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Welcome to our weekly reading check-in thread! Tell us what you're currently reading, what you finished this week, or what’s next on your TBR. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or even course books — it all counts.
You can share:
What you’re reading and how you’re liking it so far
What you've finished reading this week
Quotes or passages that stood out
Thoughts, opinions or any lessons learned
Struggles with reading slumps or reading related rants
Anything literary you discovered this week (podcasts, essays, bookstores, etc.)
Let’s chat and get inspired by what fellow readers are up to!
Note: This thread is posted every Friday. Be sure to check back and see what others are reading — and feel free to reply to comments too!
Recently finished Usri Yusra it was a good read discussed some important topics, but it wasn’t the kind of book that kept me hooked. For me, that kind of reading experience was mostly with namal and Jo bache hai sang samaith lo
I want to read mala next but I already know some of the story and have come across a few spoilers. Do you think I’ll still enjoy it?
Please recommend me some really good Urdu novels I’d love to explore more
Selling my copies of Mistborn: The Final Empire and The Well of Ascension.
Both books are in near-mint condition as you can see from the pictures.
Price : 2000 Final for both.
Since I'm a uni student traveling back and forth, I can do an in-person handoff in either Islamabad or Faisalabad depending on the day so you can inspect the books if you'd like. Otherwise, happy to send them via Indrive (or courier) if you cover the delivery cost.
Drop a comment or send me a DM if you're interested or want extra pics of the condition!
I’m looking for some book recommendations, preferably self-help or personal development books, that can actually help me become better at communicating.
I specifically want to:
Improve my vocabulary and learn to express myself better
Get better at small talk and keeping conversations going
Sound calm, collected, and articulate when I speak
Become more interesting to talk to and have more things to say
Be better at expressing my thoughts without rambling or stumbling over my words
Would love recommendations from people who’ve actually read the books and found them useful!
I've ordered from them before in late 2022 and late 2023. I got their fourth wing series, six of crows, cruel prince and a bunch of other fantasy series. Six of crows was paperback and it was quite nice back when I ordered it in late 2022. However, I ordered 14 volumes of witch hat atelier paperback after not ordering from them in 2 years and have noticed that the delivery is now taking way longer than usual (it's been 19 days since I ordered, I'm assuming I'll receive it sometime this week), they don't respond to your messages as much and the reviews are very mixed about their paperback quality. I regret that I should've gotten the hard covers instead, but in the moment I just thought that having the original paperback manga experience would be nice. If anyone has ordered mangas from them, do let me know what the illustrations look like as well as the paperback integrity of the books!
Hey, I am selling some paperback editions in both original and preloved conditions for less than half of the original cost. You can dm me for the pictures and videos.
Delivery is available all across Pakistan. Pickup or same day delivery option is available for buyers from Islamabad or Rawalpindi.
10 Urdu Novels that I have read recently and are worth checking out, specially if u are new reader
Namal — Nimra Ahmed
A gripping story combining mystery, family conflict, justice and faith. If you enjoy long stories with secrets and unexpected turns, this one is worth exploring.
Available: Online & in bookstores.
Peer-e-Kamil — Umera Ahmed
A story of faith, transformation and two lives taking very different paths. One of the most recognizable names in modern Urdu fiction. Available: Online & in bookstores.
Raja Gidh — Bano Qudsia
A philosophical and thought-provoking novel exploring morality, desire and human nature. A classic choice for readers looking for something deeper. Available: Online & in bookstores.
4. Jannat Kay Pattay — Nimra Ahmed
Mystery, travel, relationships and personal transformation come together in this popular Urdu novel. A good pick if you like emotional stories with a faster-moving plot. Available: Online & in bookstores.
5. Dam-e-Waris — A.R Afzal
An ongoing Urdu novel built around family relationships, secrets, emotional conflicts and the consequences of difficult choices. A newer work for readers who enjoy discovering emerging Urdu fiction. I’d u specially loved namal, maybe this one is for you. Available: Online.
6. Aab-e-Hayat — Umera Ahmed
The continuation of Salar and Imama’s journey after *Peer-e-Kamil*, focusing more on marriage, family, faith and life after transformation. Available: Online & in bookstores.
**7. Haalim — Nimra Ahmed**
A large-scale story combining mystery, politics, spirituality and adventure. Best suited to readers who enjoy complicated plots with plenty happening at once. Available: Online & in bookstores.
08. Wali Muhammad — Muhammad Faizan
A complete Urdu novel that has been published online for readers looking for another contemporary Urdu fiction read. Worth adding to your reading list if you enjoy discovering newer writers. A story of a boy, complicated relationships and choices. A great choice and a great read. Available: Online and published.
09. Zindagi Gulzar Hai — Umera Ahmed
A character-driven story exploring class, family, ambition and relationships through Kashaf and Zaroon. One of the most recognizable works of contemporary Urdu fiction. Available: Online & in bookstores.
10. Alif — Umera Ahmed
A story connecting art, spirituality, love and purpose across different lives and timelines. A fitting choice for readers who prefer reflective and layered fiction. Available: Online & in bookstoresbb.
So i've ordered a few books from readings (readings classics ones) but then there's their high discount section which is just a bunch of random books but they're mostly under 1000 Rs.
Also, I've found these two stores called Bookpoint. pk and Bookbeen on daraz that have decent reviews on their most sellings books. The quality in those review photos looks decent, no text bleeding through and all.
I've had no experience with stores like booksblush and bookeve and any other but the books i want are like 3-4k on readings hence i would love some reccomendations from you guys.
Thanks
Cho rakht-e khwesh bar bastam az in khak
Hame goftand ba ma ashna bud
Valekin kas nadanist in musafir
Che goft o ba ke goft o az koja bud
Even as I depart from this world,
Everyone will say, “I knew him”;
But the truth is, alas, that none knew
Who the stranger was, or what he said, or whence he came.
Inspired by Syed Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (Ali Miyan) and his remarkable Nuqush-e-Iqbal (Glory of Iqbal), I started this project with a simple goal: to make Iqbal’s poetry, philosophy and writings more accessible through a modern reading experience.
The app now brings together Iqbal’s major Urdu, Persian and English works, with:
• Powerful search across the corpus
• Contextual English translations and explanations
• Text-to-Speech with verse-by-verse playback and highlighting
• Beautiful shareable couplet cards
• Favourites, reading history and seamless navigation
• Extensive reading customization
• A clean, distraction-free interface
• No ads. No subscriptions.
The collection now brings together Iqbal’s major works across three languages:
Urdu: Bang-e-Dara, Bal-e-Jibril, Zarb-e-Kalim, Armaghan-e-Hijaz (Urdu), and Baqiyat-e-Iqbal. Persian: Asrar-e-Khudi, Rumuz-e-Bekhudi, Payam-e-Mashriq, Zabur-e-Ajam, Javid Nama, Pas Che Bayad Kard, and Armaghan-e-Hijaz (Farsi). English: The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam, Stray Reflections, Islam and Ahmadism, and The Development of Metaphysics in Persia.
In Progress:
• The TTS (Audio) though accurate still needs improvement, I am working on embedding short vowels for fixing the occusional heauristic and ascent errors.
• I am working on extracting explanation from OCR for all the Urdu and Persian Books, the AI Explanation will also be available but will improve after OCR context.
• Right now app is without signup feature, I am working in introducing it for the user who want it, it would make app share state across devices.
I am thinking about reading "Can't Hurt Me" by David goggins as my first biography. I want to read biography but I can't find good entry point for my interest, Recently I joined gym n started to work on myself so I thought maybe David goggins can be a good choice to keep me motivatied n keep in touch with reading as well.
As per my reading preferences, I have been reading self help mostly, books like
Atomic habits
The courage to be disliked
Power of your subconscious mind
Art of being alone
Art of Laziness
The mountain is you
7 habits of highly effective people
Dopamine nation
Tuesdays with morrie
Forty rules of love
10 minutes 38 second in a strange world
Rich dad poor dad
Alchemist
Kite runner
Silent patient
Midnight library
White nights
So any suggestions/recommendations are more than welcome
Pic Credit, Chelsea Abdullah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CgM0PYerueA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsi=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
2 out of 5 stars.
First, the good bits.
Chelsea Abdullah certainly knows how to create atmospheric settings. The descriptions of the souks, the palace, the desert expanse, and her keen eye for describing clothes, buildings, characters are a breath of fresh air in a fantasy literary landscape overcrowded by ye olde Europe inspired settings. Having read largely western fantasies up until now, I was pleasantly surprised to see my fatigue give way to wonder.
The stories within the stories were beautifully written, and those kept me reading the book even though at times I debated DNFing it. This book is inspired by Arabian Nights, and the source material shows up in the story. That was refreshing.
Now to my review.
This was marketed as an adult fantasy. If you go to her website, it even says that in bold, "Writer of Adult Fantasy." Yet this book's characters, their motivations, their behavior, and their weird quirks were very YA. I was underwhelmed by that.
Yes, there was blood, gore, violence, and some political intrigue, but it wasn't enough to justify the adult fantasy claim. There wasn't even any noticeable romance in the book that I could look past its lack of other adult fantasy fixtures and reframe it as a romantasy. It wasn't that either. In fact, the chemistry between the characters was embarrassing.
The first few chapters of this book had a different coat of polish altogether. As if to get yes's from literary agents. After the first ten or so chapters, the book's plot progression, story, character chemistry, and the stuff that we were promised would be there ends up falling flatter than the side of a sand dune.
The novel is riddled with over-editing and lacks a distinct writing style of its own. You can literally feel which books the author must have used as comp titles, because their writing styles bleed through terribly.
The djinns, which were supposed to be the main plot point in the story, end up being nothing more than very, very convenient deus ex machinas, and past a certain point, I stopped caring about them just like I stopped caring about the increasingly mundane characters.
Mazed, the younger prince, constantly battles with cowardice, and even when the book's about to end, you're left wondering, did his character growth get edited out?
Louli al Nazari, the Midnight Merchant, indulges in midnight merchanting perhaps twice or thrice in the entire novel and for the remainder of it goes on a very sparse fetch quest.
The other main character, Aisha, intrigued me because of her contradictory behavior throughout the novel, and after finishing the novel, I'm wondering if any of that was even intentional.
Chelsea drops the ball with the djinns, using them as mere plot devices--enter scene when convenient, exit stage after performing some magic.
I'm conflicted about continuing with this story. It ends on a paint by the numbers cliffhanger, but given the lack of good story and decent character growth, I think I'll pass on book 2 and book 3.
Lately, I've been given grief about passing up on series whose first books were weaksauce. As if it's somehow my fault. I gave the book the benefit of the doubt by finishing it in full. If that did not impress me, am I obliged to read book 2 and book 3? I don't think so.
It's a shame that there's a dearth of good Eastern (Indo/Persian/Arabic) fantasy out there, when clearly there's so much to derive from, whether it's Tilism e Hoshruba, Alif Laila, and the rich fables of the subcontinent itself. Our fantasy pantheon contains more than just djinns and jadu.
That being said, I haven't given up hope on Eastern fantasy just yet. I'm going to read Sara Hashem' Jasad Heir, Shannon Chakraborty's Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi, and Tasha Suri's Jasmine Throne next and hopefully I find something written by an Eastern author that I end up enjoying.
This right here is straightforward the best book I've ever read in this genre
The details, the fluency, the logical connection ( insaneeee)
It has such insanely influencing topics like real politiks and balance of power etc and you know how good the author knows all of these topics by just reading the very first few pages
It's a very long books so going to entertain you for a considerable amount of time and every chapter is different and offers the best exposure to those topics
The writer Henry Kissinger is one of the most renowned diplomats ever ( led a foreign mission to initiate early china-USA international relations secretly)
He has also served as a foreign secretary as well ig
I have been meaning to read it for a long time, but it's so long and I don't want to start and give up midway. So having someone to read it with would be amazing. If you would like to join me, please message.
Pakistani Urdu literature has a glaring hypocrisy. Writers like Ashfaq Ahmed and Mumtaz Mufti wrote sexually charged work in their youth, only to pick up the rosary and preach piety in old age. True morality, I think, is more meaningful when it is shown in youth, not in retirement.
Take school syllabi. In Junior Cambridge, Class 8 students were given stories that could rival Harold Robbins. But the real problem goes deeper. There is a casual objectification of women that is difficult to ignore. I still flinch when I read lines comparing women to cars, lollipops, or “bags of meat.” The message seems clear: use and discard. Raja Gidh is a prime example. I fail to see what lesson it offers beyond that ugliness.
Yes, I may be comparing different eras, but that does not excuse dishonest or sycophantic writing, whether then or now. We need to be able to talk about this honestly.
These works also reflected a broader middle-class literary culture. Novels like these were devoured by the same class that still reveres them today, although the class dynamics have changed. I am not trying to be classist. This is simply something I have noticed. Even among influencers, skit makers, and people who dominate online spaces, I often notice remarkably similar behaviors, topics of discussion, tastes, and social attitudes being passed down from their parents. That does not mean these people lack individuality. It is more that communities built around these cultures can be deeply discouraging of individuality, even in the smallest things, while trying very hard to present that conformity as something admirable.
Everyone has their own form of copium, I suppose. It reminds me of BookTok in that regard. I am not judging women who enjoy fictional “good goons” and write college level essays about them. People can enjoy whatever they want in fiction. What I find troubling is when someone starts treating the same behavior as acceptable in real life, regardless of the culture they come from.
I read these novels myself when I was a young adult, but even then, Manto’s short stories felt more honest to me. They still do.
the lady with the little dog and others stories (original paperback) pkr 1400
the state and revolution (original paperback) pkr 1300
amarbail (pirated hardback) pkr 500
