MENA Book Club

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I haven't read those ones and I don't think they are on the list but I can add them for future reference.

ok so I finally got the books I ordered from amazon has anyone any interest in adding to the list: 1)The Fourth Queen by Debbie Taylor 2) Harem by Dora Levy Mossanen and 3) Seven Houses by Alev Lytle Croutier. Has anyone even read them?

I'll send you the link.

I finally saw this post right now! I did look for it last night but did not see it. Is it too late to get on this Oliva?

Thanks,

[/size]

Kewl! I'll get the link for you as well. My Husband joined the book club for the summer & some of the others did as well.

Can I get the link? I'll do it.

OT - Do most of your husband/fiance's read the same books that you read or is their reading not *there* yet?

[~Jackie~ 30]

Is the new book announcement tommorrow? I am giddy in anticipation!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Cute! Polls close on Saturday so it will be announced tomorrow. Hopefully everyone will finish voting! I still have several more books to add to the list for next year!

Is the new book announcement tommorrow? I am giddy in anticipation!

Edited May 16, 2008 by Olivia*

[Nita&Assaad 0]

humm I have it, but I can't find the book

it's somewhere in this mess...I will get back to you on the author... Another good one that I recommend to read is Pity the Nation: The Abduction of Lebanon

Nita

Woah! So I googled it to add a review to the database and find the author and there are more than one on the subject. Which author did you have in mind. I just picked one by I. Ishaq (Author), A. Guillaume (Translator) and added it to the non-fiction section of the database but let me know for sure if that is the right one.

Absolutely!

can we add for next reading the "life of mohammed" I think it would be very interesting to read!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I got all giddy reading some of these reviews on the new books you all suggested so I created another poll realizing we can change our votes at any time. Go ahead and vote away if you want to change your mind on something! Edited May 16, 2008 by Olivia*

[kitty loves moudi 0]

I got all giddy reading some of these reviews on the new books you all suggested so I created another poll realizing we can change our votes at any time. Go ahead and vote away if you want to change your mind on something!

Hi Olivia, I'd love to join your book club.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Awesome I'll send you the link via pm!

I got all giddy reading some of these reviews on the new books you all suggested so I created another poll realizing we can change our votes at any time. Go ahead and vote away if you want to change your mind on something!

Hi Olivia, I'd love to join your book club.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

This is a note to those of you that contacted me that you wished to join but have to sign up for a Yahoo account and haven't signed up for the group yet. There is still plenty of time to join and there is no obligation if you don't want to at this time. Here's what is going on in the meantime.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello to all the members of the MENA Summer Book Club!

It's Saturday and the polls have closed and the results are in!!!

I've updated the databases with amount of pages per book and what

year they were published to give members some idea of relevance.

I've also cleaned up the message board and archived the older

messages in one file by books we've covered in the past. They are

now in the "Files" feature if you'd like to take a look. As we

complete each book I'll combine the thread for that book and archive

the file to keep the message boards clear and easy to follow.

Out of 23 members 15 voted. Taking the average from the amount of

pages each of you polled that you could cover a day I came up with

between 32-37 pages a day and I'm putting us between that number at

covering 35 pages a day. This means those of you that polled in the

lower numbers have to read a little more and those of you that polled

in the higher numbers have to read a little slower or you can read

ahead if you life.

Since this is the second go we've had at the book club and seeing how things worked before we're all still learning how members operate. In the meantime for the week of MAY 18- MAY 23 get your books and introduce yourselves on the message boards. Tell us all a little about yourself such as what is your likes and dislikes and what works for you and what doesn't work for you. What are your hopes for this book club, ect...

I've made a "tentative" schedule of the books we'll cover utilizing the "Calendar" feature for our group. If you look under "Calendar" by month you should have a good view to what is going on each day! Many of the books tied in the polls so those that tied in votes I places in alphabetical order and went from there.

As for the schedule we're going to take this in two parts. After the initial message board introductions or I like to call it "Roll Call" to the group and reporting if we got our books yet or not will come the first part of the book club reading session which begins on May 24th.

The first part is the duration of time before the 4th of July holiday. The second part, for those wishing to continue participation, comes after the 4th of July holiday with the summer book club closing on August 22nd. This is due to the fact I have to go back to college for the fall semester and I can't continue to moderate during my senior year.

If any of you wish to continue the book club for the fall at that

point please feel free to step in and send Amanda "Amera" or I a note that you'd like to become a moderator. Otherwise, my hope is the book club will remain on hold until the next summer where we can make it an annual event!

Also please remember that paticipation is encouraged. If you wish to

discontinue membership please shoot us a note or if you're taking a

vacation or whatever is going on and you're not able to participate

let us know so we don't wonder about you. You're always welcome back when you have the time!

Now for what you've all been waiting for!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The MENA Summer Book Club Line up is:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part I:

Your Top FIVE:

In First Place: with 7 votes

I'm Happier to Know You

By: Jeanne M. Eck

At 340 pgs. reading 35 pgs. & always rounding up a day we'd cover it

in a healthy 10 days.

Scheduled for: May 24-June 2

Final Discussion: June 3

In Second Place: with 7 votes

Women of Sand and Myrrh

By: Hanan al-Shaykh

At 280 pgs we'll cover it in 8 days.

Scheduled for: June 4-June 11

Final Discussion: June 12

In Third Place: with 6 votes

Zohra's Ladder: And Other Moroccan Tales

By: Pamela Windo

At 199 pages we'll cover it in 6 days.

Scheduled for: June 13-June 18

Final Discussion: June 19

In Fourth Place: with 5 votes

Fatwa:Living With a Death Threat

By: Jacky Trevane

At 256 pgs. we'll cover it in 8 days

Scheduled for: June 20-27

Final Discussion: June 28

In Fifth Place: with 5 votes

The Last Summer of Reason

By: Tahar Djaout

This is a delightful and easy read that comes right before the

holiday break. At 176 pages we'll cover it in 6 days but we're going

to take 9 days thanks to the 4th of July holiday and my Brother,

Zach, getting married! We're going out of town for the wedding and I

assume most of you will be celebrating in one form of another.

I'm scheduling two days for socializing and review when we get back

and regroup. At this time we reflect where we're all at and what

works for us and what doesn't work for us.

Scheduled: reading-June 29-July 2, break-July 3-July 5

Final Discussion/Reflect/Socialize: July 6-July 7.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Then back on track for those that want to continue thru August 22:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Part II:

The list continues!

In Sixth Place: with 5 votes.

The Saffron Kitchen

By: Yasmin Crowther

At 257 pgs. it will take 8 days to cover.

Scheduled: July 8-July 15

Final Discussion: July 16

In Seventh Place: with 4 votes

For Bread Alone

By: Mohamed Choukri

At 169 pgs. it will take 5 days to cover.

Scheduled: July 17-July 21

Final Discussion: July 22

In Eighth Place: with 4 votes.

Once in a Promised Land

By: Laila Halaby

At 352 pgs. it will take us 11 days to cover.

Scheduled: July 23-August 2

Final Discussion: August 3

In Ninth Place: with 4 votes.

Standing Alone: An American Women's Struggle for the Soul of Islam

Asra Q. Nomani

At 330 pg. it will take us 10 days to cover.

Scheduled: August 4-August 13

Final Discussion: August 14

In Tenth Place: with 4 votes.

Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail

By: Malika Oufkir

At 294 pages it will take 9 days to cover. This runs over the time

the book club closes and I go back to college. I offer we vote on if

we want to cover this book or not. Unfortunatly I will not be able

to moderate it or conduct a final discussion as I'm gearing up for

another semester. Since I know Amanda "Amera" has already read this

book maybe she will be willing to step in here?

Tentatively Scheduled: August 15-August 23

Final Discussion: August 24

Are you all ready to engage those brains!? Roll Call!!!

Olivia

[~Jackie~ 30]

I am over the moon impressed! and excited to be apart of this group!

Jackie

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I am glad. Apparently I was slipping in and out of coherency staying up all night working on this according to my Mom because of the errors in my post. So she helped edit it for me and we reposted it.

I am over the moon impressed! and excited to be apart of this group!

Jackie

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

We start reading the first book today!

I'm Happier to Know You

By: Jeanne M. Eck

At 340 pgs. reading 35 pgs. & always rounding up a day we'd cover it

in a healthy 10 days.

Scheduled for: May 31-June 10

Final Discussion: June 11

----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm back from McCall! We didn't get the first book yet but it's

scheduled to arrive June 1st! We did however get some of the other

books on the list while we were gone.

Do to group feedback I pushed the schedule back a week so people

could get their books. For those that got their books already there

was an early discussion this week.

Before I left I updated the "Calendar" feature on the left hand side

of this groups window. I made the default view 'monthly' so if you

click on "Calendar" you all are able to follow along and know what

book we're on and when the final discussion will be in the schedule.

I also knocked the last book off the list so we only have nine books

now. Remember the schedule is "tentative" and will be adjusted

according to group feedback on how the reading goes.

The group polled an average read of 35 pages a day, so try to achieve

that. Otherwise please post in this thread how many pages you're

reading a day and what comprehension level you feel the reading is

at. Don't be shy! Sometimes even I find a books level higher than

my comprehension level. That's why we have a book club to share and

understand the books.

For this book please feel free to continue your thoughts in reply to

this thread & final discussion and thoughts will be held as scheduled

posted above or you can find it on the "Calendar".

Oh! I also filed and cleaned up the message board. If you need to

refer back to something, older messages can be found in the "Files"

feature on the left hand side of this groups window. I will be doing

clean up and filing after each books completion to keep the message

board easier to read!

Happy Reading!

Olivia

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Well it's that time just before the 4th of July that I was telling you all about where we'd get a poll to decide to retire the book club early or finish the second half after the 4th of July. Please cast votes at the poll in the yahoo group.

Poll closes by July 11th or if 11 members (majority) casted their votes to make the decision for one or the other.

[~Jackie~ 30]

RETIRE the book club?????????????? I just got started! Just give us our assignments and keep going.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

RETIRE the book club?????????????? I just got started! Just give us our assignments and keep going.

Well there's a poll in the book club to see if members are going to retire it early or keep going this summer so go vote today if you haven't already. Majority wins!

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

We are on "The Saffron Kitchen" now and it's really good!

Oops wrong thread. lol