Middle East/North African Lit discussion

We would like to announce the general plan of 2018 :

1- 2018 MENA reading challenge
We will continue with the group challenge as we did last year , you can follow the discussion of the challenge options in 2018 Reading Challenge Suggestions .
**We can have group reads supporting the challenge during the year .

2- MENA mini regional tour
We tried to divide members’ recommendations from our previous discussion 2018 Brainstorm Into four main polls covering :

* North Africa (recommendation were from Morocco & Egypt)
Reading starting January 1st

* The Levant (Al -Sham)
Reading starting March 1st

* Arabian Peninsula
Reading starting June 1st

* Iran and Turkey
Reading starting September 1st

** During the three months period between each two main reads , members can have an extra group read from the region or for the challenge , or have a special read like ( medieval or a history book ) - approximately one month and half for the poll winner and one month and half for anther choice .

*Update : full year official group readings

Jan. 15 – Mar. 1 North Africa read (1) :
The Open Door by Latifa Zayyat

Mar. 1 – Apr. 30 North Africa read (2) :
Horses of Godby Mahi Binebine

May 1 – Jun. 30 Special Read:
A Hundred and One Nights translated by Bruce Fudge

Jun. 15 – Jul. 31 The Levant (Al -Sham)
Code Name: Butterfly by أحلام بشارات

Jul. 15 – Aug. 31 Arabian Peninsula
The Green Bicycle by Haifaa al Mansour

Aug. 15 to September 30 History book
A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani

Sep. 15 – Oct. 31 special event
Vertigo by أحمد مراد

Oct. 15 – Nov. 30 Iran / Turkey (read 1 )
cThree Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

Nov. 30 – Dec. 31 Iran / Turkey (read 1 )
Refuge by Dina Nayeri

Niledaughter wrote: "

We would like to announce the general plan of 2018 :

1- 2018 MENA reading challenge
We will continue with the group challenge as we did last year , you can follow the discussion of the challeng..."

It looks great Niledaughter! I'm looking forward to it!
As you mentioned I made a 2018 Challange based on everyone's suggestions and it is read to put up anytime! Shukran!

For a special read, we could read A Hundred and One Nights.

Note: This is not the most famous 1001 Nights (Alf layla wa-layla). This is a new edition of a similar story collection, 101 Nights (Miit layla wa-layla). For more on the difference between them, see this article on ArabLit :)

Several members expressed interest in reading it, but it might be hard to access a copy. I believe that I could find a copy and lead it if there is member interest. Would anyone join this read in 2018?

Melanie wrote: "For a special read, we could read A Hundred and One Nights.

Note: This is not the most famous 1001 Nights (Alf layla wa-layla). This is a new edition of a similar story collection..."

YES! I'm in for this one!

Melanie wrote: "For a special read, we could read A Hundred and One Nights.

Note: This is not the most famous 1001 Nights (Alf layla wa-layla). This is a new edition of a similar story collection..."

Yes.

Me, too. I'm in.

I'm.reading it now. I'll join you!
Also read this today and wanted to share : Tayeb Salih′s ″Season of Migration to the North″
A literary hall of mirrors
Described as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century by the Arab Literary Academy, Tayeb Salih's ″Season of Migration to the North″ was first published in 1966.
https://en.qantara.de/content/tayeb-s...

ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "I'm.reading it now. I'll join you!
Also read this today and wanted to share : Tayeb Salih′s ″Season of Migration to the North″
A literary hall of mirrors
Described as the most important Arab novel ..."

I read Season as a buddy read in January of this year and was glad to have done so. It's one that at least I got more out of for kicking it around with someone else along the way, as well as afterwards. Definitely a must-read.

I have it but haven't read it. Soon!

Lila wrote: "As you mentioned I made a 2018 Challange based on everyone's suggestions and it is read to put up anytime! Shukran!..."

Great Job! thank you so much , I will set it up as soon as I can :)

For Tayeb Salih′s ″Season of Migration to the North″ , we read it as a group read in 2011 in here

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

I t has been a while , I remember it was a confusing read for me .

I've read Seasons of Migration (and loved it) a few years ago.

I read it s few years ago, too. Gave it 5 stars

Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second place by 1 vote , anyone is interested in leading a discussion read for it in March and April ?

Niledaughter wrote: "Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second place by 1 vote , anyone is interest..."

I'll volunteer to lead the Horses discussion.

Carol wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second place by 1 vote..."

Great !

We will be also reading "A Hundred and One Nights " in May and June .

I intend to participate in the group read of The Open Door in January, and am interested in a buddy read of Daughters of Iraq if anyone else might be interested.

Ardene wrote: "I intend to participate in the group read of The Open Door in January, and am interested in a buddy read of Daughters of Iraq if anyone else might be interested."

Ardene, I'm interested in a buddy read of Daughters of Iraq too.

Ardene wrote: "I intend to participate in the group read of The Open Door in January, and am interested in a buddy read of Daughters of Iraq if anyone else might be interested."

I am interested, although I likely won't be able to start reading until late January. FYI, it's available for Kindle for $2.25.

You can open a thread for a buddy read in here "Cruise Salon / Buddy reads"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Since there is interest in "Daughters of Iraq" you may be intrested in checking this thread "Mizrahi Jewish Literature"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Niledaughter wrote: "You can open a thread for a buddy read in here "Cruise Salon / Buddy reads"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Since there is interest in "Daughters of Iraq" you may ..."

Thank you!

Carol: Late Jan suits me as well. Shall we read this Feb onwards?

Sofia wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "You can open a thread for a buddy read in here "Cruise Salon / Buddy reads"

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

Since there is interest in "Daught..."

Sounds good, Sofia.

Carol & Sofia- February will work for me; would work a bit better if we could start 10-15th. Would that be OK with you?

Thanks for the link to the Mizrahi Jewish lit thread Niledaughter, and the buddy thread. I'll set up a link for the buddy thread when I have access to a computer again.

Ardene wrote: "Carol & Sofia- February will work for me.

Thanks for the link to the Mizrahi Jewish lit thread Niledaughter, and the buddy thread. I'll set up a link for the buddy thread when I have access to a c..."

Excellent!

Ardene wrote: "Carol & Sofia- February will work for me; would work a bit better if we could start 10-15th. Would that be OK with you?

Thanks for the link to the Mizrahi Jewish lit thread Niledaughter, and the b..."
That works well for me!

Link for the Daughters of Iraq discussion Feb./March is here.

Poll 2 is over , we will be reading Code Name: Butterfly from June 15 to July 31 , 2018
Anyone is interested in leading the discussion ?

Niledaughter wrote: "Poll 2 is over , we will be reading Code Name: Butterfly from June 15 to July 31 , 2018
Anyone is interested in leading the discussion ?"

Niledaughter wrote: "Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second place by 1 vote , anyone is interest..."

Unfortunately my library does not have The Open Door or Code Name Butterfly, so I can't volunteer to lead the discussion for either of these books. I did request my library purchase them so, there is a chance I'll still be able to read them, but just can't commit.

How about Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak?
I already have a copy and would be willing to lead a discussion if enough people are interested.

@lila, I would be, any time after feb 18. I will find a copy. I’ve wanted to read Shafak for some time. Might as well be the latest one.

Lila wrote: "Unfortunately my library does not have The Open Door or Code Name Butterfly, so I can't volunteer to lead the discussion for either of these books. I did request my library purchase them so, there is a chance I'll still be able to read them, but just can't commit ..."

Do not worry dear , it is always pleasure to have you leading any discussion you can :) we are grateful for your effort .

as usual , You can open a thread for a buddy read in "Cruise Salon / Buddy reads" :)

Melanie will lead "The Open Door " and "A Hundred and One Nights "
Carol volunteered to lead "Horses of God " - thanks again :)

** Again , anyone is interested in leading "Code Name Butterfly" from June 15 to July 31 ?

Carol wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second place by 1 vote..."

My library has Horses of God so I'll join in in this discussion. I saw that there was also a movie made from this novel.

Niledaughter wrote: "Lila wrote: "Unfortunately my library does not have The Open Door or Code Name Butterfly, so I can't volunteer to lead the discussion for either of these books. I did request my library purchase th..."

Niledaughter, I can't see my way to June at the moment, but if you lack a discussion leader when we get closer, and I have the bandwidth to assist, I will.

Lila wrote: "Carol wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Poll (1) is over and poll (2) is on .
we will be reading The Open Door starting from January 15 .

Horses of God came in second p..."

I suspect the movie might be more than I can cope with, but am looking forward to reading the novel. If you watch it, let me know what you think. It's on Amazon Video and a couple of other streaming services. Thanks for reminding me I need to buy the book.

Carol wrote: "I suspect the movie might be more than I can cope with, but am looking forward to reading the novel. If you watch it, let me know what you think...."

I won't watch the movie until I read the book and to be honest, I'm not sure if I could cope with the subject matter in Horses of God. I voted for it because it was the only book on the poll that my library has.
I'm trying my best to limit the amount of books I buy. I did splurge and buy Three Daughters of Eve because I've loved everything I've read from Elif Shafak and I also bought The Moor's Account because the subject matter is of great interest to me.

Carol wrote: "Niledaughter, I can't see my way to June at the moment, but if you lack a discussion leader when we get closer, and I have the bandwidth to assist, I will...."

Thank you dear ! we are trying to arrange something , hopefully We will have a nice reading year in MENA :)

Press !! Join the GoodReads Book Club for Discussions of ‘The Open Door,’ ‘One Hundred and One Nights,’ and ‘Code Name: Butterfly’ – Arabic Literature (in English)
https://arablit.org/2018/01/13/join-t...

Thanks, Reem!

I enjoyed reading about you Melanie! More power to you!

Wow! How cool is that!

Awesome PR!

Do we have a discussion leader for The Open Door? If not, I'll volunteer. I opened my copy last night and the first chapter went by fast.

Thanks all. I’m looking forward to opening the discussion soon!

I just opened the Open Door discussion here (a little early because there's so much interest!) :)

Our 3rd poll (Arabian Peninsula) just ended. Apologies for the confusion with the write-in option. We won't include that feature in the next poll!

The book with the most votes is The Gardener of Baghdad (28 votes). Two books are tied for 2nd place: The Dove's Necklace and The Green Bicycle (11 votes each). The deciding factor will be member interest. Who is willing to lead a discussion of any one of these books this summer? (Note: The discussion leader cannot be the author of the book or a family member of the author.)

Just wanted to share this:

Cooking with Naguib Mahfouz
https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2...

Thanks, Reem!

Thank you everyone who participated in our polls to determine the 2018 group reads!

1. The winner of the Iran/Turkey poll is Three Daughters of Eve. Refuge is 2nd place. If there are volunteers for discussion leaders, we can schedule them both as group reads. Let us know if you are interested in leading (probably Oct. 15-Nov. 30 for Three Daughters of Eve - Lila want to lead? and Nov. 30-Dec. 31 for Refuge).

2. If no one volunteers to lead one of the top four books from the Arabian Peninsula poll by the end of February, then Melanie will volunteer to lead a discussion of The Green Bicycle (#4 in the poll) for our group read.

3. Finally, we are delighted to announce a first-time collaborative event with ArabLit.org! This September, we plan to feature a group read of Vertigo by Ahmed Mourad, a book that has been consistently high in our polls since last year. Marcia Lynx Qualey has arranged for Robin Moger, who translated the novel to English, to join in our discussion. She will be discussion leader, and will post the results in our Goodreads group and on Arablit.org. This political thriller is one of the most popular novels of the past decade in the Arab region. We hope you will all enjoy it and join in the discussion with the translator!

Melanie wrote: ". The winner of the Iran/Turkey poll is Three Daughters of Eve. Refuge is 2nd place. If there are volunteers for discussion leaders, we can schedule them both as group reads. Let us know if you are interested in leading (probably Oct. 15-Nov. 30 for Three Daughters of Eve - Lila want to lead?

Sure! I'm not the best discussion leader but I have loves Shafak's other novels and am looking forward to reading this new one!

I am #6 in line at the library for Three Daughters of Eve so it will be a while before I get it. But I plan to join in the group read if I'm not too late.

I also want to read The Bastard of Istanbul some time before then.