Tag: reading

daily prompt

Simple Advice: Just Listen

nhpureandsimple

What’s the best advice you’d give to someone younger than you?

Whether you’re 10, 20, or 23 plus — Please Read.

Reading is better than television,

better than cinema,

better than social media,

better than nonsense talk,

and yes, even better than football. 

By the end of the day, they all consume their energy, 

eat your brain, 

and dull your senses.

Books can restore it all.

And reading doesn’t ask for money, subscriptions, or travel visa.

It only asks for a little of your time everyday, and in return it offers great rewards.

The best two rewards are: 

a healthy brain

and a loyal companion.

So… please read.

With book-reading thoughts,

Nahla 

Just writing

Off The Hook Fishy

nhpureandsimple

Should a fish shut her mouth?

But of course she should,

otherwise she will be hooked out of her world; her big, secure home. 

And then it’s over.

She will serve as a fresh dinner plat for a hungry stomach.

“You definitely, and by all means, shouldn’t open it,” the old wise fish advised her fellows. 

“As delicious, fresh, and rare as the bait may be, it is as dangerous, cunning, and deceptive. You should remember that, and think twice,” the old wise fish warned.

We humans should think not only twice but thrice or even more before stepping into a zone that isn’t ours.

Whatever this zone may be; 

social, professional, or even familial.

It isn’t advisable to open your mouth and swallow everything, 

nor to open your mouth and pour everything out.

In both cases, you transgress your zone and fall into waters that aren’t yours; whether deep or shallow it doesn’t matter, again they’re not yours.

You sacrifice your self-respect, your peace of mind, and your time over trivialities.

Didn’t the old man repeatedly give this piece of advice?

Of course he did.

Psychologists , psychiatrists, and many books say and repeat the very same advice. 

If you don’t trust humans because they’re the ones who invented fishing rods, then trust the old wise fish who has never transgressed its own territory.

By the way this post was inspired by a quote I wrote on my other blog; the one I’m trying to bring it back to life. If you’d like to read it, here’s the link:

https://nh825.wordpress.com/2026/06/03/the-fish-and-the-hook/The Fish And The Hook

With the old wise fish’s  thoughts, 

Nahla

Just writing

Hello, June

nhpureandsimple

Your big brother May was kind all the way to the end.

Yes, thank God, May was fun, interesting, and productive.

I posted quite often, as ideas flowed easily and unexpectedly.

But… I read less in May.

Guess why.

Because I picked the wrong book at the wrong time.

It was one of the old classics; a collection of Kipling’s short stories.

The name rang a bell from somewhere back in my English degree days, but I’m pretty sure I hadn’t read anything by this author before.

So I welcomed the book heartily; looking forward to enjoying some beautiful, rich prose.

But it turned out to be like a machine manual catalogue with too many symbols and clues that gave me a headache. 

My brain couldn’t digest this piece of literary work, save for one story.

I exhaled a long, deep breath when I decided not only to stop reading it, but also to never pick up another book by Kipling.

But then, as I was checking my want-to- read list, I remembered that I have a second blog.

Quotes and Reviews…. nh825.wordpress.com

I felt sorry for it.

It has been mute for so long that it doesn’t know me anymore.

I gave it a little nudge post to wake it up.

It did wake up though still yawning with, heavy lids and slow motion.

Hopefully, in June I can feed it with more quotes and book reviews.

With June’s new blogging thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

The River and Its Source

nhpureandsimple

I didn’t think I was going to write anything today until I randomly opened one of my old notebooks. Actually.. I was searching for a blank page to write down something before it slipped from my memory.

And then the miracle happened.

My eyes caught a quote from a book, and my brain insisted on giving it some workout.

By the way, do you also have this habit of saving the quote but neither the author’s name nor the book it came from?

Just curious to know whether I’m the only person who does this. 

Anyway, this is the quote: “To know a river, you have to know its source.”

So, according to my humble interpretation: to befriend a river, to communicate with it, and certainly to understand it, you have to know its source; how it flows, what kind of life it carries, and when it floods or dries.

Simply put, you have to know where it began, how it lived, and what shaped it.

Don’t you agree that some people are just like rivers.

You can’t truly know them until you know their sources; their history, their nature, their way of life, and certainly the reasons behind their tides.

With people-like-rivers, thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Finally… FICTION

nhpureandsimple

Yes, finally I’m back to fiction.

Phew… it took almost five months to pick a fictional book again.

I really enjoyed reading non- fiction over the last few months.

It wasn’t until yesterday that my brain started begging for a break, a pause from working on those complicated terms and scientific writings.

When I didn’t show any sign of objection, my brain seized the opportunity and explained that he was in dire need of breathing some literary prose, some metaphors, similes and idioms. 

I took a few sips of water, and he sighed deeply before continuing his complaint about how bored sick he felt reading those black- and-white paragraphs. He longed for… imagination with its colours, rhythms, and intrigues.

Request approved, I said.

And finally, I whispered to myself, feeling over the moon.

It was last night when I picked up an old fictional book.

Oh, the poor book has been waiting patiently for that exact moment.

“Welcome back,”he said.

I smiled and started reading.

With back- to -fiction thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Reading Psychology

nhpureandsimple

Well… I’m pretty sure one of my recent posts was about the change in my reading genre. 

Reading and Mood Change

So far, I am following the plan just fine—reading nonfiction. 

Recently, I’ve started reading some psychology.

My first encounter with this subject was in my final year of high school, many years ago.

Honestly I remember nothing of those lessons except the teacher herself— even her name has slipped away. I remember her loud voice and sharp gaze, but I can’t get any closer to her name. 

But I do remember the name of my teacher from my first year of primary school.

Strange, isn’t it.

I loved my first primary teacher and I wept buckets when she left and moved away with her husband. 

Anyway, my psychology teacher crossed my mind as I stole a little time for reading. Time is tight these days, with Eid celebrations almost knocking on the door.

So… according to psychology, our memory machine is not only selective, but also clever and cruel. It doesn’t come with a button we can press to “save all” or “delete all.”

No.

It works professionally, by using its own unique selective strategy. 

It mainly saves the things you like the most, hate the most, or the things that hold your full concentration and consciousness.

Memory is not like history, which keeps a record of everything, though sometimes with some alterations and even some big lies.

Memory is a trustworthy keeper. It writes the minutes of the things that truly matter in your life, even those small details, those passing emotions, or those quiet, special moments.

And sometimes, out of the blue, it brings back one of those memories from many years ago.

Something that can make you smile, cry, or simply wonder as time pulls you back in a split second.

You find yourself back in that classroom, learning psychology, having no idea that years later you would be reading a psychology book explaining why you can’t remember your teacher’s name.

Simply because you neither loved or hated her, your memory saved only what had caught your attention back then — the special tone of her voice and her sharp gaze

And… thanks to psychology, I found the little distraction that inspired me to write this post.

With these reading–psychology thoughts,

Nahla 

Philosophical musings

Seek Simplicity But…

nhpureandsimple

Can you guess the rest of the quote ?

Here’s it all:

“Seek simplicity but distrust it.”

How dare Mr Alfred Whitehead doubt the sincerity of Simplicity?

I started this blog and named it “Pure and Simple” for the sake of simplicity—and then comes this quote, accusing simplicity of being untrustworthy.

I know my philosophical musings may, sometimes, give you a headache,

or leave you a little lost,

or even bored. 

Do they?

But this doesn’t mean distrust, does it?

Oh my… 

It’s just crossed my mind that I’ve muddled things up.

Poor Mr Alfred isn’t accusing Simplicity at all.

Actually his quote is in favour of simplicity, not against it.

Simplicity is about the art of simplification.

So instead of leaving us with one whole rock, simplicity can soften it into clay—something we can handle and understand. 

In other words, simplicity gently breaks the complex into smaller, simpler pieces.

Then it breaks those pieces into very tiny ones.

They may scatter into a maze, or a little a mess, 

but they become more flexible—easier to explore, enjoy, and read.

That’s when Distrust arrives with a warning:

Don’t mistake simplicity for nonsense.

Don’t mistake it for weakness.

And definitely don’t mistake it for superficiality.

So, finally, with a big sigh of relief,

I’m happy I came across this quote today.

It feels like a little booster to stay on the path of Simplicity.

With pure and simple thoughts,

Nahla

P.S.

I only discovered this philosopher through this quote—just in case you think I’m well-versed in his philosophical works for I am not.

Just writing

Reading and Mood Change

nhpureandsimple

Surprisingly, my reading in February was better than expected.

Perhaps it’s because my reading interests and mood have changed.

This change began not as a challenge, but as a wish to read something different.

I love fiction, with its imagery, prose, and intriguing narratives.

Is there anyone who doesn’t like stories? 

Maybe.

By the way, fiction is still my favourite.

But… sometimes a title of a certain book crosses your path and intrigues you enough to have a look.

This unexpected friend introduces you to another field, another scope of knowledge. 

You start listening while reading. 

You start wandering into a new world.

You start feeling how little you have known, 

and how many interesting topics there are to learn about and from.

They say changing habits and routines is good for your brain.

What do you think?

I agree.

This wasn’t the main reason why I decided to read nonfiction, though.

But I’m glad I did, because I’m both enjoying and learning from this temporary change.

Let’s wait and see which path my reading will follow in March.

That’s all for today,

With reading thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Too many books

nhpureandsimple

At the beginning of this year, 2026, I suggested to myself without enforcement, argument, or stubbornness that I would read more nonfiction books.

So far, I’ve been doing well following my own suggestion.

I’ve a long list across various topics. 

It’s good for the brain to switch activities and also books, isn’t it? 

But I haven’t abandoned fiction completely. I read a few pages every day from a story in a different genre: Japanese fiction.

By the way, nonfiction isn’t that boring if you’re interested in the topic.

It may need more time and concentration.

But the good news is that you’re not obliged to read it from cover to cover.

Sometimes a nonfiction book is a collection of different essays, topics, or even categories.

You read the ones most related to your interest, and skip the others.

Well… that’s my strategy.

I reckon nonfiction authors expect this from readers. 

Some of them even mention in their introduction that you, as a reader, may skip the parts you’re not interested in.

So far reading nonfiction sounds good.

But just a tiny problem to consider:

there’s no room for imagination in nonfiction.

And that’s why I always keep a fiction book at hand.

Nonfiction can teach us science, literature, philosophy, history … 

but fiction can teach us all of that in one imaginative story. 

It’s in nonfictions that we learn about history, and in fiction that we see it.

By the way, do you think villains read history?

Perhaps they don’t, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many of them.

With reading thoughts,

Nahla

Just writing

Let’s Pretend…

nhpureandsimple

This let’s pretend is all about close your eyes and dream.

Well… not closing your eyes and dozing off, but turning on the light to imagination, to hope, and perhaps even to happiness.

Children are the best at make- believe.

They use let’s pretend to dream about the future, about their growing-up lives.

They play this let’s pretend game to have fun.

They cling to this let’s pretend as a shield to avoid and escape punishment.

Writers make-believe too.

Their let’s pretend characters become full of life on the page. 

Their let’s pretend thoughts turn into words a reader can hold. 

And their let’s pretend world becomes real in imagination.

Pause…

This was how I began this post last night with this idea which I borrowed from a non-fiction book about creativity and IQ tests. By the way, do we really need all the fuss around them?

I don’t think so.

Now, back to the main idea.

Instead of going back to finish my post, I decided to complete Dostoevsky’s Poor People. 

I did finish it, but that wasn’t a good idea. 

Because I abandoned the post and slipped straight into reviewing the book. 

But the idea of let’s pretend started nagging me, buzzing into my head, with a single plea; 

Please let’s pretend you didn’t read the book.

Please finish the post.

I tried.

But, I couldn’t.

The book seemed to cut the flow of my post thoughts with its hopeless narrative.

It’s understandable how the story reflected the miserable and hard life the author experienced during the time he was writing it. 

But still, I found myself wondering; why he didn’t play this let’s pretend game, just once, to make- believe some hope in the miserable story? 

Honestly, I don’t know.

But at least I made it — and finished this post.

 

With let’s–pretend–happy thoughts, 

Nahla