Middle East/North African Lit discussion
Let us get to know each other :)
Jalilah wrote: "Welcome everyone! I just looked Cities of Salt and it looks like Abdul Rahman Munif only wrote in Arabic. Is this correct? On Goodreads I could not find anything in English.
Amin Maalouf is ex..."
Munif just wrote in Arabic as far as I know, but you can find translations of his works in English. Here's Cities of Salt on goodereads (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27...), and the amazon page if you want to buy it in English (http://www.amazon.com/Cities-Salt-Abd...)
Jalilah wrote: "Welcome everyone! I just looked Cities of Salt and it looks like Abdul Rahman Munif only wrote in Arabic. Is this correct? On Goodreads I could not find anything in English."
On the author's page, at the list of book titles, on the same line as the red star ratings you will see the number of editions noted. If you click on "9 editions", a list of all the language editions of that book are displayed.
For example, at http://www.goodreads.com/work/edition... or http://www.goodreads.com/work/edition... you will find the English translations of these titles.
Hello, My name is Laith Taher, I am a novelist and a medical doctor
I Wrote a novel called " AlAbeyon" which was published on Feb of this year by Arab scientific Publishers it is a historical fantasy novel about a war between a king and a clan that refuses to submit to him
I would like that you read my novel and tell me your opinions
Do not hesitate to communicate with me through this website or through facebook and twitter, which will be very nice
Hi, I'm from the U.S. I had opportunity to travel just a little in the Middle East, but wish I had a lifetime to do so. I've always been interested in Middle Eastern cultural and political issues, and appreciate writings from Middle Eastern authors. I'm reading Essential Rumi, and it is blowing my horizons wide open. Well, I'm nobody special, and have nothing special to say, so I'll just sit back and see what people here are reading and hopefully be instructed and led to some great writings. Peace to all, Bob
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your introduction is already special :) I hope you will like it here and get what you are looking for , if you need any help we are here do not hesitate to ask !
Salam Mohamed,
Thanks :) I am glad you joined us , so go ahead , explore our group and share your thoughts with us !
Thank you so very much. I look forward to learning so much more about your culture and literature. Bob
Welcome Paul (I'm late, I know)Glad that there are other Belgians in the group.
Hello all!I am Sajjad, a student of physics from Iran.
I am interested in history,literature and culture of both middle east and Africa.
I guess this group will be amazing to me!
:)
Have fun!
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welcome Sajjad . hope you will like it here with us :)
Welcome to the group Sajjad! From your intrests it sounds like your in the right place. :)
Hello,i'm Mahdia from Algeria just finished my studies (chemical engineering)i love reading but i dont do it often hope joining this group will help me :)
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Ahlan (Hi),I'm Martina. I'm from Italy but I live in Slovenia. I do work with ethnic minotiries and migrants and I'm currently learning Arabic. I'm interested in Middle-Eastern Arabic and Indian literature. I read a lot of books written by authors from that zone and I love to hear about writers I didn't know before. :)
I also try to make Arab culture more known as I give a lot of importance to understandment and knowledge as tools to fight stereotypes and conflicts.
I hope I'll find some great book recomendations here. :)
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One idea I've had might appeal to you...I learned Arabic through study, and I also teach Arabic. So I thought of reading a text with other learners of Arabic that would be accessible for students of Arabic, or even a parallel translation. It would also be great practice for students to post their comments in Arabic. Here are some potential books:
1) A Bit of Air, parallel translation of short poems
http://www.amazon.com/Emerging-Voices...
حبة هوا
2) The Open Door, Egyptian novel الباب المفتوح, includes free PDF in Arabic
3) There's also a nice set of short essays by Emily Nasrallah from Lebanon في البال
And if you're not interested in this idea, that's fine too of course. We're very happy to have you here :)
Thanks Melanie,I'm a beginner in Arabic so it would take me some time to reach the required level to read Arabic full texts or writing decent comments in Arabic. I would be happy to join you in the future :)
I have found a book, Nouvelles arabes du Maghreb, which is dual-languaged Arabic and French. I'm improving my French first, then my Arabic, and then I'll come back here to you :).
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hope you will like it here with us :D
Do not worry about speaking Arabic , since our discussions here are in English you can join at any point .
Hello, I'm Jenny and I belong to too many world literature themed GoodReads groups!(Hi, Jenny.)
I recognize a lot of you. Marieke pointed me toward this group, which I'm grateful for, because I read a lot of Turkish lit in 2013 and can't give it up yet! I also like to cook in the countries I'm reading, so I hope nobody minds if I post a bit about that.
I will poke around to see what I still have to read for Iran, Iraq, and Turkey at home and work on making my list and shelf. I'm looking forward to 2014!
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Jenny, definitely post about food!
Marieke, I am already here. I just had way too many groups to focus on, and now I've worked on that and have come back here. So in a way, I was saying "I'm here again" instead of "Here I am" :).
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oh, good! my memory isn't sooo terrible then. :)
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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !
Happy New Year to you, Nile daughter!
Jenny: I've been "cooking Iran" a lot these past two years, so if you are looking for book or blog references, I'll be delighted to help you!
Jenny: I've been "cooking Iran" a lot these past two years, so if you are looking for book or blog references, I'll be delighted to help you!
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Here is the group kitchenette :D
Please ... please revive it !
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Hello, I'm from Vancouver, Canada. I love travelling and reading any story set in the Middle East and Africa so figure I'll get some good ideas here.
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Hello - I am English and live in Oxford. I have no connections whatsoever to the Middle East but am fascinated by it and elements of what I have read about keep creeping in to my writing. I wanted to sit and listen to you all, if that's OK, and pick up some recommendations for reading and generally get a feel for all the ways you see yourselves and the regions you come from.
For my part, the book that has gripped me the most recently which was about ancient Arabia was "Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet" by Karen Armstrong. I found it clear, illuminating and a great page-turner. It told taught me more simply about the origins of Islam than anything else I've read. Fascinating.
I'd like though to read some books about everyday life in the present in the Middle East, so look forward to recommendations and hearing you all talk.
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I think you are in the right place :) and feel free to share your thoughts with us as well , this group is international ; members are from everywhere , even the moderation team .
I want to read for Karen Armstrong but did not have a chance yet , hope to be able to do that soon !
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Karen Armstrong is great. I especially loved her memoir "The Spiral Staircase" (I think that is te title; apologies: I'm on my phone and can't link)
It really helped me understand her own relationship with religion and why she is able to write about various religions the way she does. I also enjoyed her biography of Muhammad. :)
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I am so thrilled I've found this group (I've been secretly looking for so long!) You can call me Ara, the name given to me by my beloved significant other, and also my pen name. Middle Eastern authors tend to be my favorite and I obsess over finding anything written about the Middle East or by an author from the region. There's something about the language used by a Middle Eastern writer that is so beautiful and poetic; I can only aspire to be so eloquent. I sincerely hope to find many suggestions for new reads and new friends who understand my passion for this beautiful region and it's awe-inspiring writers.
Welcome Ara, you're definitely in the right place!
Marieke wrote: "Welcome Diane!Karen Armstrong is great. I especially loved her memoir "The Spiral Staircase" (I think that is te title; apologies: I'm on my phone and can't link)
It really helped me understand ..."
Marieke wrote: "Welcome Diane!
Karen Armstrong is great. I especially loved her memoir "The Spiral Staircase" (I think that is te title; apologies: I'm on my phone and can't link)
It really helped me understand ..."
Hi Marieke - I haven't read The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness but sounds really interesting. My first Karen Armstrong book was an old paperback my mum had when I was at school, which was Through the Narrow Gate, Revised: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery. I read it and was kind of horrified by it, but it was certainly incredibly well-written.
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Diane, indeed...i think the memoir you read was her first one (I haven't read it). She wrote The Spiral Staircase when she was much older and had lived and come to terms with some things. I really recommend it. :)
although it looks like she revised her early one...hm.
ETA: or the Narrow Gate is just...a focus on her life in the convent, but the Spiral Staircase is about more things...
i am now very curious about how the two compare.
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Thank you so much! I'm glad I found you guys as well!
Hi everyone. Back after a gap when I had a not so good internet connection from Nigeria and then travelling elsewhere in Agrica, then back home to the UK to sell up and buy a new home and begin a retired and not working life! Now therefore with much more time to read! I have decided to join the Iran, Iraq and Turkey challenge as I have for some time been meaning to read Pamuk Orhan so this is a great incentive. Hope to catch up with you all and to get back into the swing of things I have ordered House Of The Mosque and Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings from my new local library - no idea how long it will take for these to arrive but will be joining in.
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wow! congratulations on all that, Sheila! i'm a little jealous about your new-found reading time. ;)
when the government shut down this fall and i was unable to work, i discovered i will be very good at retirement. lol. :D
Tx Marieke, it is great to be at the point in time when it is possible to build a life one wants rather than the life one needs to have - self recreation part x :) I'm not buying new books (well they will be the exception rather than the rule) and will be dependent largely on what I can get through our library system and I have promised myself to read those already on my shelves :)
Middle East/North African Lit
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I just looked Cities of Salt and it looks like Abdul Rahman Munif only wrote in Arabic. Is this correct? On Goodreads I could not find anything in English.
Amin Maalouf is excellent. I love Leo Africanus