Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

A R C H I V E S

Clean  Fiction

Madina Archives


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board

Clean  Fiction
Maliha
04/29/03 at 16:53:43
[slm]
I am trying to get me li'l sis more into reading books. I am such an avid reader and used to love me a *good* fiction piece. It's been a while since I graduated from the Nancy Drew, Hardy boyz, *don't remember what else* series I used to read...
What are good, riveting, *clean* fiction books out there?
Sometimes I need to take a break from reading texts and it would be nice to foster back memories of those creative, exciting, afternoons I spent absolutely absorbed into a plot...the good ole dayz ::)

Help, any suggestions are welcome :) Merimda *our resident literature connoisseur* I am eagerly awaiting your response :-*
Sis,
Maliha :-)
[wlm]
04/29/03 at 16:54:32
Maliha
Re: Clean  Fiction
humble_muslim
04/29/03 at 17:11:30
AA

The Thre Investigators series, by Robert Arthur.  Real unputdownable, good for 10 - 16 year olds, and totally clean.
NS
Re: Clean  Fiction
Sumaiya
04/30/03 at 02:25:25
[slm]

Harry Potter all the way!!! A mix of adventure, fantasy, mystery, humour (Fred and George rule!) and everything else....Awesome stuff and it's clean...weell except for the Goblet of Fire which i guess  wasn't too bad.

Artemis Fowl is perty kewl too...it's aboot this crazily smart 10 year old who tries to take over the world. muhahahaa...well kinda..but there are fairies and not the typical 'pretty lil flying fairies' but actually intelligent creatures that deal with Artemis.

As Br. Humble Muslim mentioned, The Three Investigators is a classic too if your sis likes mystery.

Sumaiya  []
Re: Clean  Fiction
merimda
04/30/03 at 02:42:42
Salam Maliha,

You've lured me in just when I was thinking of cutting back on my number of posts.

Most of the Y.A fiction I've read are fantasy and adventure.

My most favourite fiction books: The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander:

-The Book of Three
-The Black Cauldron (Newbery Honour)
-The Castle of Llyr
-Taran Wanderer (My favourite of the five)
-The High King (Newbery Award Winner)

Other books by Lloyd Alexander that I have enjoyed:
-The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen
-The Iron Ring


All of these books are clean. They're homorous, deep, with charming and intelligent characters, engaging plots, and great lessons for all ages.

One thing that may be objectionable: Magic does exist in most of the books but it is not encouraged.


Other books of Lloyd Alexander's like The Arkadian, The Westmark Trilogy etc. are probably good. I haven't read them yet. Saving them for the day I run out of good fiction to read.

His "Vesper Holly Adventures" Series seem very popular but I tried reading one book, "The Jedera Adventure" and couldn't finish it although it was quite short. I just couldn't get into it.

Other than Lloyd Alexander's books you should also look into some children's/ Y.A classics like:

-Watership down by Richard Adams. Really liked this book. But it is really hard to convince someone to read a book about rabbits.

-The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. A bit odd but still a really good story. I haven't seen the movie but I know it's a childhood favourite of many.

-The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Just bought it to add to my collection and will be reading it soon insha-Allah.

-The Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald. I haven't read this book yet but I bought to add to my collection as well. My friend really likes this book. Here's a review:

Amazon.com
As always with George MacDonald, everything here is more than meets the eye: this in fact is MacDonald's grace-filled vision of the world. Said to be one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a minor's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. Filled with images of dungeons and goblins, mysterious fires, burning roses, and a thread so fine as to be invisible and yet--like prayer--strong enough to lead the Princess back home to her grandmother's arms, this is a story of Curdie's slow realization that sometimes, as the princess tells him, "you must believe without seeing." Simple enough for reading aloud to a child (as I've done myself more than once with my daughter), it's rich enough to repay endless delighted readings for the adult. --Doug Thorpe --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Other books:


-Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt. I read this book when I was about 15. Overall I enjoyed it.

Brief description:

"Gwyn, a young woman, uncovers the myth of a legendary outlaw, Jackaroo, and becomes inspired to take on persona of her sword-wielding and cape-clad hero."

-On Fortunes Wheel by Cynthia Voight is a good story. Also read it when I was 15 . It started off a bit slow but once the journey was underway I remember I couldn't put the book down. Overall it is clean but there may be some things that are objectionable.

Currently reading SongQuest by Katherine Roberts and I have just borrowed The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall from the library. If they're  good I'll let you know.


These are not novels but they're stories for children that even adults can enjoy and benefit from:


Mansa Musa: The Lion of Mali by Khephra Burns
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0152003754/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/103-7752223-1111024?v=glance&s=books

The Island of Animals adapted by Denys Johnson-Davies

http://w2.amideast.org/pubs_one/product.asp?sku=PUBI0059

Description:
In this adaptation of a tenth-century text, animals and humans present their arguments to the king of the Djinn, who passes judgement on the question of whether or not people are superior to animals. The original document was part of a longer work called "The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity," compiled by a group of philosophers and theologians. It provides Islam's response to the question of whether humans are superior to animals, and by what virtues are humans entitled to think that they have unaccountable mastery over the animal kingdom. This is a timely translation for an age in which the relationship between people and nature is becoming increasingly important for the future well-being of our planet.


That's it...for now ^_^

salam,
merimda
05/02/03 at 19:44:21
merimda
Re: Clean  Fiction
gift
04/30/03 at 04:27:04
[slm]

as Merimida says the Chronicles of Prydain are really good - kinda like the Lord of the Rings - speaking of which there's an excellent book.

Others:

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
(the history of how Bilbo Baggins came to get the one ring -Sci fi/Adventure)

Knights Fee - Rosemary Sutcliffe
(about an orphan in anglo-saxon england who was a 'dog-boy', he insults a great lord and in an effort to save his life a wandering minstrel wins him from the lord in a chess game, which is where the story really starts!!! Adventure/History)

Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
(a touching story about a girl and her father, and what happens when her father remarries - if you like pride & prejudices you'll probably like this)

Pride & Prejudice - Jane Austen

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
(Victorian murder mystery - written by a contemporary of Charles Dickens)

The Moonstone - Wilkie Collins

It's pretty much a kids book but The Fox Busters - Dick King Smith is worth a read, quite funny - about the chickens fighting back against the evil fox 8)

The Dark Lord of Derkholm and its sequel Year of the Griffin - Diane Wynne Jones - excellent humerous scifi about a wizarding world where a corporate tycoon from 'our world' takes over the wizarding world once a year with tour parties who want to see real wizards (evil and good), sorceresses etc.  the sequel carries on the story of the lead wizards rather strange 'children'. i really recommend these two  :D

Other Diane Wynne Jones books (all of them are generally humerous sci fi):
- Howl's Moving Castle
- Witch Week

That's all i can think of now - i have a book somewhere where i write down the names of the books i enjoyed reading so that i can buy them at some later stage - if only i could find it....... ::)

[wlm]
Re: Clean  Fiction
jannah
05/02/03 at 06:42:29
[wlm]

Attia ever read Persuasion by Jane Austin??  What a great book.. it's like the life of every Muslim sister over 25 not married lol ;) and that letter wowwww
here i paste it to remind us there are great heros (fictional ones at least :))..

don't read if u haven't read the book........
















"I can listen no longer in silence.  I must speak to you by such means
as are within my reach.  You pierce my soul.  I am half agony,
half hope.  Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings
are gone for ever.  I offer myself to you again with a heart
even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years
and a half ago.  Dare not say that man forgets sooner than  woman,
that his love has an earlier death.  I have loved none but you.
Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been,
but never inconstant.  You alone have brought me to Bath.
For you alone, I think and plan.  Have you not seen this?
Can you fail to have understood my wishes?  I had not waited even
these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have
penetrated mine.  I can hardly write.  I am every instant hearing
something which overpowers me.  You sink your voice, but I can
distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others.
Too good, too excellent creature!  You do us justice, indeed.
You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men.
Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.

"I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither,
or follow your party, as soon as possible.  A word, a look,
will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house
this evening or never."



Re: Clean  Fiction
merimda
05/02/03 at 19:35:44
Salam,

I think I have read all of Jane Austen's novels with the exception of Northanger Abbey. I would also recommend them all. But I'm not sure if young ppl not so much into reading would appreciate them.

Attia, thanks for the list.  I'm going to check out some of those books, insha-Allah.

I just remembered, for  young readers (girls especially), a cute and fun series to read is the Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede. She pokes fun at many fairytale cliches in these books. There's a little bit of romance in the second book. I'm not sure if that's a problem.


Anyway, here's a good overview of the Prydain Chronicles taken from:

http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/4802/chronicles.html

Overview
 
Doing historical research for Time Cat, Lloyd Alexander discovered The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh myths and legends. As a result, Alexander realized he wanted to invent his own mythology. The Chronicles are in an Arthurian setting but in mythological Wales preceding Arthur. Although the inspiration for the land of Prydain comes from the magnificent land of Wales, Alexander says that "essentially Prydain is a country existing only in the imagination".
Alexander believes that fantasy is a way to express attitudes and feelings of real people, human relationships, and problems. The Chronicles deal with such issues such as the questions about the nature and use of power, self-aggrandizement at the expense of others, kindness, and other human qualities. Fantasy is the world as it should be. A land where good is ultimately stronger than evil; where courage, justice, love, and mercy function together. This world may seem different from our own but perhaps it isn't in the long run. Fantasy works do not promise Utopia, but it may tell us what we may be capable of achieving. The Chronicles are heroic or high fantasy, complete with conflict, ordeal, loyalty, quest, treachery, ambition, and intrigue; where honour is an ideal affirmed but not always realized; and where enchantment and magic exist.

One of the common themes in fantasy is the conflict between good and evil. This conflict, however, does not set Prydain up to be an arena where the two forces compete mastery. Instead it shows that desirability and superiority of good deeds and behavior are assumed along with the necessity of combating and controlling evil. Along with the theme of good vs. evil, the Chronicles show a consistent theme of "the search for identity and the problems young people face growing up in a world with uncertain values".

This theme is present in the realistic portrayal of Taran. Throughout the Chronicles, Taran tries to find his worth and identity through his parentage, but he discovers that the secret of worth and his place in life lies instead within himself. "Like all men, he is both strong and weak, courageous and fearful; but at the same time he is an individual, different from everyone else." He also finds that one's manhood does not lie in magic or enchantment, but in the labor and pains of one's life.

The Chronicles are concluded with Dallben revealing that magic does not lay out the future. The choices that people make in their life, narrow down their futures until only one remains at death. Through our own decisions and conflicts, Alexander believes that we must all realize that our "destiny" is to be ourselves and in striving to be ourselves, we become heroic. Deepest in Alexander's heart is the desire to make children and young adults aware of the problems they face in growing up. And at the same time, perhaps help them to create their own places in this world.


Salam,
merimda

Btw: Maliha on the old board you had recommended The Alchemist and The Pillars of the Earth. Read the Alchemist in the summer in one day and loved it. The Pillars of the Earth, read a few chapters, it was interesting, but I decided not to go on with it.


05/04/03 at 23:07:32
merimda
Re: Clean  Fiction
a_Silver_Rose
05/02/03 at 19:47:58
[slm]
uhoh lol my LITTLE sis 6 YRS  younger tells me to read books ::) Her and my older sis 6YRS older are bookworms haha. I like to read but i aint no worm! :P

[quote]Harry Potter all the way!!! A mix of adventure, fantasy, mystery, humour (Fred and George rule!) and everything else[/quote]

Yahhh Harry potter is da coooolest! My LIL sis said I have to read ALL the books, so I just finished the first one.
and fred and george rrrrrrrr the kewlest 4 REal!
Re: Clean  Fiction
muahmed
05/02/03 at 20:14:53
[slm] ;-)

How come no one mentioned Sherlock Holmes?! and The Lord of the Rings? and the plays of Agatha Christi? David Copperfield?

Btw sherlock was beaten only twice I think. Once it was by a clever woman.


Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson go on a camping trip. After a good
dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to
sleep.
Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend.
"Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see."
"I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes" replies Watson.
"And what do you deduce from that?"
Watson ponders for a minute.
"Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of
galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I
observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the
time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I
suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I
can see that God is all powerful, and that we are a small and
insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes is silent for a moment. "Watson, you idiot!" he says.
"Someone has stolen our tent!"
Re: Clean  Fiction
Danyala
05/02/03 at 20:27:02
[slm]

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte- one of the BEST books!!! and its got some pretty good moral messages in it as well...

hmm i might just have another read at it again.....

other than that...i remember being pretty enthralled by 'wild swans' by Jung Chang....be warned its pretty thick but wow what a history it covers!!! Its about three generations of women in Communist China and it pretty much based on the truth! Those are the real hard hitting books, the ones that are autobiographical and really delve into peoples lives, history, cultures....

[wlm]

:-*
05/02/03 at 20:28:22
Danyala
Re: Clean  Fiction
theOriginal
05/02/03 at 20:45:46
[slm]

How about non-classic titles...??

Come on guys!! I know you can do it!

Wasalaam.
Re: Clean  Fiction
a_Silver_Rose
05/02/03 at 20:52:20
[slm]

My 14yr old sis recommends Agatha Christie's Books (mystery), Harry Potter ofcourse, Lord of the Rings and The Dollhouse Murders (she said this one is childrens but good).
05/02/03 at 20:53:05
a_Silver_Rose
Re: Clean  Fiction
Maliha
05/04/03 at 08:31:19
[slm]
Thank you all for your *good* recommendations Mashaallah, I have a long way to go...My sis is a die hard fanatic of the Harry potter series.... Merimda I just wanted to note that I read Pillars of the Earth more than 10 years ago. I remembered it stuck with me, although I don't remember much about anything else..so sorry for the bad advice.
The Alchemist on the other hand...*sigh*...put me to tears....such beautiful writing SubhanaAllah:)
No one mentioned African American Lit? Mashaallah when I first came to this country I really gained a lot of perspective and strength from people like Richard Wright, Toni Morrisson, Ralph Ellison, etc.
Anywayz, thanks a lot y'all :)
Sis,
Maliha :-)
[wlm]
Re: Clean  Fiction
Yasmeena
05/14/03 at 22:47:48
[slm]

The Lord of the Ring series by J.R.R. Tolkien is one that my 12 year old likes.  She also has the Harry Potter Series and is waiting for #5 to come out.

I also found some good children's books at islamicbookstore.com.  They have a selection for little ones to some I even might like to read.  Of course, I buy the kiddie movies that come out for her too ;).  I like some of them even better than the kid does!

[wlm]
Re: Clean  Fiction
ikani
05/21/03 at 10:08:15
Assalamu alaikum,
I always recommend Enid Blyton books for children. Loved them when I was little. We ought to have muslim authors writing children's books in her style.
Re: Clean  Fiction
UmmWafi
05/22/03 at 23:53:42
[slm]

Heyyy I read Enid Blyton till I am 21 heh heh

Maliha, try asking her to read books by African writers.  They are AWESOME. The River Between remains my favourite.

I still have my complete works of Jane Austen but then again I also have my complete works of Shakespeare  :-*

PS Merimda I read Pillars of the Earth 15 times.  Why did u decide not to go with it ? Just curious  :)

Wassalam
Re: Clean  Fiction
ikani
05/23/03 at 05:31:18
[slm]
Hey anyone interested in African writers should get books by the likes of Dan Fulani (the Sauna stories), Chinua Achebe and Cyprian Ekwensi. They have very beautiful stories for children. African folktale stories can also be a delight to read.
I had always hoped to write children's books myself one day. :D
Re: Clean  Fiction
sabri
05/26/03 at 10:41:18
[slm]
  Some of the books I really enjoyed include

 Books by Rudyard Kipling, especially Rikki Tikki Tavi, about a mongoose that lives with a british family in India and fights the two snakes that live in their garden.

The Summer I shrank my grandmother, Elvira Woodruff, about a girl who wants to be a scientist when she grows up. She shrinks her grandmother to almost nothing after finding a magical chemistry set and trying to make her grandma younger.

The Redwall books by Brian Jacques. These were pretty good. I could describe them in two words : swashbuckling adventure. The characters are talking animals with hares, hedgehogs, moles and others being the good guys and rats, weasels, foxes, etc being the bad guys.
[wlm]
05/26/03 at 10:54:27
sabri


Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
A R C H I V E S

Individual posts do not necessarily reflect the views of Jannah.org, Islam, or all Muslims. All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster and may not be used without consent of the author.
The rest © Jannah.Org