Welcome to the Middle East Reading Challenge!
*In the future, refer to the Middle East Challenge page (above) for all of these details (this is so that you don't have to bookmark this page). That is where I will update the book list
Why another reading challenge?
I hope we are all going to be exposed to interesting new topics, authors, and books over the next year. I am not Muslim, not Arab, and am not from the Middle East. However, over the past few years the Middle East has grown to play a greater role in the world, and, unfortunately, the information we hear is mostly negative. I hope that by reading books about this region we'll all gain a better understanding of the people and culture.
What do I consider the Middle East?
The Middle East is a nebulous term with each person defining it in a different way (it's also a very Euro-centric term so please forgive me for that). However I am going to use it for lack of a better way to define the area covered by this reading challenge. So, what is the Middle East? Traditionally it included only the countries in Asia plus Egypt. Some define it as countries with Arabic as the dominant language, while others say it is all Islamic countries. For the purposes of this challenge I am going to stick with the more traditional/geographic approach including the countries around the Arabian peninsula. I struggled about what to do with Turkey and have chosen to leave it out as they currently choose to be associated more with Europe. Likewise, I am not including the "stan" countries as they are culturally, linguistically, and ethnically different (and, officially, they are in Central Asia).
What books qualify for this reading challenge?
The author of the book may be from the countries listed below or the book can be set in one of the countries included in this challenge. Fiction, non-fiction, YA and Adult lit, graphic novels, audio books, books for other challenge... they all count.
There are no levels for this challenge, my hope is that we'll each read whatever number works for us, learning to appreciate and understand the Middle East more along the way.
What are the dates of the challenge?
The challenge will run August 1, 2010 through July 31, 2011 (I thought starting the challenge during Ramadan would be appropriate).
How do I sign up to participate?
Write an introductory post about what you hope to get out of this challenge, or why you are signing up, or what you know/feel about the Middle East, or something that relates to this challenge. If you want to list books you are going to read you may, but you certainly don't have to. Please include a link back to this post so that others who are interested can find it.
Add your name to Mr. Linky including a link to your introductory post. If you do not have a blog but would like to participate, email me at helen (at) helensbookblog (dot) com
Where do I post my reviews?
Please post your reviews on the designated review post. Thank you.
Suggested books and authors:
Please post your reviews on the designated review post. Thank you.
Suggested books and authors:
For each book I've linked to either my review, the author's website, Amazon, or an article about the book so that you can get an idea of the book. I would love your ideas of other books to include as my list is certainly not anywhere near complete!
Remember that books on Middle East leader, religions, and historical events also count.
General
General
- A great resource is the Arabic Literature Challenge, which lists books suggested by experts in Arabic literature (in translation)
- The Bahrain Conspiracy by Bentley Gates (suspense, mystery)
Egypt
- Arabian Nights
- The Butterfly Mosque by Willow Wilson
- Does My Head Look Big in This? (and other books) by Randa Abdel-Fattah (YA)
- Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell
- The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips
- Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I renounced Jihad for America, Israel and the War on Terror by Nonie Darwish
- Palace of Desire and Palace Walk or any other books by Naguib Mahfouz
- The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al-Aswany
Iran
- Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
- Arabian Nights
- The Ayatollah Begs to Differ by Hooman Majd
- The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani
- Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi
- Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Jazayeri Dumas
- Iran Awakening: A Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi
- Journey from the Land of No: A Girlhood Caught in Revolutionary Iran by Roya Hakakian
- Khomeini's Ghost by Con Coughlin
- Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran or Honeymoon in Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni
- Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iran by Jason Elliot
- Persepolis 1 and 2 by Marjane Satrapi (graphic novels)
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- Rooftops in Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
Iraq
- Baghdad Burning: A Girl Blog from Iraq and Baghdad Burning II by Riverbend
- Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam by Zainab Salbi
- Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees by Deborah Ellis
- Ghosts of War: the True Story of a 19-Year Old GI by Ryan Smithson
- Gilgamesh by Stephen Mitchell
- Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
- IraqiGirl: Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq by IraqiGirl
- Pride of Baghdad by Brian Vaughan (graphic novel)
- Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
- Shoot an Iraqi: Art, Life, and Resistance Under the Gun by Wafaa Bilal
- Sunrise Over Fallujah by Walter Dean Myers
Israel
- A Woman in Jerusalem and The Liberated Bride by A.B. Yehoshua
- Beaufort by Ron Leshem
- Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
- Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan (graphic novel)
- Exodus or The Haj by Leon Uris
- Freefall by Anna Levine
- How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
- The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
- The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis
- Matt Beynon Rees' books (Cain's Field, The Bethlehem Murders, and others)
- Mountolive by Lawrence Durrell
- Prince of Fire by Daniel Silva
- Samir and Yonatan by Daneilla Carmi
- The Secret Life of Saeed: The Pessoptimist by Emile Habiby
- Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence
- We Look Like the Enemy by Rachel Shabi
Jordan
- Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor of Jordan
- Murder in the Name of Honor by Rana Husseini
Kuwait
- Invasion Kuwait: An English Woman's Tale by Jehan S. Rajab
- The Rape of Kuwait: The True Story of Iraqi Atrocities Against a Civilian Population by Jean Sasson. Actually, Jean Sasson has many books on the Middle East
- Small Kingdoms by Anastasia Hobbet
- Women in Kuwait: the Politics of Gender by Haya Al-Mughni
Lebanon
- Beaufort by Ron Leshem
- Children of Jihad: A Young American's Travels Among the Youth of the Middle East by Jared Cohen
- Freefall by Anna Levine
- The Gate of the Sun or Yalo by Elias Khoury
Oman
- Mondays in the Middle East by David A. Cross
Palestine (Gaza Strip and West Bank)
- A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti
- Dawn by Elie Wiesel
- Day After Night: A Novel by Anita Diamant (she has other books as well)
- Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (she has other books as well)
- The Gate of the Sun or Yalo by Elias Khoury
- Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye (she also has a lot of poetry books)
- In Search of Fatima, a Palestinian Story by Ghada Karmi
- The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan
- The Lonely Tree by Yael Politis
- Matt Beynon Rees' books (Cain's Field, the Bethlehem Murders, and others)
- Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
- Palestine and Footnotes in Gaza Joe Sacco (graphic novel)
- Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter
- Prairies of Fever by Ibrahim Nasrallah
- A Stone in My Hand by Cathryn Clinton
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
- Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Manif
- City of Veils and Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris
- Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
- Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- The Night of Mi'raj by Zoe Ferraris
- Nine Parts of Desire by Gerladine Brooks
- Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean Sasson and many other books on the Middle East as well.
Syria
- Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life by Queen Noor of Jordan
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Yemen
- A Vision of Yemen by Nicole Pontcharra-Postnikowa
- I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
- Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea by Eric Hansen
- The Woman Who Fell From the Sky: An American Journalist in Yemen by Jennifer Steil
- They Die Strangers by Mohammad Abdul-Wali
Are there buttons for this challenge? Of course! These buttons were made from photos I took on my trip to Oman. Please feel free to include them in your posts and on your blog!
34 comments
I'll probably be signing up, but let me check out my books and I'll do a post!
This sounds great!
I'm starting Nine Parts of Desire next week for book group!
How many books do we have to commit to reading? Did I miss it in your post?
Here is another one you could add to your list -- we considered this for book group too:
Infidel
by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Aths--glad to have you aboard!
Gerbera Daisy--No minimum number of books! Infidel looks good, but seems mostly about Somalia, which I didn't include on my list... But it looks like a definite good read. Do you know if it covers any of the countries I've got on this challenge's list?
What a wonderful challenge! I'll definitely be signing up. I'll post about it next week and come back for the official sign up. I love the way you set this up btw, with authors or setting, and with no levels!
I thought she lived in Saudi Arabia at some point...maybe I was mistaken.
Amanda--Glad you're going to participate! And, I am glad you like the relaxed format; I figured each person could then do what they wanted/could
Gerbera Daisy--I've added the book to the list; thank you!
I love the idea for this challenge! Hopefully I'll get to some of these books that have been on my to-read list for a while. Thanks for hosting this!
Glad you're back from your trip and had a good time.
I'm just about to go on vacation so glad we have some time to think about this challenge.
Jen--Thanks for joining (you're the first official participant). I'm now a follower of your blog as well!
Linda--I do hope you join as I hope it will be fun. Have a great time on your vacation!
BTW, a really good book to add under Palestine would be Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. For YA, A Bottle in the Gaza Sea is about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, taking place in Israel.
I would love to join this challenge please. I will post and link up when I am up to it but count me in for sure.
Amanda--I've added the two books, thank you! That's what I love about this already; I am getting book ideas for various sources!
Sandra--I am so glad you're going to sign up for the challenge! Thank you!
Finally got my post up about the challenge! I added it to the linky. :)
Yay! I'm super excited. :D
"Mornings in Jenin" by Susan Abulhawa would be a terrific ad. It is a historical fiction written by a Palestinian about Palestine - the only historical fiction based on the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is currently a best seller in many European countries and Susan is typically happy to speak to any book club over phone. Check its reviews on Amazon, GoodReads etc.
Amanda and Christina--welcome to the challenge!
Xaamir--Thank you for the suggestion. I realize I've been updating the book list on the Middle East Challenge page (link at the top of the blog), but not on this post so I'll do that right now. Mornings in Jenin must be really good as lots of people are suggesting it.
*shudder* There are sooooo many things wrong with Infidel. So many things. *sigh*
I'll be writing up a post soon and will link back to it once it's up. I'm actually doing an entire month of Islam- related books (including fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, children's books, YA, etc.) for the month of Ramadan, which runs from August 11th - September 10th this year, so I'll be getting in quite a few books during that period.
Carina--I haven't read Infidel, but a number of people suggested it. I can't wait to see what you say about it
I would mention that the literary community from the middle east feels that it is unfair when people choose books written by non-middle east writers (that are often a diatribe) over their own writers like Naguib Mahfouz, Susan Abulhawa and Azar Nafisi
The thing is that you can always pick a book against a culture or a society. But if the purpose is to understand the land, it is perhaps reasonable to begin with the stories people from that land write themselves. These would be stories like "Cairo Trilogy," "Mornings in Jenin," and "Reading Lolita in Tehran."
Just my two cents :-)
Headmaster--I definitely hope people pick books about the Middle East by middle eastern writers. That would be my first choice, but I know that won't always happen so I have listed both options. I'll add any other suggested books that you'd like to suggest
I just finished Shadow of the Swords by Kamran Pasha. In a nutshell, it's the story of the Third Crusade told from a Muslim viewpoint, written by an American Muslim. I found it be a little eye-opening. I think it would be another good suggestion to be listed under Israel. (I do realize the challenge hasn't started yet, but I received this for review and needed to get it read)
Jen--Thanks for the suggestion. I've added both his books to the "general" catagory for the challenge. What an interesting author!
And, absolutely count this book for the challenge; I want people to enjoy the books and the topics and don't mind that you read it before August 1
Naguib Mahfouz is I guess the most accomplished writer on this list.
I can't imagine anyone skipping past Mornings in Jenin, currently a best seller here in India. The book covers a very contemporary theme - the Israel-Palestine conflict from the eyes of Amal, a Palestinian refugee. The book also stands out because of Susan Abulhawa's prose - I think she is a Arabic poet turned writer and that gives her writing a lovely flavor that can really hook you.
I would also recommend "In Search of Fatima, a Palestinian story" by Ghada Karmi, a very affectionate memoir.
Venky--Mornings in Jenin was recommended by a lot of people so I'll be sure to read that one. I'll add the others you suggested to the list. Thank you
I intend to sign up. I write my post Saturday. Mmmm.. I have Infidel so I'll start with that one. She also has a book that came out a couple of months ago, Nomad.
Looking forward to learning about other cultures.
Notorious--Glad to have you with us! I look forward to your post
Helen,
I've wanted to sign up to support you with this, but I've done TERRIBLE with all my challenges!! I'm reading a middle eastern book right now so, I'm going to sign up and to show you some love!
Edi--Thanks for the love (joining the challenge)! If you've read one book that counts you've completed the challenge so there won't be any guilt involved!
I just signed up for this challenge and will start in January. I'm sorry that it took me so long to sign up! Thanks for hosting this great challenge!
Rummanah--welcome! I just visited your blog and am excited that you're joining us
Hi, I'm trying to sign up, but Mr Linky doesn't seem to be working? I just finished Nine Parts of Desire and will post the review soon. Here's my "challenge post".
Oops forget what I said. I just saw my name appearing :)
Mee--I was so worried I was going to have figure out how to fix Mr Linkay, whew! So glad you're joining us!
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