is, their family is on a fiery feud and they can't really date, let alone get married. What do they do ? Surprise #3, they get married! But wait, Juliet is set to marry the prince, which she does, but she's also married to Romeo? Never mind, there is a way out of this. Surprise #4, she'll fake being dead to trick the prince because he can't love a dead woman. Well, joke's on you, 13 year old witch, because now lover boy is the one to be tricked and so he, surprise #5, commits suicide next to her grave, but not before killing her cousin. She wakes up, find him dead. Ultimate surprise #6, she kills herself. They die. Families end the feud.
Now, that's something.
The story is a really inconvenient is our time because if it was set in 2012, they'll be figured in "16 and pregnant" on MTV rather than dead. But the style, oh and the sarcasm, oh and the wordplay and puns. Very good job, Shake, very good.
Also most of the text is a real pain to understand, you've been warned.


35. Flowers for Algernon :

Author : Daniel Keyes
Themes: Intelligence, Human nature, alienation, morality, society, duality, destiny, empathy

Rating : 10/10

Mini-review : 
Ah, my love.
Since this can't be a full review (I'll do that one later on), I'll just describe the experience of (re)reading this book, not much the content itself.
Well, it was like encountering a very good old friend by chance and having a very nice talk.
My first 10/10 ever and my favorite book so far, reading this book to end this summer project was almost an obligation, especially that it coincided with my oh-so-awaited receiving of the fancied paperback version of the novel. When I finished it, I literally and emotionally hugged it.
To put that in a few words, this book is a journey that, instead of rolling over time and space, takes place in the mind of the protagonist, Charlie. I won't make any other allusion to the nature of the journey because it's better when you march on alongside with him, figuring things in and out.
The change of emotional weather that carries on throughout the story will take you away if you let it, and I must say it's an agreeable feeling.
The true message of the book, the loneliness, the pain, the pleasure, the discovery and the puzzlement, they all intertwine to make a the most touching and personal experience.
When the time is right, I'll write the due full review, I owe it that much.
I love you, Daniel Keyes.


And that's it  :)  !
Next month, I'll shake things up a bit. More on that on the next article.

Summer Project Report #2

Here we are again.
With such slow pace, I can see the hope of reading 50 books this summer vanishing in thin air. Why is everything much more simpler in mind than in real life ?
Second batch, go.

11. 207 الغرفة :

Author : أحمد خالد توفيق
Themes: Mystery, Horror.

Rating : 6/10

Mini-review : 
Well, well. This is my first time reading a "horror" novel so I can't judge the genre based on reading this one case, but at least based on the experience of reading this novel, it's not that scary to read something scary. With no real people, shaky cameras, gore, Sound effects .. it's just .. not as effective.
The 6 is there because the story edge on mystery rather than horror, some of the many episodes had that mysterious, enigmatic atmosphere that made the reading quite enjoyable. Other than that, it's really borderline mediocre (unless one day I'll get a key to a room and find out later that it's for room 207 ..).
That being said, I'll really want to read a real (sorry AKT :p) Horror novel .. because a part of me believe that reading a good Horror novel -if such thing exist- would be more of a psychological endeavor, thus more scary than a movie .. and I don't even like Horror movies.


12. Les Fleurs du Mal :

Author : Charles Beaudelaire
Themes: ?

Rating : 7/10

Mini-review : 
Now that's another new experience. I've never read a poetry volume and I somehow landed on a very weird one. Weird. That's exactly the word that comes to mind whenever I finish reading one poem out of it.
The poems aren't straightforward and rely heavily on vague symbolism and grotesque imagery. And as Takao said, I actually don't understand it. That, of course, if there is actually anything to understand. It's symbolic so it's up to interpretation, but most of the poems in my opinions are enigmatic for the sake of being enigmatic, which doesn't really help.
I didn't read the whole thing, honestly. It's quite enjoyable at times and some poems are cool and beautifully written, but one of the main reasons I couldn't finish it was the fact that it's written in french, and some vocabulary is goddamn bizarre. So I said maybe I'll keep it for later, when I can truly enjoy it (lie).


13. Brick :

Author : Ryan Johnson
Themes: Detective Work, Mystery, Noir.

Rating : 8/10

Mini-review : 
I read this quite unknown novella because I really enjoyed the movie based on it. The writer of this novella is actually a director/screenwriter so technically it's more of a script. The novella is the text counterpart of the movie (because it's the script for it,duh) and if I didn't know of the ending beforehand, I would have enjoyed it better (and rating it higher). The Noir undertones are just so cool, I add that to the list of things I want to read more on.
Not-really-spoiler alert : The language is kind of weird. The movie is Noir/Drug trade themed so many of the terms are proper to those themes and you'll need to look them up (or just guess their general meaning as you go like I did :p).

14. Gilead :

Author : Marilynne Robinson
Themes: Religion, Faith, Novelty, Traditions, Society, Family, Philosophy, Existence, Love, Morality .. Pretty much everything.

Rating : 10/10

Mini-review : 
Another entry to the word "Magnificent" in the dictionary should be "the novel Gilead", and I'm not even kidding.
This is one of the novels that I will certainly reread (and fully review) later on, because well, you don't stumble upon gems everyday.
Long story short, it's a unique reading experience. To live through the day and the mind of an old man who wants to transmit as much wisdom (and soul) to his child is heartwarming is every single way possible. The writing style is superb, the imagery range from impressive to soothing, the sensation of racing the emotions and thoughts -at a really slow rate sometimes- in the head of John Ames is just a privilege. I really think that secretly Marilynne is really John Ames, although she's neither a pastor, nor a man. This can't be a fictional autobiography, it's too good to be imaginary.
READ IT !

15. مذكرات الأرقش :

Author : ميخائيل نعيمة
Themes: Philosophy, Meditation, Humanity, Love.

Rating : 9/10

Mini-review : 
The name of the author only gives me a good feeling. It's been years now since we've last read any good Arabic text in school, those being already really rare, and I suspect, deliberately left out. One of the few exceptions, however, was Mr. Nouaima. I used to read those few good texts many times when we had a boring text to study, and so I kept wishing that one day I'll read one their real books, entire and unmodified (because some of the texts we studies at secondary school were altered -as I discovered later- to make them easier to understand, yeah right).
Now, I have the honor to read this little curious book, and as the title clearly states, the book is some diaries, but not any diaries.
I can't go on explaining why this book is awesome (because then I'll do a full review, which I might do alter) but it really is, philosophically and stylistically speaking. A journey worth taking.

16. حي بن يقظان :

Author : ابن طفيل
Themes: Philosophy, Existence, Religion, Transcendence, Meditation.

Rating : 9/10

Mini-review : 
To the other end of the Philosophy books, here comes this book. It's the first book I've read written in the Middle Age (the Golden Age of the Arabia). And as I expected the language itself is different, but it's something you get used too once you read the first dozen pages.
This philosophical novel is about finding God, justifying both the need and the will to find Him, and argues for Religion. All in that  exemplary mid-aged mid-eastern style. The book needs both a little knowledge about the subject and a good amount of concentration to be truly enjoyed.
Some really unexpected pieces of information are presented as the story progresses, who knew the philosophers/scientists (because they were all philosophers/scientists back then) knew that much back then!

17. قصاصات قابلة للحرق :

Author :  احمد خالد توفيق
Themes: -

Rating : 5/10

Mini-review : 
This is actually cheating, both for my project and from the author. This is not a real book. This is a collection of quotations from other books by the same author (two or three by other authors who the author admires), and maybe just quotations made up by him to fill this book in. Either ways, this work is not really a book.
That point made clear, I thought I'd enjoy it more because it's quite humorous, but sadly the author falls in hole he digs for himself. When there is not enough material to make up a book (which was very short, nonetheless), just don't write it.
I don't mean that it was complete crap (it's 5, a mediocre read at best) but it could have been done better, maybe if there was something other than a man quoting himself. He's funny at times, I confess, bu this should never be a reason to write a book, ever ! Sharing quotes is for Facebook pages .. Oh wait.

18. 13 reasons why

Author : Jay Asher
Themes: Love, revenge, suicide, morality ..

Rating : 7/10

Mini-review : 
That's "boo!" for an very exciting idea done bad. I must say that when I first heard about the concept, I immediately liked it. A "treasure hunt" for truth, huh ? Well, the premise is so good that any less-than-perfect implementation would fall short, and this book here is far from prefect, thus it's really a disappointment.
The story starts off strong and thrilling, promising. Everything seems more intensive as the protagonist is still in the shadow. Just as the truth starts to unfold, the story weaken, the characters become stupid, and the whole thing fall apart. The author tries to do things he can't really do (create dept and make the characters relatable, for example), and it just create holes in the fabric of the story that even a good ending wouldn't fix, and guess what, the ending is predictable in a bad way.
It's such a sad thing to know that it could have been done much better, given a better pen and a better imagination.
7 for the concept, meh for everything else.

19. Banging your Head against a Brick Wall :

Author : Banksy
Themes: Art.

Rating : 9.25/10

Mini-review : 
Here's a 9.25 for a 54 pages book. And add to my cheat-list the fact that it's not actually a book. It's kind of a book-exhibition-gallery-backstreet-mind-projection-album-collection kind of thing. And it's beautiful.
Speaking of artsy (?), this little stroke of genius here is just what art deserves. Quite simply, this books breaths originality. Don't be fooled by the simple cover, because I do believe Bansky is a genius of his kind.
If using idioms as titles isn't impressive enough, the title that refers both properly and figuratively to the content of the book is (banging your head against a brick wall means trying something in vain. You'll get that feeling once you're into the book). It's both a gallery of his street art (stencil art and graffiti), and a collection of political views, quotations, wordplays, innuendos, double-meanings and visual plays all painted with irony, anarch-ish-ism, and double-meanings, all in a cool way (take note, Mr AKT).
You shall also expect a light feeling of adrenaline while reading (and picturing yourself doing some good old anarchic business) and lot of Walls puns.
(By the way, the paperback book is 145$ in case you wanted to buy me a birthday present.)

20. حديث القمر :

Author : مصطفى صادق الرافعي
Themes: Spirituality, Nature, Meditation, Love.

Rating : 8.5/10

Mini-review : 
For the last book of the second batch, I wanted to read something I wanted to read for a long time, something written by MSR and here I am, not disappointed.
I've read some texts off his collection "وحي القلم" and I really enjoyed them. I also believe he has the greatest style among Arabic writers (I didn't read much of that, but I don't think he can't be topped).
Anyways, this book is not his most famous book nor his finest (according to people who read all of his works) and I still find it impressively well-written, if nothing else.
The themes are quite vague because the book is not actually a story (as I expected, I started expected every book to be a novel) but rather the stream of thoughts of a man who can see in the Moon every thing that is beautiful, things that we ordinary people don't see. It's a bundle of messages and meditations that are perfectly written, and heavily adorned with beautiful imagery and figures of speech.
The author set the bar so high that almost any other arabic writing will sound badly unimpressive.

Summer Project : Report #1

My summer project this year is to read 50 books, quite a bald statement if we consider the fact that almost half the summer vacations are gone and I didn't get even close to half that number, even half of a half of half that number :v

Anyway, there is always hope. That's why I'll do my best to catch up with the plan.
Unlike the usual reviews, this project will go reported : I won't review books as much as I will be marking the progress made so far. There will be a report in every 10 books landmark, and if you do the maths then hopefully by the end of summer there will be 5 of them. To do that I'll have to attain the "One book everyday ratio", which is quite hard (but doable !).

Let's start !


1. Mort sur le Nil : 

Author : Agatha Christie
Themes: Detective Work, Mystery.

Rating : 5.5/10

Mini-review : 
After reading "And there there were none", I'm afraid my expectations were high. Add to that the fact that I read this book throughout the duration of 3 months (because I was reading it in the bus when I can sit to read), you can get how it compiled up in my brain. There was no aspect of novelty in the Crime/Mystery cooking formula. Expect the very expected twist in the end, too.


2. The World as I see it :

The review.

3. Wuthering Heights :

The review.

4. Lord of the Flies : 

Author : William Golding
Themes: Human nature, Good and Evil & Primal instinct, Social Satire, Hierarchy, Religion, Fear, Power-lust ...

Rating : 10/10

Mini-review : 
The best book I've had in a long time (clear in the Perfect Score, the first given since I started this blog).
When I started reading this book, I had no idea that in the end, I'd be changed by it. It's that kind of books that makes a difference in you as a human when you least expect it.
The books depicts the "adventures" of a swarm of kids who ended up in a deserted island in the complete absence of adults. It really grows from your average thriller story to a full-blown allegory of society, existentialism and even Life itself.
An inhibiting psychological portrayal of the human society painted with a brush of pessimism. Dark, spooky and somewhat disturbing (if you can really get into books), and a true work of wonder.
Definitely a reread is planned and a full review.


5. Fight Club :

Author : Agatha Christie
Themes: Anarchy, Unaccomplishment, Male portrayal, Violence, History, Psychology ..

Rating : 7/10

Mini-review : 
After watching the movie (that I rated 9/10 for the record), the novel didn't seem to exceed its pictured version. Although brilliant at times, the book leaves you with a bitter taste in your mouth and a lot of uncertainties. The ending was disappointing to some extent (unlike the movie) and supporting characters weren't given any depth. It's the kind of book that could have done better.


6. قنديل أم هاشم : 

Author : Yahya Haqqi
Themes: Various : Belief, Destiny, Freedom, Choice, Love ..

Rating : 9/10

Mini-review : 
I think I fell in love with short stories thanks to this work right here. Every story is a retake on an idea, a thought that the writer had at some point of his life, either by meeting a person or internalizing the possible scenarios in his head. I'm glad he got them on paper because they're brilliant.
The lack of ending and development is more redeemed by the pleasure of standing on a cliff, you guess an ending or imagine it or deduce it or even leave it behind .. It's entirely up to you.
Great use of symbols too (the stories themselves are symbols to draw a bigger image).


7. The Old Man and the Sea :

Author : Earnest Hemingway
Themes: Remembrance, Loneliness, Patience ..

Rating : 6.5/10

Mini-review : 
I give 6.5 to the experience of reading the work, not the work itself. It's always mentioned as one of the best novels of the English Language which, although relative, it usually means that the work have some literal value. Unlike most of the classics, I failed to see this value in this work, maybe because I was tired, maybe because the air was hot, or maybe because I just don't like this kind of books.
Reading this work felt exactly like the process of fishing (haha, Fisher .. Sea .. get it ? Okay), boring and not necessarily rewarding at the end.
Was that intended by the author ? If it was, then this novel deserves more credit.

8. خواطر شاب :

Author : Ahmad Al Shugairi
Themes: Thoughts. (translation of the title, very clever of me)

Rating : 8.5/10

Mini-review :
The book is a collection of mini-articles written by Ahmad Al Shugairi in diverse matters such as spirituality, mentality, politics, religion ..
I liked the book because at times it just put words to my thoughts! Maybe more precisely and with a studied intention but I felt myself mentally saying "I agree! .. Exaactly !".. which is cool.
Another thing I liked since the book is a promotion of the Islamic "lifestyle", the writer didn't pick up the "religious" tone anywhere throughout the book. It all laid in that sweet spot of "moderated Islam" and all it sought was a better understanding of the religion. It's a call for a change of paradigm, a gradual revolution of the mind and the soul first, that will eventually lead to the birth of the Islamic society as it should be, not as it unfortunately is.
I only wished the book was longer and had a stronger thematic orientation, but it's fine, really.


9. Of Mice and Men :

Author : John Steinbeck
Themes: Human Bonds, Travel, Loneliness, Morality and Mental Ability, Need ..

Rating : 9.5/10

Mini-review : 
The feels train hit me, and it hit hard.
Prepare yourself to the Roller-coaster of feelings that it "Of Mice and Men".
I loved the book since the very first pages, the brilliant writing style makes you feel acquainted to the two protagonist and takes off the need to dozens of pages of introduction and background. Lennie is straight-out adorable, with all the dorky air around him and the big-boy thing going on, very innocent and likeable (watch out). George is the contrast of Lennie. The two set on a journey that is bigger-than-life and inspiring.
I won't give out anything about the book, but sincerely, if you were awake enough while reading it, it will lead you silently to the ending you don't want to believe it's the ending.
BIG thumbs-up to the use of foreshadowing, it was a very bitter-sweet sensation of guessing and discovering that earned this novella a spot in my current top 5.
I actually felt something in the end, can you believe that ?

10. Les Fourberies de Scapin

Author : Molière
Themes: Greed, Destiny, Social Satire.

Rating : 8/10

Mini-review : 
For my first Molière, it's definitely a good one. I know now what "Comedy" as a genre stands for (I didn't finish any of the plays that were suggested in our Frnech program, so this one is a learning experience for me :p).
Well, what to say ? It's a funny play, a social satire sugarcoated in an amusing piece of literature. All the characters were caricaturized to exaggerated versions of their archetype, and the story wraps up hopefully making some points across.
One thing to confess : I'm still not ready to "literary" and "classic" works in french. Although this piece is a relatively simple and unsophisticated script, I really had bad time understanding it all, I deliberately left some pieces out because there were too many weird words for me to guess. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't try later. One baby step at a time.
I admit laughing like a dumb at some hilarious parts of the dialogue for some reason (well they're hilarious that's the reason) and that's something I'd like to have from time to time.


Well, those are my first 10 reads this Summer. I had a late start but screw it, it's a start.
I hope I can finish my second 10 before the end of this month because if not, well I'll fail myself.

I need to know why although I enjoy reading much more than lurking on Facebook and I still manage to switch the switches in my mind darn it.

8. Wuthering Heights

Name : Wuthering Heights
Writer : Emily Brontë
Publishing year :  1845
Language : English
Type : Recommended, Novel
Recommended by : Soukaina Mkhairi
Estimated time : Around 15 hours.
Main themes : Love, basically. Social Justice, Revenge, Karma, Family, Social classes, Human bonds, Human condition ..
Recommended for : Anyone who'd appreciate a love story with many subplots and many characters and great development.
The book in a few words : The story of two houses bound by space and time, and two families bound by love and hatred.
The synopsis : Mr. Lockwood occupies a new house, lone and isolated from human interaction. The little contact he had with the household of Wuthering Heights made him only curious of the story and history of the family and the place. Through the eyes and words of Nelly, the story unfolds ..


The Rating : Excellent 9/10  


The Review :

I'd start with a general complaint, maybe the only one I have in regard of this book : It is long, for a novel (said the guy who wanted to read The Brothers Karamazov). This fact coupled with my short attention span (that I'm not to be blamed for) and my relatively slow reading speed made me read the book in intervals, sometimes too long to keep the momentum of the action (if there were one) going. I had to regret that while seating 8 hours reading the second half of it at one take, in the unholy tiredness of this summer. As a result to that I made a resolution that I won't read any longs novels, at least for the rest of this month.

That being my reproach, now comes the praise.
The name of the book gave me many false expectations concerning the content of the book, because I, knowing that the book is set in a 19 century context, somehow pictured the heights mentioned in the title as some moral heights, something to do with honor and social hierarchy. It wasn't too long til I discovered that it's the name of a place. A place where many curious things happened and promise to happen.

The first thing that I admired in the classical piece was the choice of narrators : One, Mr. Lockwood, is a complete stranger through whom you, the stranger reader, are presented to every and each character with every detail a curious stranger needs, the other, Nelly, is kind of the opposite in role and knowledge, serves as the timeless witness of no less than three generations of love and loss in the neighbor lands of Yorkshire. She is, in addition to be the actual narrator of the story (on and off quotation marks), is an active, sentient character of the story. She was even granted enough intelligence and clairvoyance by Mrs. Brontë that she almost served as a omniscient narrator, for she was able in many recurrences to read into other characters' thoughts without even being objective. I thought it was a clever change in the narration department that is really hard to achieve without veering into either a loss of credibility as a narrator or being a narration tool (smartly being made interactive throughout the whole story), and the writer made it possible with great mastery.

The text somehow lacked description as it was theoretically all narrated by Nelly orally, and such lavish descriptions would be absurd and out of place if they were frequently presented.
The expressions and countenances of the characters, their accents and their sentiments, however, were perfectly transcribed by the author through the keen eyes of Nelly, leaving too little room to desire.

The language that I expected to be very 19-century-ish (thanks to Persuasion), was thankfully very nimble. The vocabulary was very rich and at times made me stop to retake sentences, but it was by no mean intrusive. The emphasis on verbs and feelings instead of circumstances made the story feel more liquid and more smooth.

In the characters' department, many were presented at the same time because of their studied resemblance, made the novel feel crowded at first. And I felt that this effect was deliberate because once the plot kicks off, you start to reminisce at the early presentations and hints given about every character.
By the second quarter of it, things started to clear out and every branch of every family was proven to be necessary to the growth of the story. It should be credited, however, that throughout the 400 pages of the novel, every character grew (or spoiler alert : died), at least through the eyes of Nelly. The change of states of characters was a beautiful work of improvised psychology, giving a real, odd and sinister depth to every character. There was a unique aspect to most of the character, like Joseph being instantly detestable, Nelly all the way trustworthy and poised to make up for the recklessness of the youngsters, and Heathcliff unearthly evil, and tortured beyond recovery. The part of the story were he was at full frenzy was almost scary!
I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The structure of the tale, however, is what won me over to add this to my 5/5 list.
Instead of a traditional, blooming story line that start with a simple integral description of the status quo that is soon to be disturbed and through successive events lead to a denouement, the story kicks off of an awkward position. The unwelcome narrator was pushed into the midst of a rising chaos, and only through the guidance of Nelly that he could put the pieces together. The non-linear telling of events was brilliant and done brilliantly, and the foreshadowing in the first chapters (Lockwood seeing Catherine's ghost, that was something.), much adding to the puzzlement, was spot-on.

The other element of the narration style was the creation of a vicious timely/karmic circle : History repeated itself in spite of all efforts to steer it or avoid it, and characters reappeared in new skins and new spirits. Catherine was reincarnated in Cathy, Edgar in Linton, Hindley in Heathcliff, Heathcliff in Hareton... The design laid by Brontë was of perfect proportions, and every character has its path to follow, and his aspiration to rise to, under all different motivations that fell into a one dichotomy : Love and Hatred.

Wuthering Heights is a love story tortured by the tempest of Hatred, or a hatred story blessed by the wind of Love. Either ways, it's a story of human endeavor: Rising and falling from grace, lacking power and being corrupt by it, withering by the sheer emotion of love or shaking under the great weight of guilt, loving and seeking love.


Favorite Character : 
Miss Ellen Dean, or simply Nelly.
At first, it was introduced as a mere storyteller : watchful, prudent and just. She was given a motivation to do so by the presence of Mr. Lockwood, the new owner of the house who needs company and some lines of gossip. Once the story advanced sufficiently, she took on a new role: that of being a character of her own presence. But then, she evolved into this ageless companion that not only lived through three generations but also became a mentor, a person of trust and an authentic event-maker. She was, for pure plot reasons, an easily trusted woman, and by this gift she later on gained an ability to judge both people and their intentions, but did so in a matter that you'll believe.
She was this character that always knew better, she had the necessary wisdom to block all greater evils and soothe out everything else. She was present at every crucial moment in both houses, and yet she kept her loyalty to her job first and the people who she loved second her only priority. She didn't only watch the rumble grow, she was the one, secretly, that pushed them to grow, either by direct effect as it is the case with all the children she reared or indirectly by influencing those one upon entering the life of the rest. She later on became so invested in those characters that her ultimate happiness was to see them tranquil and untroubled.
She was, as I said, doted with a lot of intelligence and wit, allowing her to draw conclusions and make decisions, decisions that her inexperienced, short-tempered masters couldn't take.
She kinda flipped her role as a servant inside-out, and for that she earned the title of the best character in the novel.


Favorite passages : 
"He would stand Hindley’s blows without winking or shedding a tear, and my pinches moved him only to draw in a breath and open his eyes, as if he had hurt himself by accident, and nobody was to blame. "

".. but they were calmer, and did not need me to console them. The little souls were comforting each other with better thoughts than I could have hit on: no parson in the world ever pictured heaven so beautifully as they did, in their innocent talk; and, while I sobbed and listened, I could not help wishing we were all there safe together."

"He possessed the power to depart as much as a cat possesses the power to leave a mouse half killed, or a bird half eaten"

".. so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he’s handsome, Nelly, but because he’s more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton’s is as different as a moonbeam from lightning."

"It was a marvellous effort of perspicacity to discover that I did not love her. I believed, at one time, no lessons could teach her that! And yet it is poorly learnt; for this morning she announced, as a piece of appalling intelligence, that I had actually succeeded in making her hate me! A positive labour of Hercules, I assure you! "

"his lips devoid of their ferocious sneer, and sealed in an expression of unspeakable sadness. Had it been another, I would have covered my face in the presence of such grief. In HIS case, I was gratified; and, ignoble as it seems to insult a fallen enemy, I couldn't miss this chance of sticking in a dart: his weakness was the only time when I could taste the delight of paying wrong for wrong.'"

"'Now, my bonny lad, you are mine! And we'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another, with the same wind to twist it!''"

"..And help your own naughty pet and mine. It is not poisoned, though I prepared it. "

"Miss Linton, I shall enjoy myself remarkably in thinking your father will be miserable: I shall not sleep for satisfaction. You could have hit on no surer way of fixing your residence under my roof for the next twenty-four hours than informing me that such an event would follow." -Awesome.

"It was the same room into which he had been ushered, as a guest, eighteen years before: the same moon shone through the window; and the same autumn landscape lay outside."

"I know he has a bad nature,’ said Catherine: ‘he’s your son. But I’m glad I’ve a better, to forgive it; and I know he loves me, and for that reason I love him. Mr. Heathcliff YOU have NOBODY to love you; and, however miserable you make us, we shall still have the revenge of thinking that your cruelty arises from your greater misery. You ARE miserable, are you not? Lonely, like the devil, and envious like him? NOBODY loves you NOBODY will cry for you when you die! I wouldn’t be you!’"

"He had been content with daily labour and rough animal enjoyments, till Catherine crossed his path. Shame at her scorn, and hope of her approval, were his first prompters to higher pursuits; and instead of guarding him from one and winning him to the other, his endeavours to raise himself had produced just the contrary result."

"‘It is a poor conclusion, is it not?’ he observed, having brooded awhile on the scene he had just witnessed: ‘an absurd termination to my violent exertions? I get levers and mattocks to demolish the two houses, and train myself to be capable of working like Hercules, and when everything is ready and in my power, I find the will to lift a slate off either roof has vanished! [..] I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing."

7. The World as I see it

Name : The World as I see it
Writer : Albert Einstein
Publishing year : 1949
Language : English
Type : Non-fiction
How come ? : I've been intending to read this book since a long time, just because, well, it's Einstein and it's how he sees the world. Sounds interesting.
Estimated time : Theoratically about 7 hours, but Gosh I spent way too much time not reading it after starting it. More about that in the review.
Main themes : Random stuff (collected articles and letters written by Einstein at different matters).
Recommended for : Anyone who wants to read random articles written by Einstein that are NOT related to science or relativity by any means.
The book in a few words : Already said it, random stuff.

The synonpsis : The book is a collection of articles and letters written by Einstein regarding many issues.


The Rating : Not bad 6/10

The Review :

Well, this book had me going through a lot of thinking, but NOT about its content .. but about my choice of books. I won't be reading any articles/letter collection any time soon.
The book as a read wasn't bad (hence the 6) but the structure of the book make it not only a tiresome book, but also an annoying one. It's because of the book's lack of cohesion that I stalled reading it (I'd read a couple pages then I go do something else .. it's like reading the 4 page of a journal) and therefore I lagged all my plan of reading this summer. Wrong, wrong choice of books.

The book is, as mentioned a couple times above, the book is not actually a flow of the genius insights about life and meaning and such as I actually expected. I was even tricked by the first pages of the book to believe that the book would be an awesome journey inside a mastermind's mind, only to be driven to boredom by the miscellaneous correspondences Einstein had in his time. It was a nice trick, though.
Okay, the book wasn't that bad (it was boring, though). Einstein, who was a scientific authority back in the day, was unexpectedly considered an authority in everything else! Journalists of the time wouldn't miss a chance to ask him about anything that was trending, and him being a man of large general knowledge (he's no more the science geek I expected him to be) didn't help him at all of losing this notoriety. He, however, conveniently denied his reputation in exemplary modesty. That didn't stop him from making influential comments on every subject he supported such as Zionism (in its social form) or Socialism.

Another "discovery" about this man is how big of a peace-lover he is. Like a third of a book is all about how atrocious War is and how it must be stopped at any price if there is any hope for humanity to flourish. Kind of ironical since he was the one to inspire the Manhattan Project that leaded to pretty much to the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and USA becoming a major nuclear threat worldwide. Nice job, Einstein.

The book also lives in the spirit of its time, that being the post WWI world, so many references have been made to the context of letters and attitudes. It is written for the post WWI reader who's ready to be influenced by the opinions of the Great Man of the era. This somehow made it distant from the casual-reader me. I didn't want to read about that bot because I hate history, but because I really hate it.

When the book says "Life", it somehow means it. When I picked up the book as my second non-fiction read, I expected it to be about the philosophical meaning of Life. Contemplation ,remarks and insights from one of Humanity greatest minds. But then what you get is not what you expect, and there you have arguments for socialism, for Zionism and even the reason why Einstein resigned from the German Academy of Science. I seriously couldn't care less about his reasons.

Einstein is a man with a big mind and this mind of him, coupled with his reputation back then and now, made even his plainest ideas worth be written on a book. It's not mind-blowing nor revolutionary book, it's what a man, a "simple" man, thinks of things around him, and no matter how "important", this man is, it's still a one man's take, nothing more. It wasn't even that impressive, especially with the complete lack of order the articles/notes were inserted in.
This books was a mind disappointment.

Joining the idea I started this review with, and after the fiasco reading this book was (I mean I literally couldn't read more than five pages a day because of how disordered it was ... and that set me way behind my plans of reading), I intend to change the change the "format" of reading cycles. Since I started this blog, I made the Novel > Classic > Non-fiction > Recommendation cycle. I turned out fine except the Non-fiction part. I have to read both books by necessity, not by passion, not by will. And so I won't make any conditions of the reads I'll pick up from now on, but I'll try as best as I can to have a mixed bag and not all novels (as I highly suspect I'll end up doing).


Favorite passages : 
All quotes were from the first third of the book. The rest is pretty .. 20-century-ish.

"A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving."

"I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that I am engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labour of my fellow-men. "

"Schopenhauer's saying, that "a man can do as he will, but not will as he will," has been an inspiration to me since my youth up, and a continual consolation and unfailing well-spring of patience in the face of the hardships of life, my own and others'."

"The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the State but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling."

"That a man can take pleasure in marching in formation to the strains of a band is enough to make me despise him. He has only been given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed.", Einstein being a troll.

"War seems to me a mean, contemptible thing: I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such an abominable business. ".
Yes, sure Einstein, sure. That's why you've written that letter to Roosevelt.

"He who knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good as dead, a snuffed-out candle."

"A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in their most elementary forms--it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute the truly religious attitude; "

"There we confided our experiences, ambitions, emotions to each other. We both felt that this friendship was not only a blessing because each understood the other, was enriched by him, and found ins him that responsive echo so essential to anybody who is truly alive."
Einstein on his friend Katzenstein. I "awww"-ed at this.

"In order that they may derive consolation from it and--not give a damn for what their teachers tell them or think of them.".
Einstein cursing, relatively cool :D (baad pun).

"What I have to say is nothing new and does not pretend to be anything more than the opinion of an independent and honest man who, unburdened by class or national prejudices, desires nothing but the good of humanity and the most harmonious possible scheme of human existence."
That's the book in a nutshell.

6. The Great Gatsby

Name : The Great Gatsby
Writer : F. Scott Fitzgerald
Publishing year :  1925
Language : English
Type : Classic / Novel
How come ? : When you say "American classic", it's impossible not to bring The Great Gatsby to the table, along with The Catcher in the Rye and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reflecting each the zeitgeist of their author and his time. Add to that the fact that a DiCaprio movie is coming out as the hundredth (approximately) adaptation of the book, and there you got me interested.
Estimated time : About 7 hours.
Main themes : Decadence, Pursuing dreams (The American Dream), the meaning of Greatness, Family, Love, Money, Merit vs social inheritance, Morality..
Recommended for : The book is really a story, and who doesn't like stories ? It's the story that will appeal especially to people who dream, and people who don't believe in dreaming. It's also a novel of hope and the lack of it, a novel social satire of the time.
Really, it's the kind of book everyone can really (but will not be equally) appreciate.
The book in a few words : The story of a mysterious rich man who rose to Greatness out of the blue, become the man of its time with little to nothing known about him.

The synopsis : After moving to new grounds, Nick couldn't help noticing the huge mansion next to his new property, a mansion always full of life and excitement that belongs to a man with good intentions and unknown past.

The Rating : Excellent 9/10

The Review : 

The only bitter thing about reading this book is that, after being exposed to such greatness in style and story craft, I can no more enjoy "average" books anymore.
With hardly a week distancing this review and the previous one, and as much ridiculous this comparison is, it's imminent how big the difference is between a book and a Great book.
One of the turn-offs of the previous books as I stated was the lack of description in a supposedly post-apocalyptic, futuristic frame of time. If there were any dust of dissatisfaction I might have kept from my last read, this book, The Great Gatsby, blew it with big winds.
When not occupied narrating events, Nick, the narrator/pseudo-protagonist, enjoys describing. And we as readers get to enjoy as much reading those descriptions.
With an incredible gift of writing, Mr. Fitzgerald didn't only garnish his pages with remarkable descriptions of feasts and gowns and faces, he was of such sensitivity that he'd add a random detail to a scene that seems far off expectations yet so ingeniously appropriate, the kind of details that will make you smile if you read the sentence again, thinking of how the hell could his mind manage to integrate such little, rather volatile remarks into the silky flow of the story, and make you all along feel horrible and desperate for lacking such quintessential quality, if you're an aspiring writer (like me, me prior reading this book :v). He gave soul to random aspects of the novel that are otherwise very unneeded and forgettable; Even in the lavishly extravagant parties at Gatsby's, Nick would at times notice a quirk that would make a rather boring listing of names a true object of appreciation (When reading Persuasion, one the things I didn't like was the overflow of named faceless characters, or those people who are just in for one second and you're supposed to forget about them without asking why the author bothered giving them names in the first place..) .. In Gatsby, you'd find sentences like  "We were sitting at a table with a man of about my age and a rowdy little girl who gave way upon the slightest provocation to uncontrollable laughter." I just love to imagine how he came up with her existence, or even better "[long list of invited people] ..  and Edgar Beaver, whose hair they say turned cotton-white one winter afternoon for no good reason at all." .. I was like "what xD ?". It hits you when you least see it coming, and you can't help enjoying it.
The use of language is probably The Great Gatsby's sweet spot. Mr. Fitzgerald has a gift of manipulating many words and meanings into one delicious chicken soup. The description were at times just jaw-dropping (Daisy's singing, the Valley of Ashes, and then, Gatsby's smile. I reread it like 14 times), with a unique ability to use words out of their universes and pull off a magnificent rendition of meanings, images and metaphors. When blocks of building become slices of a big white cake, the lights get the ability to whisper, the moonlight becomes wet and colors are used to describe things that colors usually don't describe, you know you're in for something special, something unique (more of his tasteful sense of description in the "favorite passages" section, in which I would have gladly copied half of the book, honestly).
To create an amazing atmosphere, the author didn't have to keep on writing elongated, overly-polished paragraphs. From time to time he'd use very short sentences that would just step up and out and give a very fresh, welcomed feeling of liveliness. "She looked at me and laughed pointlessly.". Such a short, perfect sentence.
The novel isn't event-charged and thus the author had to make the jumps between an event and the following (ellipses), sometimes even in the same chapter, yet they were so comfortable that you'll hardly notice. This is also a proof of the author's high mastery of storytelling : the narration never gets boring, and that's a hard thing to say in general. More points to Mr. Fitzgerald !
A final note regarding the narrator who sat himself apart since the get-go, reciting the rule his father taught him of reserving judgement. This gives us a quite objective, camera-man kind of character to start with. With a laid-back air, Nick didn't get personal and therefore made what he said reliable, only to fall in the end short of his promise to keep from criticizing as his sage father told him. It was a good change to have a narrator who doesn't get directly implied in the plot and thus creating the illusion of a third person perspective from the eyes of the first person's. 
Then there is the lasting charm of the characters. I liked every individual main character, even the ones made vile because they were brilliantly made so. From the appallingly shallow, beautiful Daisy to quiet, watchful Nick, the novel did best at showing what kind of people lived in that time : "the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired."
Finally, the ending. I kind of wished the ending was more fair and freaking Daisy gets to Jail or get stabbed by her husband or something, but no, Gatsby the self-made man got killed, Wilson the worker became a murderer, Daisy ran away unscrupulously with her stupid, racist, egocentric husband.. It wasn't the ending I wanted, but it was the ending the novel deserved. It's a novel that is supposed to reflect upon an era of the American history and a comment on the now-celebrated american dream : the eternal pursuit of complete happiness can blindside all the other things that equally matter.

All in all, this book is just beautiful.The story, even though not ocean deep, is a very well conceived excuse to set life to those characters, all designed to drive the flow to the ultimate message of the novel that is yet to be decisive. The use of language is only bad because it makes one conscious about the existence of such literal superiority. The witty dialogues, the exquisite descriptions, the ebb and the flow of the story, the death of Gatsby and the cowardliness of everyone whom he tried to get acknowledgment from, is just a sad, perfect mixture.
I didn't give it a 10 or at least a 9.5 for two reasons : The ending that is so bittersweet and as I stated before, felt unbalanced (just because I viewed the story morally), and the relative shortness, I wish there were more digging in his past, maybe some subplots, just anything to extend the greatness. 
I also see a lot of hidden potential in the book, things that I would have not fully captured (essentially when I was reading it when I'm half-asleep :v), so there're that too.
Other than that I couldn't find a single flaw to point out. Chapeau bas.

Favorite character : 
Jay Gatsby.
Oddly enough, I was intending to entitle Nick Carraway as such. But only at the end, almost the very end, that it becomes impossible not to feel an urge to be a friend of Gatsby's, or more likely Jimmy. Although a lot of mad american students who have to study The Great Gatsby at school find his "great"-ness highly debatable for amassing money from elicit activities, general shallowness and unidimensionality,  pursuing blindly his dream of recreating the past through gaining possession of the only object that's missing of his collection -Daisy-, it's hard not to like the man's dedication to this sole dream of his. The last chapter was heart-wrenching to say the least, beautifully melancholic and just sad. For a man who was of so much importance and so high manners that were so unlike the inborn snobbishness of the rich-blooded, Gatsby was a rose that only unfolded to prettier shades until it's a bare, motionless core, laying on a coffin, friendless and ill-respected and betrayed by his sole love. The notes on the old book hit me hard on the feels, and so I name Gatsby, the unlikely hero, a Great man.
And I can't put it better than Nick : "‘They’re a rotten crowd,’ I shouted across the lawn. ‘You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.’".

Favorite passages : 
Man, it's hard to select !
The book is really wonderful and all quotable-material. Some of them gain extra relevance when read on the context of the book (actually all of them, but some more than others), and some just stick out, too brilliant to be overlooked.
I went a little liberal about the quantity .. It's just a gorgeous, gorgeous text.

"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had he advantages that you’ve had.’"

"‘I’ll tell you a family secret,’ she whispered enthusiastically. ‘It’s about the butler’s nose. Do you want to hear about the butler’s nose?’

‘That’s why I came over tonight.’"

‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.’

"This is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air."

‘Doesn't her husband object?’ ‘Wilson? He thinks she goes to see her sister in New York.  

He’s so dumb he doesn't know he’s alive.’. Ironic.

"At 158th Street the cab stopped at one slice in a long white cake of apartment houses."

"Her eyebrows had been plucked and then drawn on again at a more rakish angle but the efforts of nature toward the restoration of the old alignment gave a blurred air to her face."

"His wife was shrill, languid, handsome and horrible."

"Yet high over the city our line of yellow windows must have contributed their share of human secrecy to the casual watcher in the darkening streets, and I was him too, looking up and wondering. I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

"People disappeared, reappeared, made plans to go somewhere, and then lost each other, searched for each other, found each other a few feet away."

"The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher.". Beautiful structure.

"Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission."

He smiled understandingly—much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it,  that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced—or seemed to face—the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on YOU with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just so far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself and assured you that it had  precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey. Precisely at  that point it vanished—and I was looking at an elegant young rough-neck, a year or two  over thirty, whose elaborate formality of speech just missed being absurd." 

.. This is definitely one of the best descriptions I've ever read.

"and for a moment I thought I loved her. But I am slow-thinking and full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires."

" ‘You sit here and discuss your sports and your young ladies and your——’ He supplied an imaginary noun with another wave of his hand."

"For a while these reveries provided an outlet for his imagination; they were a satisfactory hint of the unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world  was founded securely on a fairy’s wing."

"Through all he said, even through his appalling sentimentality, I was reminded of something—an elusive rhythm, a fragment of lost words, that I had heard somewhere a long time ago. For a moment a phrase tried to take shape in my mouth and my lips parted like a dumb man’s, as though there was more struggling upon them than a wisp of startled air."

"There was dancing now on the canvas in the garden, old men pursuing young girls backward in eternal graceless circles.". Graceless circles, enough said.

"‘What are you doing?’ I inquired.

‘Just standing here, old sport.’

Somehow, that seemed a despicable occupation."

"No wasting time at Shafters or [a name, indecipherable]

No more smokeing or chewing

Bath every other day

Read one improving book or magazine per week

Save $5.00 [crossed out] $3.00 per week

Be better to parents"

Hard not to love Gatz after this.

"Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter—tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning—

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."