New 2017 ShiaChat Book Club!

[Reza]

Salaam everybody:

We're restarting the ShiaChat book club, ready for the new year!. At the beginning of each month, a new book will be posted. Feel free to discuss your thoughts and impressions. 

Book #1 (Dec 2016): 

The Role Of Islamic Scientists In The Advancement Of Science

Ayatullah Muhammad Mufatteh

 

 

Link:

https://www.al-islam.org/role-islamic-scientists-advancement-science-ayatullah-muhammad-mufatteh

 

PDF Document:

Read Here

[notme]

Great! This short book looks right up my alley. I'll take a look.

[RevolutionaryVisionary]

Sounds like great fun, I would participate if I didn't have so many other books lined up to finish reading. I have a really annoying habit of starting a book, reading a couple pages, getting lost in thought, and putting the book back down.  

[Inaayah]

On 30/12/2016 at 10:39 AM, alimr313 said:

Sounds like great fun, I would participate if I didn't have so many other books lined up to finish reading. I have a really annoying habit of starting a book, reading a couple pages, getting lost in thought, and putting the book back down.  

Same. 

[notme]

So.... is this project dead? I've never been in a book club, but I thought there would be discussion? Shall we start anew? 

[Marbles]

On 5/26/2017 at 6:19 PM, notme said:

So.... is this project dead? I've never been in a book club, but I thought there would be discussion? Shall we start anew? 

When has any SC book club ever succeeded...

It is impossible to run something like this when tastes and temperaments vary a great deal between participants. Not many are bona fide readers, and of those who are, not many read the same types of books. Of those who do, not enough take the time to read and come back to discuss.

Goodreads. Now that's where you discuss books. Such a wonderful subset of educated and refined minds over there from all around the world. But you must spend a lot of time and make friends before you can discuss a book. Just saying...

[notme]

@Marbles nobody reads the books I read.

Actually, my niece recently joined Goodreads, and she reads a lot of the same fiction as I like. 

I would expect a shiachat book club to read and discuss Shia books. That still includes a great variety, but if we narrow it down to books in English of moderate length and complexity there really aren't that many. 

[Marbles]

6 minutes ago, notme said:

I would expect a shiachat book club to read and discuss Shia books. 

There is a great variety of books on GR. Not just literature and popular fiction, you can read and discuss any book on any subject with like-minded people. But unlike GR, which is a dedicated social media for book readers, SC is not a book forum and people who frequent it don't do so to discuss books. I think this is one major reason none seem to agree and keep up with the reading schedule. Despite having a decent traffic of Shias from all over the world, members of this site are on very different reading wavelengths.

[starlight]

SCers should start a group on goodreads and maybe some other people from there will join us too.

[notme]

@starlight @Marbles let's do it. I belong to one group there, with absolutely no activity. I've never started a group or been part of an active one. Are either of you interested in and have time for discussing Shia books? 

Who knows, book discussion might be interesting to people who aren't on shiachat but are on Goodreads.

[starlight]

I am already on goodreads. I know of another SC user who is a member (besides marbles) I started a dicussion on an Islamic book there but it kind of fizzled out but I am ready to give it another try. 

 

[notme]

2 minutes ago, starlight said:

I am already on goodreads. I know of another SC user who is a member (besides marbles) I started a dicussion on an Islamic book there but it kind of fizzled out but I am ready to give it another try. 

If we publicize it here, interested shiachatters can join in. 

[starlight]

@Ali-F Are you interested in joining? 

@Pearl178 @noortalpur 

[Ali-F]

On 5/27/2017 at 11:33 AM, starlight said:

@Ali-F Are you interested in joining? 

@Pearl178 @noortalpur 

Interesting, but at the moment I unfortunately have exams...

[Pearl178]

@starlight @notme I joined goodreads about a year ago I think but I became inactive after a short while unfortunately. LEt's start a group on there - I want to be active again. PM me your GR ID's. 

[notme]

I also have periods of activity and inactivity. 

[peace4alltheworld]

I am in.I think this will be good read.Polarization around character of Hazrat Ali ((عليه السلام)) by Ayatullah Mutahhari.

http://islamicmobility.com/book-details/Polarization Around The Character

[Marbles]

@starlight and @notme

I have participated in various groups on GR but never created or moderated one. They tend to get varying degrees of traffic. Some groups are very busy but many work as an open place to share your impressions of a book you've read, or any other subject the group is dedicated to. Recently an online literary platform that specialised in book reviews of various prize shortlists moved their discussion forum from their host site to Goodreads and saw a monumental increase in traffic. But new activity came from people who were already active on GR and were familiar with book group discussions.

SC book club on Goodreads can be done, but I think would have similar problems of inactivity or lack of interest. If SCers don't find it interesting to participate in a group discussion on SC, it is even more unlikely that they would go to a foreign website to do the same. A GR group would only work if members are already active on GR and participate in group activity on a regular basis. Even then, the group will have to be indirectly advertised through members' other activity, which would be visible to members' friends (if any). Others may join in if they are interested.

I'm sorry if that dampens the spirits, but there's no harm in trying.

I'm going to be busy with work in Ramazan (I'm not reading anything currently, except Pablo Neruda and Bulleh Shah to relieve stress) and then I'm travelling for about a month after Eid. If this project goes on, I wouldn't be able to participate until early August.

[peace4alltheworld]

Whatever works Marbles.The book I recommended is one of his shorter I dont think anyone who reads it will need a lot of time. I am open to suggestions for other recommendations as well.

[hasanhh]

l like GoodReads for the book reviews. That is usually as far as l get.

Edited May 29, 2017 by hasanhh
lexicography

[starlight]

I have created a group here if anyone wants to join 

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/221014-sc-book-reading-club

I will upload a better profile pic when I log in from my laptop.

Currently, there are only two of us in the group but hopefully more people will join and we will have some activity there (fingers crossed) 

[baqar]

23 minutes ago, starlight said:

Currently, there are only two of us in the group but hopefully more people will join and we will have some activity there (fingers crossed) 

How do you join?

I went there but I could not see where the joining tab is. 

[starlight]

19 minutes ago, baqar said:

How do you join?

I went there but I could not see where the joining tab is. 

Try now. I changed the settings.

[notme]

Thanks!

[baqar]

1 hour ago, starlight said:

Try now. I changed the settings.

Thanks

And what do I do now?

[starlight]

9 minutes ago, baqar said:

Thanks

And what do I do now?

You join the group, give book suggestions and hopefully we pick a book and start reading and discussing it soon.

[baqar]

38 minutes ago, starlight said:

You join the group,

I have joined.

Suggestion : A Closer Look at Islam by Syed B Ali

[starlight]

@everyone We are going to start reading our first book today,Polarisation around the character of Ali ibn Talib (as) by Murthada Muthahhari, in SC book reading club on Goodreads. 

If anyone wants to join, PM me your GR Id and I will add you to the group. 

[Pearl178]

Further to starlights post above, we are moving at a slow place so that we can give people considerable time to read and reflect and so our discussions from time to time are fruitful. 

[hasanhh]

On ‎5‎/‎30‎/‎2017 at 11:30 PM, starlight said:

... ,Polarisation around the character of Ali ibn Talib (as) by Murthada Muthahhari, ...

Uhty, did you transliterate the name correctly?

l can only find Mutahhari.

[starlight]

2 hours ago, hasanhh said:

Uhty, did you transliterate the name correctly?

l can only find Mutahhari.

Here: 

http://www.islamicmobility.com/book-details/Polarization Around The Character

This is the link from where we downloaded our copies

[hasanhh]

4 hours ago, starlight said:

Here: 

http://www.islamicmobility.com/book-details/Polarization Around The Character

This is the link from where we downloaded our copies

I read the book Thursday night. From al-islam.org. Thanks.

[Pearl178]

@hasanhh have you read the whole thing? We are currently discussing it.

[notme]

I'm a bit behind the group. Sorry. 

I had to finish a book I'd started a while back first. Hopefully now I'll catch up, now that I've finished it. There's at least one point I've got in mind to discuss, inshallah. Need to put my thoughts into words first. 

[Pearl178]

@notme no worries. Just make sure you give us your thoughts this Wednesday in the next meeting!