Great African Reads discussion

Apologies that I'm setting this thread up a little bit late. Let's see if we can generate a good list of books to poll for quickly...

I'll get us started with The Bleeding of the Stone

and In the Country of Men

non-fiction:
Libya: From Colony to Independence

I enjoyed In the Country of Men.

Osho wrote: "I enjoyed In the Country of Men."

i did, too. i also really liked The Bleeding of the Stone.

maybe we should add other Koni books to the list to consider:

Ibrahim al-Koni

i'm not sure which ones to recommend...

These are super new so might be hard to get but I like both Vijay Prashad and Cinthia McKinney, and I'd really like to read both of these:
Arab Spring, Libyan Winter
The Illegal War on Libya

These short stories also looked good: Translating Libya: The Modern Libyan Short Story (from a list from the Christian Science Monitor)

Of these, only Arab Spring, Libyan Winter are available from my library. So are The Bleeding of the Stone and In the Country of Men, both of which look good, too.

From a friend of a friend "who's done grassroots media work in Libya, and across the Arab world: The only books I think are worth recommending (unless they came out in the last year, or are not in English) are modern history of Libya and the fictional country of men by hisham mattar."

Millicent wrote: "These are super new so might be hard to get but I like both Vijay Prashad and Cinthia McKinney, and I'd really like to read both of these:
Arab Spring, Libyan Winter
The Illegal War on Libya

The..."

A friend who in the past had travelled to Libya had recommended Translating Libya: The Modern Libyan Short Story.

Annnd Libyan-American friend in Libya suggests Forgotten Voices: Power and Agency in Colonial and Postcolonial Libya ("his other book i also hear is pretty good but it may be a little dense/too early historically for what you're looking for. also it would be nice for you guys to his work since (unlike prashad & mckinney) he's one of the few libyans in the western academy"), and against Prashad and McKinney (she doesn't agree with their analyses).

Also, "as for novels, both of the hisham matar books are great. i think his second (anatomy of a disappearance) is way better than country of men but it's about exile and is set mostly outside of libya which may not be what you're looking for."

work was hell this week, but i think i have a couple more books to add to the suggestions and then we'll see about having a poll. oh--i'll add my suggestions tomorrow. i'm too tired and braindead to do it tonight.

Schlafen Sie gut.

Osho wrote: "Schlafen Sie gut."

DANKE! :)

Marieke wrote: "work was hell this week, but i think i have a couple more books to add to the suggestions and then we'll see about having a poll. oh--i'll add my suggestions tomorrow. i'm too tired and braindead t..."

Take care of youself and hopefully you got a good nights sleep.

Oh, good, another book on my book mountain. Will try to catch up.(In the Country of Men)

I liked "In the Country of Men" very much and i agree that "Anatomy of a Disappearance" won't work for this stop because it does not take place in Libya.

I got my hands on a Lonely Planet guidebook from 2002 (i think) and photocopied the pages having to do with literature. I think maybe we could consider some of those books:

Libyan Stories (these are from the 1970s and 1980s)

Desert Encounter

Difficult and Dangerous Roads: Travels in Sahara and Fezzan, 1822-1825 (GR does not have much information. Lonely Planet says "Sometimes cranky, but a highly readable account of Clapperton's journey through the Libyan Sahara [1822-1825])

Tripoli the Mysterious (Lonely Planet says "Alternately fascinating and quaint account of Libya in the early 20th century)

Omar Al-Mukhtar (Lonely Planet says "One of the few European histories to cast light on the brutality of colonial rule; contains a transcript of Omar al-Mukhtar's trial)

With Rommel's Army in Libya (Lonely Planet says "Recent analysis of the WWII North African campaign)

There are some more...but i think we have a decent selection based on everyone's input so far. any thoughts on setting up a poll? are we ready?

Yes. Poll, please.

Osho wrote: "Yes. Poll, please."

okay i'm going to post it now...

Thanks! Voted.

I voted too. Should be an interesting couple months.

There certainly is a variety of things to choose from! i was actually a little surprised at the list.

Book availability (lack of same, actually) certainly directed my choice for Libya.

The fact that Libya stands with a foot in both the African and the Arabian worlds encourages me to begin a Tour d'Arabique, beginning with Libya. As a result, another book, available locally and which I will read, is The Arab Uprisings by James Gelvin, OUP, 2012.

I'm a little bit confused, did Bleeding of the Stone not end up picked? I just read it. Ha!

Ha! Jenny you are making me laugh...you wrote in the comments under the poll that you had already gotten the Hisham Mattar book, thinking it had already been chosen. ;)

Did you like Bleeding of the Stone?

Oh--the official pick is actually In the Country of Men.

Marieke wrote: "Oh--the official pick is actually In the Country of Men."

Too funny, well I'm halfway through the Mattar too. Both of these are pretty quick.