Dear Readers,

Salam & Good day to all... I hope you'll have fun reading and probably collect something useful here. I welcome all comments & commends. Be kind and please don't be anonymous. I'd like to know my visitors :)

"La Tahzan, InnaAllaha ma'ana" (Al- Quran: Surah At- Taubah- Verse 40)
Translation: "Be not sad (or afraid), surely Allah is with us."

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." ~Edmund Burke~

In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Isabella... I found it!

Finally, it's on book rack at the bookstore! Isabella by Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi. You better go get it! You better read it! It's so gooood!

Let me tell you the story of me and this book. I first saw this book at a warehouse book sale near my home about 20 years ago. That time the price was only MYR8.00. The first time I read the synopsis, it was really intriguing. I want it, I want it! But still I didn't buy it. Then, school holiday was over and I had to go off to school. Somehow, this book kept lingering on my mind. I can't get it off of me. So, I called my best friend, Ms. F & asked her to help me buy it. I don't think she even remembers that she helped to buy this book for me... heheheeee...

I read this book at least 5 times end to end (at least) if I remember correctly. If I hadn't lost my copy, I could have read it even more. I didn't actually lost it. I lent it to someone and that someone still haven't returned it to me. The problem is, I don't remember who was that someone! Arrrgggghhhhh... I love the old copy even though it was really worn out, the paper was already so soft and the cover was almost torn out. This book is the type of book that I would keep under my pillow, to keep me company.

Ever since I lost this book, I tried high & low to find a new copy. Everywhere I go, every bookstore I've been to... I couldn't find it. I found a copy online, but it is not the same... I just have to have the hardcopy!

But now... I'm a happy blogger! I've found a new copy of my beloved read... *skipping*

A little bit of book review:
Isabella is a daughter of a high Catholic priest in Spain. This book is the story of her struggle in finding Islam. In this book, there are a lot of religious debate between Muslims & Christians scholars, discussions and arguments about the differences of the two religions.
*****

This book is a really interesting book for me because I learned quite a lot about Islam & Christian from it. My advice to all who wants to read this book, please keep an open mind. The information that we gathered from this book, is for us to check, confirm and verify. Finding the truth is never easy.

To those who are already in love with Saifuddin a.k.a Laksamana Sunan, you're going to love Umar Lahmi. He's not a tough warrior like Laksamana Sunan, but he is a scholar and he is very smart. There's a saying that 'a pen is mightier than a sword'. So... they are both equally attractive... heheheeee...

Oit... stop drooling :P

Isabella by Maulana Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi --> original cover

Please forgive me, but I truly truly hate a book cover with a photo of someone on it... why on earth does the publisher designed this kind of cover?

That is not Isabella! Arrrggghhhhh....

There's a gift inside... a bookmark. Same design as the book cover...

To further torture me... I guess...

The cover tortured me... it's messing with my imagination. Plus, I've read this book so many times... The Isabella that I have in my mind is totally different. She has soft eyes, Spanish looking, a face full of thoughts, she looks very smart, has a slender body... her walk is graceful...

The drawing on the cover of the lost copy, really reflect how Isabella looks like... I miss that book *sigh*

I just had to improvise the book cover...
So, tadaaaaaaa....
Isabella by Maulana Muhammad Saeed Dehlvi --> cover edited by me :)

Lalalalaaaaa.... no more picture to mess with my imagination.

I even fashioned my own bookmark from the cut out :)

So, quickly go to the bookstore and grab this book before it is out of stock. This is no ordinary story book... you really can learn a lot of things from here... it is only MYR22.00...

The truth is out there :)

The happy Speechless wishing 'Selamat Berbuka Puasa!

p/s: Not gonna lend this book to anyone... I've learned my lesson :)

6 comments:

Macedonia said...

i love this book too...
and i'm in love with Isabella, umar lahmi,laksamana sunan hehe
^_^.

i got that one, your lost cover of Isabell, my mom's book, already an old book

The Sometimes Speechless said...

aaaaa... jeles jeles... I miss my old book... huhuhuuu...

Best kan buku ni. Mesti best kalau boleh jadi sebijak & se'cool' Umar Lahmi kan? *Speechless berangan lagi* :P

you tak minat Ratna Sang Ratu ke? hihihiiii...

Macedonia said...

peminat ramlee awang mursyid...

love ratna really much...
saya rasa macam..sebenarnya penulis
nak matikan watak tu, tapi sebab
nak menghiburkan hati pembaca
jadi hidupkan balik watak tu hehe

^_^.

Awin Salim said...

Just read this book. You can buy the book with cover of Laila Jihad at MPH Bookstore.Its hard to find this book so I request and ordered it from MPH Alpha Angle just to get this book. They really helped!

The Sometimes Speechless said...

@Awin Salim.. best kan buku tu.. Sungguh2 u cari that book with that cover ya... Good!

Unknown said...

Your 'so called book-lost tragedy' was same as mine just that i knew who i lent it to but i lost her contact and i borrowed it from my aunt.... more tragic actually. And yes and yes and yes i totally agree, i missed the old brown pages n the soft weary of the cover and hate the new covers.... enough about the physical of the book. More important, its a good book although not many 'flowery' words to dooze you . Its written by a man... anyway, read with an open heart and an open mind and you'll gonna love it. Btw, has anyone read Maria by Emine Syenlikogiu???