Category: 3 Hal

1. Semakin banyak ‘pesta buku’ dan pemain baharu dalam arena buku. Banyak yang mengisi tema-tema baru walaupun disebut sebagai ‘healing’. ‘Healing’ bukanlah baharu tetapi pembawaan nuansa generasi Z. Generasi lain pun ikut ‘healing’ dengan cara dan minat masing-masing. Setiap daya yang menggerak akan ada daya yang merintang menurut ilmu fizik, dan pengalaman hidup secara umumnya.

2. Saya semakin lambat membaca, dan Imran Rasid suruh kurangkan membaca! Di persimpangan ini terasa mahu menelaah ke daerah jahil saya, ekonomi. Walaupun pernah cuba membaca almarhum Ungku Aziz dan Dr. Khalid, saya sedar ada banyak yang saya tak tahu, misalnya apakah sesuatu itu punya nilai/ value seperti kripto dan karbon?

3. Mungkin yang saya baca tidak semestinya buku-buku umum yang dijual di kedai. Ada laporan badan antarabangsa yang perlu dicerakin intinya (biasanya ada dalam Executive Summary), atau artikel-artikel jurnal dan jargon-jargon yang perlu saya hadami.

Recently I was challenged by two of my friends, Siddiq and bro Shoaib. It took me quite a while to come up with this post, as I was distracted by other things (as well as other books 😉 ).

I noticed a different style among my friends in completing this challenge. Malaysians tend to narrate stories behind their books, instead of merely listing down the titles and its authors. So this is my own version of the list:

High School

• Perlumbaan Kedua (Marwilis Yusuf): First ‘serious’ novel I read, consider that I just around 13 years old to read a novel for Form 4 syllabus.
• Sulalatus Salatin or Malay Annals: Thanks to my History teacher, cikgu Zawani for introducing me to this classic.
• Tasauf Moden (HAMKA): Available from Bilik Kaunseling.
• Kombat 1511H (Faisal Tehrani)
• The Reluctant Politician (Ooi Kee Beng): As I recalled, this is the first biography I read.

College

• VT (Hilal Asyraf): This novel about volleyball, which I used to play during my high school years.
• 5 Love Languages (Dr. Gary Chapman)
• Minda Tertawan: Intelektual, Rausyanfikir dan Kuasa (Raja Ahmad Aminullah):  This is my first exposure to much serious work like Prof. Al-Attas and Edward Said.
• Intelektual Masyarakat Membangun and;
• Mitos Peribumi Malas (Prof. Syed Hussein Alatas) : Both I bought from pesta buku 2010.
• Animal Farm (George Orwell): First book by Orwell that I read. It is a satire, of course, compared to a darker reality potrayed in 1984.
• Tenggelamnya Kapal van der Wijck (HAMKA): I knew HAMKA first through his non-fiction work, later through his literary works such as this novel.

University

• How to Read a Book (Mortimer J. Adler)
• The Ornament of the World (Maria Rosa Menocal): Good book on the history of Spain, especially during the era of Muslim rulers there.
• Islam dalam Sejarah & Kebudayaan Melayu (Prof. Syed Naquib Al-Attas): Recommended book for the beginner to Prof. A-Attas’ works, especially for Malay speaker. I would suggest The Concept of Islamic Education as beginner for English speaker.
• Pendidikan Estetika daripada Pendekatan Tauhid (Mohd. Affandi Hassan): I am interested  in his Gagasan Persuratan Baru.
• Rihlah Ilmiah (Prof. Wan Mohd. Nor Wan Daud)
• Perangai Bergantung kepada Diri Sendiri (Zaaba): If you’re a fan of Dr. Asri, he recommended this book.
• The Fall and the Rise of Islamic State (Prof. Noah Feldman)
• Tumit Akilis (Khalid Jaafar): Collection of essay written by the author. I like his moderate opinions regarding Islamic state or hudud polemics circa 2003.

This is a list of 20 books that you may interested to, with a brief notes at certain books. Some of them had been reviewed in this blog.

As you can see from the list, how my reading preference changes over time. I would like to thank to the authors, as well as those who suggested some of the books to be read.