• NON-FICTION,  RELIGION / SPIRITUALITY

    BOOK REVIEW : THE QUR’AN – WHAT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW BY JANE MCAULIFFE

    TITLE : The Qur’an – What Everyone Needs To Know AUTHOR : Jane McAuliffe GENRE : Non-Fiction, Religion & Spirituality FBRC RATING : 5 stars SYNOPSIS : Millions of non-Muslims know the name of the Muslim scripture, whether it is written as “Qur’an” or “Quran” or “Koran.” But for most, that is all they know. Many have fallen victim to the mass of misinformation that circulates about the Qur’an. Others may have tried to read the Qur’an, but the text itself is tough to decipher. With no sense of context, chronology, or interpretive history, many would-be readers of the Qur’an quickly give up the effort. As for those trying to…

  • ADULT,  BOOK REVIEWS,  CONTEMPORARY,  FICTION,  HISTORICAL FICTION,  WOMEN'S FICTION

    BOOK REVIEW : THE FORTY RULES OF LOVE BY ELIF SHAFAK

    TITLE : The Forty Rules Of Love AUTHOR : Elif Shafak GENRE : Historical Fiction FBRC RATING : 5 stars SYNOPSIS : In this lyrical, exuberant follow-up to her 2007 novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz—that together incarnate the poet’s timeless message of love. Ella Rubenstein is forty years old and unhappily married when she takes a job as a reader for a literary agent. Her first assignment is to read and report on Sweet Blasphemy, a novel written by…