Middle East/North African Lit discussion

Mecca - Saudi Arabia



Palace of Imam Yahya, Yemen



Arabian Oryx , The United Arab Emirates



Dubai Towers, The United Arab Emirates

**Here we are going to discuss many books about Arabian Peninsula -(non - fiction) ,we will read about life in there , tradition , politics , history and new challenges ...


we can get so many text photos of the region in here and try to discuss together what our books are telling us and to which extent our reading is a true representation of this region .

N.B
This post will be edited multiple times to add the list of books that members chose to read .

So far , the books that were mentioned to be read by members are :

Yemen: The Unknown Arabia
The Girl Who Fell to Earth
Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia

Our original discussion was in here
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Some books that were already mentioned :
Yemen: The Unknown Arabia
Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea
Princess
Yes, (Saudi) Minister! a Life in Administration
The Saudis: Inside The Desert Kingdom
Women and Words in Saudi Arabia: Politics of Literary Discourse
Changed Identities: The Challenge of the New Generation in Saudi Arabia
From Rags to Riches: A Story of Abu Dhabi
The Girl Who Fell to Earth

What about the novels in the poll?

Jalilah wrote: "What about the novels in the poll?"

the chosen novels will be discussed in separate threads , we will make them later .

The Girl Who Fell To Earth looks good and also is available through my library.

Sue wrote: "The Girl Who Fell To Earth looks good and also is available through my library."

Great , Kate has just finished and recommended it .

I have the Yemen book by Tim Macintosh Smith (with the other subtitle) and will read it.

The Girl Who Fell to Earth is a quick read, but I couldn't put it down. My home is close to the author's American home so I felt quite connected to it. I'll wait to discuss it when others do.

Kate wrote: "I have the Yemen book by Tim Macintosh Smith (with the other subtitle) and will read it.

The Girl Who Fell to Earth is a quick read, but I couldn't put it down. My home is close to the author's A..."

Great Kate :)
So far two different books to be discussed , I am glad !

The Girl Who Fell to Earth is a quick read, but I couldn't put it down. My home is close to the author's A..."

I would like to read that one too ! I don't think I have time to re-read Tim Macintosh Smith at the moment, but I'll definitely join in on the discussion!

i read Motoring with Mohammed a long time ago and remember enjoying it.

I'm looking for a copy of Motoring with Mohammed. I'm intrigued by Yemen, probably because it's an unknown and impossible destination for a western woman. Has anybody, man or woman, on the list been there?

Kate wrote: "I'm looking for a copy of Motoring with Mohammed. I'm intrigued by Yemen, probably because it's an unknown and impossible destination for a western woman. Has anybody, man or woman, on the list bee..."

Well, now is not a good time to travel there, but I know several woman who did a few years back and they had no problems. As long as you abide certain rules you are ok. I was there with my husband from '96-99 and loved it. Yemen is like no place on Earth!

Jalilah, I hope that things get better and that I'm still here when it does.

Anyone will read any other books ?

I will read A Land Without Yasmine, The a Girl who fell to Earth and Wolves of the Crescent Moon. I don't have time to read anything else now, but as I have already read Motoring with Mohamed and the Mackintosh Smith book, I will still join in discussing them.

I need to check the public library for these books. Hopefully I can get at least one easily this week.

My husband went to Yemen in 1996. I didn't go with him (we were in college at the time). It's one of my biggest regrets.

Oh--I never finished Inside the Kingdom when we were reading it before. I own a copy. Now would be a good time to finish it! :)

Jalilah wrote: "I will read A Land Without Yasmine, The a Girl who fell to Earth and Wolves of the Crescent Moon. I don't have time to read anything else now, but as I have already read Motoring with Mohamed and t..."

:)

Marieke wrote: "Oh--I never finished Inside the Kingdom when we were reading it before. I own a copy. Now would be a good time to finish it! :)"

I did not finish Inside the Kingdom: Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists, and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia either ! I will try to finish it this time too !

I just finished reading The Girl Who Fell to Earth and wrote a brief review of it. I intend to write something about "Tawq al-yaasmiin" before tooooo long...

Melanie wrote: "I just finished reading The Girl Who Fell to Earth and wrote a brief review of it. I intend to write something about "Tawq al-yaasmiin" before tooooo long..."

Waiting to hear from you about both :)


** Anyone started to read any related books ?

I have The Girl Who Fell to Earth but haven't been able to start it yet.Hopefully soon.

I am reading A Land Without Jasmine now and have ordered The Girl Who Fell to Earth and Wolves of the Crescent Moon

I have The Girl Who Fell to Earth but haven't started and I plan to finish Inside the Desert Kingdom, but have not yet taken it back up.

it seems " The Girl Who Fell to Earth "will have a discussion soon :) ...I will highlight it .

I really liked A Land Without Jasmine and I think others who read did too. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I hope more of you join in!

Nile daughter wrote: "it seems " The Girl Who Fell to Earth "will have a discussion soon :) ...I will highlight it ."

I looked but can't find the discussion. Has it started yet?

Sorry ....it will be here , I just marked it as currently reading on the group page .

I hope some of you join me reading Wolves of the Crescent Moon. It is an interesting novel!

Jalilah,I am still trying to get the book...

But I did read the girl who fell to earth and enjoyed it and am game to discuss with others. :)

Marieke wrote: "Jalilah,I am still trying to get the book...

But I did read the girl who fell to earth and enjoyed it and am game to discuss with others. :)"

I"m about 1/3 through and find it interesting. Definitely much to discuss and I should be finished soon.

Marieke wrote: "Jalilah,I am still trying to get the book...

But I did read the girl who fell to earth and enjoyed it and am game to discuss with others. :)"

Luckily, my library had Wolves of the Crescent Moon. It did not have The Girl Who Fell to Earth, but I could not resist buying it. It looked so good! So I will join in on that discussion as well. However I won't have time before a few weeks.

Looking forward hearing your thoughts ?

Good news! Yesterday I was told that neither copy of Wolves was available (both missing) but today I got an email saying they had been located so now I have a copy!

I finished The Girl Who Fell to Earth yesterday. Not sure where to put it, so I'm putting a link to my review here.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sue wrote: "I finished The Girl Who Fell to Earth yesterday. Not sure where to put it, so I'm putting a link to my review here.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Interesting review Sue as the book I see !

So how everyone is doing ?

Now I have to find my copy of Leo Africanus! It's around here somewhere...I remember ordering it from Amazon but it's hiding on one of my shelves.

Found it--hiding in plain sight, of course!

I am hoping to start The a Girl Who Fell to Earth next week.
Is there going to be a thread?

Jalilah wrote: "I am hoping to start The a Girl Who Fell to Earth next week.
Is there going to be a thread?"

Great :) the discussion will be here .

Nile daughter wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "I am hoping to start The a Girl Who Fell to Earth
Great :) the discussion will be here ."

I just finished The Girl Who Fell to Earth and really liked it!
Here is my review which I just wrote now. I am very tired and Jet lagged, so I hope there are not too many typos!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Re: the girl Who a fell to Earth, I am curious about the term "Boyah" used on page 134. Does anyone know if this term for a tomboy or boyish girl is widely used in the Gulf States. I lived 3 years in Yemen, but never heard of anything similar. I also never experienced or even heard of a costume party as Al-Maria describes her female family members doing.
Anyone know more about this?

i think i had a similar reaction to the book, Jalilah...it wasn't a perfect book, but i agree it's more of a coming-of-age/reconciliation-between-cultures type of book, rather than a memoir-memoir.

the author is a filmmaker, right? so i like how you noted that many passages could be easily imagined as scenes from a film. i also admired how honest she was about her frustrations with her family.

i don't know the answer to your question about "boyah," though....

I never heard the term (boya) before , here is what I found in Arabic :بويه
http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D...

It means a woman who acts like a man (cloths , walking , habits...) and sexually probably lesbian .

Nile daughter wrote: "I never heard the term (boya) before , here is what I found in Arabic :بويه
http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D...

It means a woman who acts like a man (cloths , walking , habits......"

That is what Al-Maria says in her book, but it had never heard that term. She also spoke about how she had heard about the phenomenon of these women bullying other students and harassing professors at the university, which surprised me!

Jalilah wrote: "Nile daughter wrote: "I never heard the term (boya) before , here is what I found in Arabic :بويه
http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D...

It means a woman who acts like a man (cloths..."

All the topics I came across talking about this term were Saudi , I think it is a Khaligi term .