This is a running list of the group reads happening at MENA on Goodreads.
For the latest updates, check the MENA Lit Group page!
2023
- The Night Will Have Its Say by Ibrahim al-Koni (Jan.-Mar. Rasha)
- The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber (Apr.-Jun. Melanie)
- Open Non-Fiction Read (Jul.-Sep. I’m reading Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller by Nadia Wassef)
- Oct.-Dec. | If it is available in English translation (by Sawad Hussain) by then, The Djinn’s Apple (Ar. تفاح الجن) by Jamila Mourani. You can read an excerpt here:
https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/…
You can read about the book here:
https://arablit.org/2018/01/23/why-dj…
Other potential future group reads: Chelsea Abdallah, The Stardust Thief; Michael Lukas, The Last Watchman of Old Cairo; Starstruck by Sarafina Nance (pub. date June 2023)
For the following, the Group Discussion has ended
but the conversation is always open to new contributions
2022
- Sons of the People by Reem Bassiouney (Jan.-Feb. Melanie)
- Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela (Mar.-Apr. Niledaughter)
- The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (May-June Melanie)
- Stealth by Sonallah Ibrahim (July-Aug. Marcia)
- The Night Will Have Its Say (Sep.-Oct. Niledaughter – skipped, perhaps in 2023)
- Jokha Alharthi (Celestial Bodies and Bitter Orange Tree) (Nov.-Dec. Niledaughter/Marcia)
2021
- Flight Against Time by Emily Nasrallah (Jan.-Feb. Melanie)
- Women without Men (Mar.-Apr. Niledaughter)
- A Border Passage by Leila Ahmed (May-June Melanie)
- Granada by Radwa Ashour (July-Aug. Marcia)
- For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri (Sep.-Oct. Niledaughter)
- The Book Smuggler by Omaima Al-Khamis (Nov.-Dec. Melanie)
2020
1. The Seven Days of Man (January-March)
2. The Quarter (April-June)
3. An Apartment Called Freedom (July-September)
4. Travels with a Tangerine: A Journey in the Footnotes of Ibn Battutah (October-December)
2019
Jan. In the Name of Identity Amin Maalouf (Eileen)
Feb. Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood Justin Marozzi (Tamara)
Mar. Always Coca-Cola Alexandra Chreiteh (Melanie and M. Lynx Qualey)
Apr. (Topic: Beirut)
May (Topic: MENA Historical Figures) – I’m leading a discussion of The Architect’s Apprentice starting May 7. Anyone interested can contribute to our earlier discussion of the same book here.
June (Topic: Cairo) and Embrace on the Brooklyn Bridge by Ezzedine Fishere (Melanie)
July Mhani Alaoui Books (Melanie)
Aug. (Topic: Isfahan/Shiraz)
Sep. (Topic: Feminism)
Oct. (Topic: Istanbul)
Nov. (Topic: Fantasy & Folktales)
Dec. (Topic: Jerusalem)
2018
Jan. 15 – Mar. 1 North Africa The Open Door, Latifa Zayyat (Melanie leading) Goodreads discussion here, my post of related resources here
Mar. 1 – Apr. 30 North Africa Horses of God, Mahi Binebine (Carol leading)
May 1 – Jun. 30 Special Read: 101 Nights, Bruce Fudge (Melanie leading)
Jun. 15 – Jul. 31 The Levant (Al -Sham) Code Name: Butterfly, Ahlam Bsharat (Marcia leading)
Jul. 15 – Aug. 31 Arabian Peninsula (#1) The Green Bicyle by Haifaa al Mansour (Melanie leading)
Aug. 15 – Sep. 30 History Book A History of the Arab Peoples by Albert Hourani (Nile Daughter leading)
Sep. 15 – Oct. 31 Vertigo event (Marcia leading)
Oct. 15 – Nov. 30 Iran / Turkey #1 – Three Daughters of Eve (Lila leading)
Nov. 30 – Dec. 31 Iran / Turkey #2 – Refuge by Dina Nayeri (Eileen leading)