Life as We Knew It by S.B.Pfeffer

   Have you ever watched one of those world catastrophic movies when all sorts of disasters happen to and on Earth? Sometimes the blame falls on humans, sometimes they don't. I'll list a few... Deep Impact, where the whole world suffers and survives as people anticipate the coming of a comet to hit earth and witness the after-effects it brings; The Core, where men's careless and selfish actions caused the Earth's inner core to stop working and bring catastrophic effects to whole world; The Day After Tomorrow where Earth suffers and rapidly goes through significant climatic changes, also due to human's actions, and Independence Day, which is rather different as it involves aliens descending on Earth and what not.

   I'm not particularly laid on all the ideas in these movies, as I believe in the will of Allah and I believe in the Day of Judgement or Yaumul Qiyam. I believe that when the time comes, life on Earth will end, and however much we struggle against it, we are all subject to Allah's will. He is the Lord of the Universe, and it is to Him that we submit. 

   I do think though, that the stories all lend to some good ideas and themes, such as how humans survive in times of hardship, work together to solve problems, realise the importance of family ties and so on.

   However, what I really intend to write about is a book that I recently read, in which the theme revolves around more or less the themes I described in the movies earlier.

   The book was written by Susan Beth Pfeffer and called Life as We Knew It, as pictured below:

You can read the review here

   Actually, the truth is I first read the book quite some time back, probably a few months ago or even earlier. We borrowed it from the public library, and last week when Dad took my brothers there they borrowed it again.

   The story is told in the diary entries written by sixteen-year-old Miranda, who captures her experiences of how an asteroid hits the moon and causes it to be brought nearer to Earth. The effects are disastrous; the moon's gravity causes the tides to change, tsunamis destroy cities and countries within days, volcanoes erupt all over the world , causing ash and smoke to cover the Earth's surface from receiving sunlight and much, much more. Life changes dramatically as food becomes scarce, people flee from their hometowns to seek refuge in other places, while some stay like Miranda and her family does, and try to battle their way through the catastrophe that has suddenly landed upon them. 

   I love how the story is told from Miranda's point of view, as it makes it seem quite real and believing. Of course, I don't think I would ever have time to write entries as long as the one that she did, but I guess it's possible for some people. I don't truly agree with all of Miranda's actions either, but all in all readers are able to see things the way Miranda experiences it. 

   In conclusion, it's definitely a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new book to read. I would certainly recommend it to any of my friends who are looking for English story books to read. The language is quite easy and if you want a good book that won't make you fall asleep the moment you open it, this is one of them. 

   I'd very much like to add that one of the ways that you can do in order to improve your English is definitely to read, read and read. Read lots and lots of English books. You can choose to read fiction, non-fiction or whatever genres you like, but for me story books have always been the best as they don't bore you to death, and will keep you reading. Later, when you've mastered the language a bit you can graduate to motivational books and the like. 

   I know a close friend whom I've never seen to really read English books much. However, she started to read one of the books by Roald Dahl (I don't remember which one), and suddenly she went on a book-reading frenzy. She begged me to buy her English story books, and she bought so many herself that I felt quite jealous looking at her collection! I gave her two books (I don't remember the titles, but they were both by Roald Dahl) and borrowed some of the ones she had to read. I have to say she has quite a knack of choosing books. She especially likes weird ones, like books by Anthony Horowitz. Oh... how I miss buying storybooks...

   Another good friend went through the same experience when she bought a book by one of my all-time favourite authors- Diana Wynne Jones. At the time I hadn't even read the book myself, as I was saving up to buy it. Imagine how shocked I was to see the Enchanted Glass sitting smugly on my friend's bed! My jaw literally fell open. I immediately booked to read it after her. I knew before that she liked reading English books, but the Enchanted Glass was a totally new reading experience for her.

   I immediately told her about DWJ's other books,starting with Howl's Moving Castle, which is one of my absolute favourites by DWJ. She went on her own reading frenzy, and by the end of that semester her table was stocked high with books by DWJ, some of which she bought, while others were gifted to her by friends. I personally bought her a copy of the House of Many Ways, and accompanied her on a wild search for Howl's Moving Castle. 

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Howls' Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

   You can read more about DWJ and her fantastic books by visiting this fansite. She has an official one, but I don't know if it's still there.

   I remember those days when I was younger (well, I'm not that old, but it does feel so when I think of when I was ten, twelve and so on)- I would read up to five or six novels in one day and by the end of it my head would ache and throb dreadfully and I would have to stop. Then, when I entered boarding school, I started to read less. and less, but I picked teh habit up again after my PMR ended.

   Actually I could go on and on about my Life as a Reader, but I should probably save some bits for later.

   But there's one more thing that I'd like to share...

   Tadaa!!!

Source

Source

    Two more books by SBP! Both books still revolve around the story in Life As We Knew It, and I cannot wait to read them! I suppose I shall have to go on a book hunt (and have some cash, for that matter), but that will have to wait. The reviews sound good though, and like I said, I cannot wait to read them! The Dead and the Gone tells of the story of another family who experience the same asteroid-hits-the-moon-and-the-world-suffers events, but it takes place in New York. In the third book, the people from the first and second books meet up and... well I don't know what happens but I cannot wait to find out!

   And one interesting thing is that the third book  is called "This World We Live In". Sounds familiar? I fairly grinned when I read it. I don't know where I got hold of the idea of naming our blog The World We Live In, but I don't think it was from the book. 

   With that, I'll leave you. It's certainly fun to write, and I've forgotten how it feels like. It feels great! Alhamdulillah :)