Middle East/North African Lit discussion

My name is Kate - 24 years old, American. I studied French in college and read quite a bit of Algerian, Moroccan, and Tunisian literature. I'd love to learn more about the region (and travel there one day soon!) and I'm always looking to expand the types of books I read.

Hello Kate , Hope you like it here , our stop in Algeria is about to be finished but you can check if any is interesting to you , we would love to have your comments :)

Our next one is Egypt :D

Hello All,

I'm Matthew and am very interested in Middle Eastern/N. African lit and perspectives. I am very interested in Islamic Culture, art and lit, too. Love North African and Eastern Mediterranean food. I'm from the States, currently living in the States. Some international living experience, mostly in francophone West Africa, but I had the opportunity to work for a few months in Riyadh some years ago. Looking forward to exploring the reading list and following interesting discussions.

Aside: Is this group considering Iran a part of the Middle East? From what I understand, most Iranians consider themselves to be unique, descendant form Persia, and not a part of the Middle East.

Hello Matthew , welcome and happy to have you with us :D

For your question , yes …Iran is part of the tour (we even considered –stan) countries , we divided the region into minor regions , you can check 2011 plan in here (we are about to start stage 2)
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

Hi my name is Katie and I live in the United States like many a love reading about the middle east about 10 years ago I took a middle east history class and was my first introduction to middle culture I would love to learn Arabic but haven't found the time. I have only read a few books set in the Middle East/ Africa and am interested in finding more good selections. The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland. I enjoyed this book a lot because I think you learn alot about new culture by learning there traditional tales.

Hello Katie : Glad to have you with us , I hope you will like it with us here , seems interesting book , I will check it , thanks :D

Katie wrote: " The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland. I enjoyed this book a lot because I think you learn alot about new culture by learning there traditional tales..."

Katie, welcome to the group. The book you mentioned does sound good. I'm adding it my list. I think our "cruise" gets to Afghanistan on the fifth stop but I'm not sure about the schedule.

Nile Daughter, maybe we could add it to the bookshelf? From the author info on Saira Shah, I see she is the daughter of an Afghan author but is an English-born journalist.

Done :)

Hi I am a Croatian/American author who grew up in the Sudan.I am also married to a half Egyptian half Sudanese man. I love that you have this group. One of my favorite books that has come out recently is 'Lyrics Alley' by Leila Aboulela. A wonderful story of a family in colonial Sudan faced by a tragedy. My fave North African book at the moment!

Hi Zvezdana,
We are discussing Lyrics Alley in our BG next week and I'm very excited because the author will be at out Lit Fest this weekend.
I already have my tickets to see her in discussion about book groups and in a personal interview.
It's the next book on my list to read.
Can't wait :)
DR

Welcome everyone who is new! and wow, again, so international! :D

DR you must report back to us...that sounds really exciting! now i feel like i want to add Lyrics Alley to my personal Sudan list for this cruise stop so that i read it right away...

Hello,
I'm happy to have found this group! I am an American expat living in Dubai, where I've lived for 10 years. I've been a big reader of Arabic literature for 20+ years. I look forward to sharing my interest with readers here. Also, I'm always on the lookout for new books from the region. Feel free to add me as a friend. Thanks!

Hi Holly,
I've invited you to be my friend but couldn't send you a message as you are set to not accepting messages.
Just wondered if you were going to Lit Fest this w/e?
And wanted to invite you to Kutub book group to discuss Arabic literature in English and Arabic.


Everyone else - who, sadly can't join us this w/e for out great weekend of literature, here's the link so you can see who's coming - and even suggest someone to see that I've missed!!??

http://www.emirateslitfest.com/

Welcome Holly! it seems like you'll have a lot to add to our various conversations around here. :D

DR--are you going to see Susan Abulhawa or Aminatta Forna by any chance? or Matt Rees?

omg there will be a lot of authors there...

Definitely Susan Abulhawa, I loved her book.
I think Aminatta Forna will also be in the discussion about Book Groups with Leila Abulela, so, yes.

Matt Rees, no, not my genre I'm afraid.
He was here last year too, must like Dubai :)

Very excited about seeing Greg Mortenson as well!

Hello Dubai reader,
I'm planning to attend the Lit fest.
Try to send me a private message now. I have re-set my settings. I'm fairly new at this website!
Holly

I'm planning to see Susan Abulhawa. Have not read her book yet though. So many books to read!

DubaiReader wrote: "Hi Zvezdana,
We are discussing Lyrics Alley in our BG next week and I'm very excited because the author will be at out Lit Fest this weekend.
I already have my tickets to see her in discussion abou..."

DR, I am confident you will enjoy reading "Lyrics Alley"! its an easy read but the characters linger around and stay close to heart.
It made me long for stories my grandfather shared on Egypt in the 50's!

Holly wrote: "I'm planning to see Susan Abulhawa. Have not read her book yet though. So many books to read!"

Hi Holly!
Nice to meet you!!

I'm Hiba from the UAE, though I have Egyptian, Turkish and Saudi blood too :p - A true cocktail.

Dont worry, you arent alone. I am going to Susan Abulhawa too but havent read "Mornings in Jenin" yet.
I plan on starting it tomorrow and fingers crossed will finish it just in time!

Let the festival begin!

Have a great day!

Hiba,
Nice to meet you.
Enjoy the Festival & Happy Reading!!
Holly

Welcome Zvezdana (wow ..what a background!) , also anther warm welcome to Holly .Hiba youhave a marvelous cocktail :D I hope you will both like it here .

DR and Hiba I hope you can share us with your thoughts about Lyrics Alley when you finish it in the side reads section -if you have time , it can be very interesting , I was always curious myself about Leila Abulela but could not decide which book to read !

For all Dubai inhabitants Enjoy the Festival !

Ala here, Nice to meet you guys! xx

Welcome Ala , nice to meet you too! :D

Hi all!
Love the chat above!
I will be going to Leila Aboulela's Friday session at 4:30 and maybe can see some of you there?
Since I don't know what you look like(except for Holly:) please say hi if you see me.
Nile Daughter, I love your name since I also grew up by the Nile, a farm in fact. My second homeland is Sudan since my stepfather is Sudanese:)
Please read Minaret also by Leila, a story of a young girl from Sudan who struggles through political, familial and personal upheaveal.
Nice to be part of the group!

Well, I live right here in Toronto, Canada - was born in the east end of the city - yeah . . . I'm a Beacher!

Moved out to the west end in 1987 and have been here since.

I did spend 4 to 5 years in Orangeville, Ontario - mid 70's - we had a photography studio out there when the kids were little.

And about 6 months in Ottawa, 3 in Belleville - on what you might call a 'research' assignment. It served to boot the restless urge to travel, at the time, but I was sure glad to see the lights of my own town when I came home.

I've traveled very little - I dearly want to drag my feet down all the dusty roads of India, but I guess I'll settle for the travelin' I do right here at my computer . . . cheaper and I don't have to worry about getting sick somewhere.

Jeff wouldn't go anywhere near the middle east in these days of trouble, or Africa - eeek! And I'm not going without him . . . so . . .

Click here to my travel forum at Wild City - you'll see where I'm working my way through the waterfalls of the whole world. Right now, I'm doing all the provinces of India . . .

http://wildcity.proboards.com/index.c...

Yeah - you'll see me there - Carly and Mojo - Mojo's my muse. And Jeff . . . that guy - he wouldn't leave so I married him. That was way back in 1989. We're still together, so I guess we're happily married - too lazy to pack - ha ha!

What else can I tell you? That I love this book club? Yeahhhh . . . you bet I do - it's right down my alley!

And I read a lot - when you click on my travel forums, go to the home page to find my books n' movies - you'll see I keep busy with audios and text versions.

I write too. I used to keep writing forums at WC, but am no longer in the zone for leading 'groups'.

That's enough about me.

Yeah - I like the name Nile Daughter too.


You never know.

You never know what? Sorry - I didn't complete that thought. You never know what the future holds - I'm 67 now, have a problem with walking due to childhood polio, deterioration of the limb, etc. But I can get from point a to point b without mishap, as long as I'm cautious.

I recently purchased a power assisted trike! That was last summer - 1700 bucks! Worth it though - haven't got a lot of mileage on it yet, but I intend to get the money's worth out of it this spring and summer.

Right now, it's rain, cold, damp - all of that misery and I'd think twice about walking to the corner if I didn't have Jeff to drive me.

Haven't renewed my licence and don't intend to - I find traffic in Toronto horrendous and do not have the confidence to drive unless there's absolutely no one on the road.

So for me, it's Jeff and the Saturn SUV, the odd taxi and if I absolutely have to the Red Rocket and the subway - which I hate with a passion.

I did say that's enough about me, but as you'll soon find out, I never stop talking.

;-)

You never know what? Sorry - I didn't complete that thought. You never know what the future holds - I'm 67 now, have a problem with walking due to childhood polio, deterioration of the limb, etc. But I can get from point a to point b without mishap, as long as I'm cautious.

I recently purchased a power assisted trike! That was last summer - 1700 bucks! Worth it though - haven't got a lot of mileage on it yet, but I intend to get the money's worth out of it this spring and summer.

Right now, it's rain, cold, damp - all of that misery and I'd think twice about walking to the corner if I didn't have Jeff to drive me.

Haven't renewed my licence and don't intend to - I find traffic in Toronto horrendous and do not have the confidence to drive unless there's absolutely no one on the road.

So for me, it's Jeff and the Saturn SUV, the odd taxi and if I absolutely have to the Red Rocket and the subway - which I hate with a passion.

I did say that's enough about me, but as you'll soon find out, I never stop talking.

;-)

Ruby, I asked you privately to delete the duplicate posts on your own. You requested that I do it, and any future posts deemed inappropriate within the scope of this group. I also asked you to review the author guidelines that GR provides. This is the section I most want yourself (and other authors and translators wishing to promote their work here) to see:

joining groups
Goodreads hosts discussion groups for all sorts of topics and genres of literature. Join as many groups as you like, according to your interests, and join in the conversation to discuss your favorite books, authors, and genres of literature.

Once again, posting unsolicited and off-topic advertisements for your books in any discussion group is considered spam. Your posts will be deleted by group moderators, and/or reported to us for abuse.

If the other group members know you as an active contributing member of the group, you'll find that your messages will be much better received.

We will block members who refuse to cooperate.

Sorry. Correct me if I am wrong, but the way I understood the guidelines, we can do it in "introduce Yourself" section.
I receive messages from "Second Wind Publishing" and another subscriber on a daily basis promoting their products...
I will keep this warning in mind.

Ruby wrote: "Sorry. Correct me if I am wrong, but the way I understood the guidelines, we can do it in "introduce Yourself" section.
I receive messages from "Second Wind Publishing" and another subscriber on ..."

You already introduced it once. You can't re-introduce your book continually and repeatedly in this thread. This forum is not intended for author marketing.

DubaiReader wrote: "Hi Holly,
Just wondered if you were going to Lit Fest this w/e?

I had a really great weekend at the Emirates Festival of Literature in Dubai. Attended 11 sessions & met many authors. I also got to meet up with DubaiReader which was a lot of fun. I missed meeting Hiba though. I hope to join the Kutub book group in Dubai one day. Have a great week everyone & happy reading!!

Hello World!

I'm a undergraduate student here in Ohio [please don't attempt coming here, you'll regret it]. I'm majoring in Physics and Math with two minors in French Language and Russian Studies. Yes, you can't get any nerdier than that! However, when I'm not flaunting my intelligence I can be found reading or typing away on this site.

I decided to join this group while I was in my French 202 class this past quarter. Inbetween learning about plus-que-parfait and being forced to write compositions, we were glancing into the French influenced regions of North Africa. The amount of interest I had previously in such automaticall sky-rocketed! Up until that point, I never really gave a in-depth analysis of North Africa and gave even less attention to the Middle East [other than political of course].
I've read a huge range of books so far, but always looking for more. It's as if I crave knowledge, in any form and any subject. I'm hoping to get some intellectual insight on the group readings...perhaps picking out something that I previously overlooked.

Looking forward to hearing some of the groups comments and realizations :)

Holly wrote: "DubaiReader wrote: "Hi Holly,
Just wondered if you were going to Lit Fest this w/e?

I had a really great weekend at the Emirates Festival of Literature in Dubai. Attended 11 sessions & met many..."


Hi Holly!
Wasn't the literature festival just fabulous! I loved it! The sessions, conversations, atmosphere was all just amazing!
I got the chance to meet Dubai Reader but unfortunately didnt get the opportunity to see you. Hopefully we get to meet up if you will be attending the Kutub meeting scheduled April 4th :)
Have a great day!

Valerie wrote: "Hello World!

I'm a undergraduate student here in Ohio [please don't attempt coming here, you'll regret it]. I'm majoring in Physics and Math with two minors in French Language and Russian Studi..."

Wow , welcome on board :D I hope you will reach what you hope for here and I also we can have your comments around , feel free to explore the group .

Greetings.
There are a few pieces I wanted to read that I was interested in discussing. I see you have already started on Orientalism, but I was also interested in Nawal El Saadawi and Ibn Khaldun.

Hi Valerie and abclaret! welcome!

I'm glad you found us and Valerie, your course of studies is amazing. :D

and everyone in Dubai--i meant to set up a thread for discussing the festival...i'll do that now. we'd love to hear from anyone and everyone who attended. :D

Here is the thread i set up for the Dubai book festival.

tell us everything! :D

abclaret wrote: "Greetings.
There are a few pieces I wanted to read that I was interested in discussing. I see you have already started on Orientalism, but I was also interested in Nawal El Saadawi a..."

Hello abclaret , I hope you will like it in here :)
Ok , I added Ibn Khaldon introduction and two of Nawal's books to the bookshelves , feel free to add any more suggestions to book recommendations , or share your thoughts about orientalism with us :)

Marieke wrote: "Here is the thread i set up for the Dubai book festival.

tell us everything! :D"

I am waiting for that :D

Hi everyone, I am from the US and hope to expand my reading to authors from outside the US. Some books I have read in the past few years with a focus somewhere in the Middle East include In the land of invisible women, Minaret, Gardens of Water, Wandering Star.

What's the best way to get my feet wet here?

Hello Ardene ,
Welcome and I hope you will like it in here :)

We are having a tour across the region during 2011 , you can check it in here , we are still in stop (2) , but we started stop 3 (May / June)
Book recommendations , you can check it and polls will be out within a week .

we have three sections for book discussions : Formal or official chosen by polls , individual where everyone can share his own readings through the region , and references For heavy or scholar books (it seems we are spending this year struggling with Orientalism !


We also have other and side activities in the group , so pick the spot that suites you and go ahead :D

Hi Ardene and welcome! I think Nile Daughter has pretty much pointed everything out...i hope you find something that you like. :D

Thanks Marieke and Nile daughter! I will try to read and comment on one of the two choices this month (Yacoubian building or Season of migration to the north), and then jump in more fully in May/June.

Hello everyone. Though an Indian by birth, I was born and brought up in Bahrain. I returned to India a couple of years ago, only to feel completely out of place. I do have the occasional pangs of guilt about feeling homesick in my own country, but that's just the way it goes.

I have been a keen follower of Arabic literature for over a decade now, despite my many failed attempts at learning the language. Looking forward to some lively discussions here. Who knows, I may even find some inspiration to get my lazy self to learn the language.

Hello Cincinnatusc :) ...wow an Indian/Bahraini member , I love this group :D
I wish you will enjoy our group and luck learning learning Arabic , feel free to join any thread you like :)

BTW , here are the polls of our new stop :
http://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/41...

I am Irish and very interested in books set in Islamic countries in particular Afganistan I don't know why I just feel drawn to them. I have justed stared The Wasted Vigil. Does anyone have any recommendations

Hello everyone, Marhaba!
I'm so glad to find this group. I'm Canadian-American but I lived 20 years in the Middle East: 1 in Egypt, 10 in Beirut, 9 in Saudi Arabia--long ago in the 1960s-70s. Now I live in Kansas. I'm a reader, a writer, and a traveler. I wrote a novel--The Burning Veil--set in Saudi Arabia, and now am writing a new one set in Beirut and France. I like to hike and read.

Hello Eileen , Nice to have you with us :D
We will be visiting this region in (September / October) , but we started to add some books to the bookshelves if you want to check them . personally I want to read A Thousand Splendid Suns .


Hello Jean , that is very interesting ! very glad to have you with us :D I hope you will like it in here and share your thoughts and experiences with us !
BTW , only one year in Egypt , now I am jealous , you need to come back again :)

Hi Nile Daughter and Middle East/North Africa friends. Thank you for hte welcome. Looking forward to following.