2012: The Year in Books (Your Top Ten List)

Companero said:
Kwa hiyo unakubali kuwa Brother Malcolm alikuwa mtu wa totoz na hivyo alikuwa anamsaliti Betty?

Kuna mnugu anaitwa Abdul Alkalmat kamchambua Manning Marable kuonesha udhaifu wa utafiti wake!
Click to expand...

Actually not so much mtu wa totoz, ukimuamini Marable inaonekana kama brother Malcolm alikuwa anashindwa rigwaride la Betty, ameonekana kama hawezi kazi na Betty ndo alikuwa anamuendesha.

The most troubling part ya fans ku deal nayo ni the gay life involvement, not so impausible considering all the pimping and night life in that period's Harlem.

Bahati mbaya Marable kashatangulia mara baada ya ku publish na probably hajapata nafasi ya kujitetea. Hizo publications za Alkalimat zinanipa shaka kama si another hagiographer.

Selected Work on Malcolm X by Abdul Alkalimat
 
FICTION
1.GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn
2. THE RACKETEER, by John Grisham
3. FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James
4. SAFE HAVEN, by Nicholas Sparks
5. THE FORGOTTEN, by David Baldacci

NON-FICTION

1. NO EASY DAY, by Mark Owen with Kevin Maurer
2. TEAM OF RIVALS, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
3. THE END OF THE LINE, by Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Martin.
4. THE SIGNAL AND THE NOISE, by Nate Silver.
5. THE POWER OF HABIT, by Charles Duhigg.
 
the narrow land- science fiction by jack vance

wonders of the universe- prof brian cox

life in ancient egypt-arrgh! a forgot the outhor!! but i know that, the jews did not built the pyramids contrary to popular belief and why egyptian gods had bettle head and frog heads .



the modern korea- nimemsahau outhor ni nani but i have learned alot about juche idea and the chajusong thing.

so many academic books.

pia nimeandika kitabu kiitwacho ''ifahamu pombe'', ambacho bado naangalia jinsi ya kupublish.

mwaka 2013 i have a plan to read 12 books. but for now let me go and have some dompo while waiting for it.
 
I have read more journal articles than books. I don't know why but I think they are more critical than books and provide updates, particularly on controversial issues.

And, when I read books, I only read the most relevant chapters to the issue I just want to know more or address at that particular time. Tena nafungua kitabu kwanza kwa kuangalia index kule nyuma. lol. In other words, I read a book because there is a reason for me to do so. But there are certain books I read in full this year due to certain reasons.

James Crawford, Brownlie's Principles of Public International Law (9[SUP]th[/SUP] edn, Oxford University Press 2012).
The reason I read this book was because its author (Ian Brownlie) passed away recently in a car accident when holidaying in Egypt. I thought the only way to remember him was to read his book again. This book has always been my bible on matters of public international law. Anyone who studied international law will know the importance of this book. Brownlie also taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Dar Es Salaam in the 1970s. REST IN PEACE BROWNLIE. We will always remember you through your Principles.

Ian Brownlie, African Boundaries (C Hust Publishers 1979)
Again written by Ian Brownlie. I read this book due to the ongoing boundary's conflict between Tanzania and Malawi. The book contains a chapter on Tanzania/Malawi boundary. It addresses African boundaries from historical and legal point of view. Very expensive book to buy and hard to find in libraries, but very useful in understanding African boundaries and the current related conflicts.

Antoine De Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince (Wordsworth Editions Ltd; New edition edition 1995)
This book was suggested to me by a JF member. Initially, I didn't bother to read it, but they kept insisting to read it! It is a classic tale of equal appeal to children and adults. On one level it is the story of an airman's discovery, in the desert, of a small boy from another planet - the Little Prince of the title - and his stories of intergalactic travel. On the other hand, it is a thought-provoking allegory of the human condition. It was first published in 1943, the year before the author's death. A very good book and thanks to the one who recommended it.

Cristiane Cardoso, Better than a New Pair of Shoes (Unipro 2007)
This book is NOT about buying shoes. But it does an even better job at helping women look and feel great about themselves. New shoes can make a woman feel good for a moment, but they won't help you deal with the endless challenges they face as a woman- relationships, marriage, children, work, feelings of inadequacy, the stress of staying in shape and looking good, hurt feelings and feeling blank. A good book for women, but also good for men who want to understand and help women to feel great about themselves.

Naazneen H. Barma, Kai Kaiser, Tuan Minh Le Leona Vinuele, Rents to the Riches: The Political Economy of Natural Resources-Led Development (World Bank 2012).
I read this book due to my recent interest on the so called "resource curse" as recently witnessed in Mtwara demonstrations The book focuses on the political economy of the detailed decisions that governments make at each step in the management and utilization of their natural resources. Many resource-dependent developing countries pursue short-sighted and sub-optional policies when extracting, taxing and investing resource rents.

The book emphases on the degree to which governments can make credible commitments to both resource developers and citizens as well as to the degree to which governments are inclusive and inclined to turn resource rents into public goods. I borrowed this book from someone and I haven't returned it. lol.

Tibori Szabo Kinga, Anticipatory Action in Self-Defence: Essence and Limits under International Law (T.M.C. Asser Press, 2011)

This book deals with the use of force for self-defense purpose. The reason I read this book was to understand the new developing concept of anticipatory self defense in international law. I wanted to understand the concept of anticipatory self-defense in the light of the Israel's concern over the Iranian nuclear threat. A bit academic book but useful for those with interest in international law and relations.

Alex J Bellamy, Responsibility to Protect: The Global Effort to End Mass Atrocities (Polity Press 2009)
I read this book to understand about the emerging international principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P). It charts about the emergence of this principle, from its origins in a doctrine of sovereignty as responsibility, through debates about the legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. The book goes on to analyze in detail the ways in which R2P can contribute to the global effort to end genocide and mass atrocities. This book complimented on journal articles I read which argue that the R2P was first applied in Libya, but left me wondering why it has not been applied in Syria.

John Garang de Mabior, Identifying, Selecting and Implementing Rural Development Strategies for Socio-economic Development in the Jonglei Projects Area, Southern Region, Sudan, (University microfilms international, 1986).
This is a Ph.D dissertation of the most recognizable freedom fighter of the Republic of South Sudan. I read his thesis after it was mentioned in an Al jazeera documentary about South Sudan. I was curious to find out more about what he wrote. The dissertation is available online. Just google.

Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (Heinemann 1989)
This book is not about a love story. The central story in this book, which its title has an intentional misspelling taken from an inscription on a bus, tells of an upright man resisting the temptations of easy bribes and easy satisfactions and winning for his honesty nothing but scorn. He works as a railway coordinator and doesn't take bribes, much to his wife's frustration. Kumbe wake nao wana-encourage waume zao wachukue rushwa? lol.

It portrays both the euphoria of independence and the disillusionment that followed in Ghana. It was a sobering period, in which the early promise of freedom gave way to economic malaise, political corruption, and continued financial dependence on Europe.

I first read this book in my A Levels, together with A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi Wa Thiongo. I found these two books very fascinating, so I keep reading then there and then as they reflect what in going on in our country.

I have borrowed some other books from the library but I read only the relevant chapters or a part of a chapter I needed. But I can't remember the number of journal articles I have read. And being from the legal field, I have to read court decisions too, some very loooong and boring.

Hata hivyo, nimejifuza mengi sana kutoka hapa JF. Wengi wanaandika hapa JF, sometimes huna hata haja ya kwenda kujichimbia library.

Kwa wasomaji wa vitabu: DON'T FORGET TO READ THE FOOTNOTES/ENDNOTES TOO.

Nawatakiwa wanaJF wote Heri ya Mwaka Mpya.
 
Gaijin said:
Chairman Mao sio mchezo, alikuwa anatoa sera right, left and center hakuna utafiti wala nini, na neno lake ni sheria! Nyerere hamfikii hata unyayo



From a guy who was advocating bestiality just last week, the irony!
Click to expand...

whatchu talkin bout Gaijini?
 


You are the JF reader of the year.
 
Gaijin said:
...
4. Hi! My Name is Loco and I am a Racist

...
...
Click to expand...

What an intriguing title! Would love to read this one, najua wewe si mpenzi wa soft copy, itanibidi nijitutumue tu kukipata kwingineko 🙂 Got ask though, was it a good read?!
 
how comes most of the pple here are social scientists??
are natural scientist not good readers??
c'on stay real come and give us ur list.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DU! Inamaana vitabu vya kiswahili havisomeki? au kwenye uzi huu ni waingereza peke yao. Mtu mmoja tu ndo kasoma kitabu cha kiswahili mpaka hapa, naye si mwingine bali Companero

Mi nilijikumbushia kitabu cha KULI Mwandishi Shafi Adam Shafi
 
Last edited by a moderator:
1. the Holy Bible
2. rich dad poor dad by R. Kiyosaki
3. be rich and happy by R. kiyosaki
4. understanding your potential. by Myles Munroe
5. why women want what they can't have
6. changing your career
7. uongozi wetu na hatima ya tanzania. by J.K nyerere
8. Azimio la Arusha ny TANU
 
salosalo said:
DU! Inamaana vitabu vya kiswahili havisomeki? au kwenye uzi huu ni waingereza peke yao. Mtu mmoja tu ndo kasoma kitabu cha kiswahili mpaka hapa, naye si mwingine bali Companero

Mi nilijikumbushia kitabu cha KULI Mwandishi Shafi Adam Shafi
Click to expand...

Vinasomeka sana tu. Wengine list ni ya top 10 zao au vile walivyovikumbuka wakati wanaandika hapa tu.

Kati ya vitabu vya Kiswahili nilivyosoma ni pamoja na

1. Hard copy ya Kwa heri Uhuru Kwa heri Ukoloni cha Harith Ghassany

2. Mwafrika Aimba cha Shaaban Robert

3.

*Juu ya kusema hayo, vitabu vilivyoandikwa kwa Kiswahili havipatikani vyema katika maduka makubwa ya vitabu kama Amazon. Pia promotion nayo haifanywi vya kutosha hata wa nje ya nchi wakajua kuna kitabu kipya kinatoka
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Steve Dii said:
What an intriguing title! Would love to read this one, najua wewe si mpenzi wa soft copy, itanibidi nijitutumue tu kukipata kwingineko 🙂 Got ask though, was it a good read?!
Click to expand...

Amazingly enough, I read that one on Kindle first and half way through I bought the hard copy 🙂

The story is so entertaining about this huge African American from Harlem who ended up living in Tokyo after 9/11.

Inasimulia maisha ya Loco akiwa Marekani na Japani, perceived racism in America and Japan and how his background forced him to become "at least a potential racist against Whites"

Mbali na kuwa funny and entertaining lakini it was an eye opener on so many issues about racism especially, maana I'm totally blind....(@-@)

But you know I'm biased....
 
Unfortunately, I don't read as much as I used to. In fact, it was in 2004 when I last read and finished a book!
Since then I have been buying books and keeping for future sessions (when ???). Below is a list of some of my favorite books which I have read in the past:

1. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
2. Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness by Roger Penrose
3. The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World by Paul Davies
4. God and the New Physics by Paul Davies
5. The Matter Myth: Dramatic Discoveries that Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality by Paul Davies
6. What is Life?: Erwin Schrödinger
7. The Philosophy of Space and Time, by Hans Reichenbach
8. Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin
9. Life Itself: Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell by Boyce Rensberger
10. The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics by Roger Penrose
11. Faster Than the Speed of Light: The Story of a Scientific Speculation [Joao Magueijo]
12. The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, Or, Africa for the Africans
13. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris
14. Letter from a Christian Citizen - A Response to "Letter to a Christian Nation" by Douglas Wilson


These I have bought lately, but not yet read:

1. Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, by Dambisa Moyo
2. The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins
3. Don't Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle,
4. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day
5. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong

6. Toward a Science of Consciousness II: The Second Tucson Discussions and Debates, by Stuart R. Hameroff, Alfred W. Kaszniak
7. The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next, by Lee Smolin
8. Quantum Philosophy: Understanding and Interpreting Contemporary Science, Roland Omnès
9. Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel by Rebecca Goldstein
10. One Two Three . . . Infinity: Facts and Speculations of Science
11. QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, by Richard P. Feynman

12. The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen Jay Gould
13. The Way of the Cell: Molecules, Organisms, and the Order of Life,Franklin M. Harold (Author)
14.The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins
 
PlanckScale

The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. This was Dawkins at his best, I have never been disappointed by the man.

I bought the below listed titles and would like to read one of these days.

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong .

Quantum Philosophy: Understanding and Interpreting Contemporary Science, Roland Omnès.

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins.

 
Interesting you have read The God Delusion. I bought the book 3 years ago! I need to find the time to read.
These days, when it comes to reading I spend too much time reading about turbo modification, Engine Computer management, Tennis winning strategy, and the "Bank of the South" (Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas) :confused2:


"A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong" should be a great read. I haven't read it yet, but I did see her being interviewed back when I was in nyoko (NYC). She used to be a Catholic Nun, living in the convent!

"What is life" by Erwin Schrödinger is considered in the scientific community as the book that predicted the discovery on DNA! Erwin Schrödinger is also the man behind the "Schrödinger's cat" paradox... an intriguing interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose is a great book, pioneering the physics of consciousness. Penrose, the man behind blackhole singularity, teamed up with Stuart Hameroff on their model of consciousness: Orch OR (Orchestrated Objective Reduction, a gravitationally induced reduction of multiple conscious states into a single experiential conscious awareness ...very interesting model
 
Kiranga said:
The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. This was Dawkins at his best, I have never been disappointed by the man]
Click to expand...

Even when he couldn't repeat the full tittle of Darwin's book on public radio?

😀
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…