Middle East/North African Lit discussion

For three months we can have open discussions of non fiction books we read. We can share our ideas through our comments here.

Please tell us what do you want to read...

I will be reading Nile: Urban Histories on the Banks of a River.

I will keep you updated:)

My book for this read is Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller

My book is Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition

How is reading going? I am reading slowly

I finished Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. I enjoyed hearing (the audiobook version) Nadia Wassef's stories and experiences with founding the Diwan chain of bookstores in Cairo. Having lived in Cairo for a year (2004-2005), I was fond of browsing in Diwan locations. It was nice to hear about the success story of this business person and her colleagues and to hear more about the original vision. Of course, there were challenges in the author's life and in Egypt during the period she was discussing. And it was good to hear her perspectives on these as well. I think this book will be of interest to women, entrepreneurs, booksellers, and those interested in the book industry (especially in Egypt and Arab regions).

Thanks Melanie,
It seems a nice book, as a customer who has been dealing with Diwan for years, it is nice to know about the availability of such a biography!

I read a harsh review on the book page, I am wondering what you think about it?

I don’t know which you mean, but if you mean Myar’s 3-star review, it’s true that the author is socioeconomically located in the upper classes. I don’t think that invalidates the author’s perspectives. All of us are situated. As long as we are honest about our positions, it is up to others to learn from or disagree with our perspectives. It sounds like Myar would like to hear from booksellers from a variety of backgrounds. That would be great, but it’s beyond the scope of this one book.

Melanie wrote: "I don’t know which you mean, but if you mean Myar’s 3-star review, it’s true that the author is socioeconomically located in the upper classes. I don’t think that invalidates the author’s perspecti..."

Yes, I meant this review. Interesting!

Mona wrote: "My book is Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition"

How is going Mona?

It’s going a bit slow - and I do blame work - but I’m jotting down notes along the way! Will share some of anybody’s interested

If*

Sure, share what you like!
I will do the same.

I read Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh, around a month ago. It was a good read. I think i want to read more of his books before the year ends.

Zaina,
I read a part of this book a while ago. can't remember why I stopped or my copy went!

Zaina Arekat wrote: "I read Palestinian Walks: Forays into a Vanishing Landscape by Raja Shehadeh, around a month ago. It was a good read. I think i want to read more of his books before the year ends."

I just learned of Raja Shehadeh. A journalist on a podcast recommended Strangers in the House: Coming of Age in Occupied Palestine. It's on my wishlist now.

I just ordered The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi and intend to read it this month. It was also recommendation on the same podcast (the Ezra Klein Show).

Dear Jan. please keep us updated.
It has been a while since we read about this painful conflict.
I will try to link some old discussions to here.
I remember hearing about Rashid Khalidi when ( the iron cage) came out. I believe it made a fuss back then.

Niledaughter wrote: "Dear Jan. please keep us updated.
It has been a while since we read about this painful conflict.
I will try to link some old discussions to here.
I remember hearing about Rashid Khalidi when ( the ..."

Some books and discussions we did on the group about the conflict over the years:

Palestine and Israel: One State or Two?
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Palestine: Global Solidarity, Non-Violence, and the BDS Movement
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Nakba
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I Saw Ramallah - Mourid Barghout
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Fiction:
Morning in Jenin
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

A Tale of Love and Darkness
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Gate of the Sun
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Time of White Horses
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The Pessoptimist by Emile Habiby
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

To the End of the Land
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The lemon tree by Sandy Tolan
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

That is What I have reached so far....It has been a while.

I wanted to read Jerusalem: The Biography for a while but could not find the time to :(

I am currently reading The Hundred Year War on Palestine by Rashid Khalid. I ordered, They Call Me Lioness” which is the Ahed Tamimi story written by her and Noura Erekat.

Niledaughter wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Dear Jan. please keep us updated.
It has been a while since we read about this painful conflict.
I will try to link some old discussions to here.
I remember hearing about Rashi..."

Thank you for the discussion links and book recs, Niledaughter. I am not getting to this reading after all, but I am squeezing in a Krygyz novella at the moment. I have found so many great book ideas here... and expect to manage more MENA reading next year :)

I could be wrong but the book by Ahed Tamimi was co written by someone else, not Noura Arekat.

No, you're right, Zaina.

They Called Me a Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight for Freedom

Book by Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri

If anyone is interested, #Hammad23 #IsabellaHammad #EnterGhost will take place December 15th on X ( Twitter) and Bluesky if anyone would like to join us there.

Zaina Arekat wrote: "I could be wrong but the book by Ahed Tamimi was co written by someone else, not Noura Arekat."

You are right. There are so many authors and journalists I follow, I tend to confuse the names. But it is Dena Takruri and Dena co-authored it. It's primarily written by Ahed.

My apologies for the misinformation.

Noura Erakat wrote Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine and that on my TBR list, but I haven't purchased it yet, as I have 20 other books to read. lol

What also sits on my shelf is Arafat and the Dream of Palestine: . This is on my shelf and to go along with my non fiction reads about Palestine. It's written by Arafat's right hand man, Bassam Abu Sharif.

For a comprehensive approach to the subject, I recommend any of the books by Ilan Pappé. He has written several excellent books on the topic, including the following:

Ten Myths About Israel
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine
The Biggest Prison on Earth: A History of the Occupied Territories
A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples,
The Israel/Palestine Question: A Reader,
The Making of the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1947-1951

Tamara wrote: "For a comprehensive approach to the subject, I recommend any of the books by Ilan Pappé. He has written several excellent books on the topic, including the following:

[book:Ten Myt..."

Randa wrote: "I am currently reading The Hundred Year War on Palestine by Rashid Khalid. I ordered, They Call Me Lioness” which is the Ahed Tamimi story written by her and Noura Erekat."

I’ve been wanting to read many of these books!

So many books to read. So little time :(
I am glad we are sharing titles. It will be great if we can share our thoughts about any book we read as well.

For nonfiction I highly recommend Three Worlds: Memoir of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thank you for recommending this. I've put it on my TBR.