MENA Book Club

[chaishai 1]

I love to read MENA related books, especially fiction/literature (ie Paul Bowles)....

I am looking for more reading material, what are your favorites? What are you reading now?

[ya falaha! 0]

Not MENA really but having to do with similar culture...The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

Egypt related...I'm Happier to Know You by Jeanne M. Eck and Fatwa:Living With a Death Threat by Jacky Trevane (I heard this is a good one but haven't read it yet...waiting for my copy to be shipped in 6 weeks)

[~~~water~~~ 0]

The map of love- Adhaf souief

Palace walk - Naugib Mafooz

A trade like any other - (history of femle singers and dancers in egypt)

[allousa 1]

A couple of recommendations:

The Caliph's House - Tahir Shah

The Lemon Tree - Sandy Tolan

[sara535 15]

there are some really great books coming out of Iran culture (probably immigrants) these days, I really enjoyed The Saffron Kitchen by Yasmin Crowther and I just started another one called The BLood of Flowers but I cant remember right now who wrote it.

I love Paul Bowles, and those Khaled Hosseini books are AWESOME.

[MarocAmer 0]

STANDING ALONE by Asra Q. Nomani; An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam.

This is an excellent read!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

"From Beirut To Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman.

It's an older book but he really has his thumb on the pulse of MENA politics.

[sara535 15]

"From Beirut To Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman.

It's an older book but he really has his thumb on the pulse of MENA politics.

oooh I LOVE this book, Friedman is so cool. I also really enjoyed Longitudes and Attitudes, did you read it?

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

"From Beirut To Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman.

It's an older book but he really has his thumb on the pulse of MENA politics.

oooh I LOVE this book, Friedman is so cool. I also really enjoyed Longitudes and Attitudes, did you read it?

I just saw it at the book store this morning actually so it's funny you mention it!

[doodlebug 3]

"From Beirut To Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman.

It's an older book but he really has his thumb on the pulse of MENA politics.

oooh I LOVE this book, Friedman is so cool. I also really enjoyed Longitudes and Attitudes, did you read it?

Jimmy Buffet wrote a book?

[allousa 1]

I'm currently reading "The Great War for Civilization" by Robert Fisk. It's a MONSTER of a book. There is so much information, I'm only reading a couple of chapters at a time and then taking a break. The book chronicles the history of the last half century of conflict in MENA.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I'm currently reading "The Great War for Civilization" by Robert Fisk. It's a MONSTER of a book. There is so much information, I'm only reading a couple of chapters at a time and then taking a break. The book chronicles the history of the last half century of conflict in MENA.

Sweet! I'm putting that one on my list!

[mybackpages 0]

I can't say I love Paul Bowles.

Oh I definatly think he writes beautifully. I think he loves the north african landscape. One of his essays on the saraha was simply one of the finest pieces of literature I have ever read.

BUT I can;t get pass his imperialistic views of the locals. He writes with a great deal of arrogance and ignorance when describing the Arab and berber characters in his work. I know he was writing at a time when these imperialistic views were dominant and i can accept them for what they are- a product of a time that I would not want to go back to.

[mybackpages 0]

The Caliph's House - Tahir Shah

I had so much fun reading this book and restoring my own iyad LOL The jinns stuff just cracked me up. Poor guy didn't know what was happening to him buying a house and expatriating yourself to Morocco.

[allousa 1]

The Caliph's House - Tahir Shah

I had so much fun reading this book and restoring my own iyad LOL The jinns stuff just cracked me up. Poor guy didn't know what was happening to him buying a house and expatriating yourself to Morocco.

I had so much fun too reading this book! Even though Morocco is not my native country, there are many things about Morocco that are very dear to me. This book brought alive so many memories and feelings. I have recommended this book to all of my friends.

ALSO, I was enjoying the book so much that I decided to email the author. I sent a quick note about how wonderful the book was and what it meant to me. I never thought I would get a response, but I did. We sent a couple of emails back and forth. It's a GREAT book!