ŷ������

Our challenge continues:
/challenges/...


1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.
2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about "Empowering women
4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq
5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria)
6.A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula - ( Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates )
7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb ( North Africa) - ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,Mauritania
8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt
9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author
10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author
11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia , Djibouti and Eritrea)
12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan


Please post your progress down here :)

My 2023 List:

1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.
The Other End of the Sea

2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
The Tentmakers of Cairo: Egypt's Medieval and Modern Applique Craft

3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about "Empowering women��
Say What Your Longing Heart Desires: Women, Prayer, and Poetry in Iran

4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq
none yet

5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria)
Emily Nasrallah books

6.A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula - ( Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates )
poetry collection called تجاوز
Novel:نصف استواء

7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb ( North Africa) - ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,Mauritania

Novel by Ahmed Toufik:
غريبة الحسين
The Djinn’s Apple by Jamila Mourani, English translation forthcoming by Sawad Hussein

8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt

Novel by Ahmed Salah al-Mahdi
الشتاء الأسود

9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author
none yet

10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author
none yet

11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia , Djibouti and Eritrea)
House of Rust (group read)

12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan
The Clever Wife: A Kyrgyz Folktale

My list:
1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.

2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
Nile: Urban Histories on the Banks of a River

3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about "Empowering women
4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq
5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria)

6.A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula - ( Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates )
The Stardust Thief

7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb ( North Africa) - ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,Mauritania
The Night Will Have Its Say

8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt
Warda

9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author
The Architect's Apprentice

10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author
Girl, Serpent, Thorn

11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia , Djibouti and Eritrea)
12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan

My 2023 options:

1. about the Palestine conflict

- planned reading: Once Upon a Country: A Palestinian Life. I also own The Blue Between Sky and Water and The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonial Conquest and Resistance, 1917-2017 and Time of White Horses and Salt Houses and My First and Only Love

2. about MENA history

- planned reading: Maybe The Pilgrimage of Etheria: with footnotes. The library has Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul and Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring '20s is on my Amazon wishlist. I own The Guide for the Perplexed

3. for "Empowering Women"

Planned: Touba and the Meaning of Night

4. by an author from Iraq

Planned: Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad
I own I'm in Seattle, Where Are You?: A Memoir
Library has Frankenstein in Baghdad and The Baghdad Clock

5. by an author from Al-Sham

Still want to read Amin Maalouf and Elias Khoury.
I have The Beekeeper of Aleppo and The Proof of the Honey and The Cry of the Dove and The Arsonists' City and Voices of the Lost

6. by an author from The Arabian Peninsular

I own The Book Smuggler and The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai and The Turtle of Oman


7. by an author from The Maghreb
The Night Will Have Its Say Completed February 4 stars
The Sand Child Completed 15 March 3 stars

I own: Children of the New World or Chaos of the Senses orStraight from the Horse's Mouth or The Angels Die

8. by an author from Egypt

I own Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller and Children of the Alley and The Queue


9. by a Turkish author




10. by an Iranian author
The Conference of the Birds Completed 30 March 4 stars

I own Tehran at Twilight or Tehran Noir or The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree or The Blind Owl

11. by an author from Sudan / the Horn of Africa

I own Amid the Chaos or The Fortune Men or Born in the Big Rains: A Memoir of Somalia and Survival or The Kindness of Enemies

12. by an author from the -stan countries

I own A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story and Sparks Like Stars and Homeland Elegies and Children of Dust: A Portrait of a Muslim as a Young Man and City of Spies

A century of MENA books

Started in 2022:
1910 The Tears, The English Translation of Al-Abarat: Mustafa Lutfi Al-Manfaluti, Translated by Majid Khan Malik Saddiqui (Egypt) (2022)
1920 The Prophet (Lebanon) (2022)
1930
1940 Madonna in a Fur Coat (Turkey/Bulgaria) (2022)
1950 Jamilia (Kyrgyzstan) (2022)
1960
1970 The Harafish (Egypt) (2022)
1980 The Sand Child (Morocco) (2023)
1990
2000
2010 The Ardent Swarm (Tunisia) (2022)
2020 The Island of Missing Trees (Turkey/Cyprus) (2022)

1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.
The Book of Disappearance: A Novel by Ibtisam Azem
2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
The Night Will Have Its Say by Ibrahim al-Koni
3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about "Empowering women The Woman from Tantoura: A Novel of Palestine by Radwa Ashour
4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq
Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabi'a by Rabi'a Al-Adawiyya
5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria)
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh
6.A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula - ( Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates )
HWJN Ibraheem Abbas
7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb ( North Africa) - ( Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya,Mauritania)
Love With a Few Hairs byMohammed Mrabet
8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt
If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga
9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author
Daughters of Smoke and Fire by Ava Homa

11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia , Djibouti and Eritrea)
The House of Rust by Khadija Abdalla Bajaber
12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Here is my list for this year:


1. Cry In A Long Night - Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
2. The Sons of the People - Reem Bassiouney
3. Politics of Piety - Saba Mahmoud
4. The Iraqi Christ - Hassan Blasim
5. Voices of the Lost - Hoda Barakat
6. Girls of Riyadh - Rajaa Alsanea
7. The Night Will Have It’s Say - Ibrahim Al-Komi
8. Tales of Yusuf Tadrus - Adel Esmet
9. Shadowless- Hasan Ali Toptas
10. Rosewater and Soda Bread - Marsha Mehran
11. Mansi - Tayeb Salih
12. Ashes, Wine and Dust - Kanza Javed

My goal: 5 books
6/5 (updated: 18/12/2023)
(link to the widget: here)

1. a book, fiction or non-fiction, about the Palestine conflict:
Pappé, Ilan - Ten Myths About Israel (read) ⭐⭐⭐⭐��
Shibli, Adania - Minor Detail (Translated book: Un dettaglio minore) (reading)

2. a book, fiction or non-fiction, based on or about MENA history:
Andras, Joseph - De nos frères blessés (Translated book: Dei nostri fratelli feriti) (read) ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

3. a book, fiction or non-fiction, about "Empowering women":
Nafisi, Azar - Reading Lolita in Tehran (Translated book: Leggere Lolita a Teheran) (read) ⭐⭐⭐��
Haeri, Niloofar - Say What Your Longing Heart Desires: Women, Prayer, and Poetry in Iran (planned)

4. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Iraq:
al-Azzawi, Fadhil - The Last of the Angels (planned)

5. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al-Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria):
Maalouf, Amin - Samarkand (read) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

6. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula - (Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates):
Algosaibi, Ghazi A. - An Apartment Called Freedom (planned)

7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb (North Africa) - (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania):
al-Koni, Ibrahim - The Night Will Have Its Say (read) ⭐⭐

8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt:

9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author:
Sönmez, Burhan - Istanbul Istanbul (planned)

10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author:
Hedayat, Sadegh - The Blind Owl (صادق هدایت - بوف کور / Translated book: La civetta cieca - Tre gocce di sangue) (read) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

11. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea):

12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan:
Ismailov, Hamid - The Devils' Dance (planned)

Here is my list! A little bit late to the party, but I am hoping to get it done anyway.

1. on Palestine/Israel: not yet
2. on MENA history: What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Islam & Modernity in the Middle East (currently reading)
3. on Empowering women: Kaikeyi
4. Iraqi author: The Iraqi Christ
5. Lebanese author: Samarkand
6. Kuwaiti author: The Stardust Thief
7. The Maghreb author: The Night Will Have Its Say
8. Egyptian author: An Economic History of the Middle East and North Africa (currently reading)
9. Turkish author: Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty
10. Iranian: قرن گم‌شد��: اقتصاد و جامعه ایران در قرن نوزدهم (currently reading)
11. Sudanese author: The Kindness of Enemies
12. Pakistanu author Before Orthodoxy: The Satanic Verses in Early Islam (currently reading)

[Note: Crossed out titles means I've finished reading them
MENA reading challenge shelf]


1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.
My People Shall Live: Autobiography of a Revolutionary as Told to George Hajjar
+ at least one book by غسان كنفاني
+ أعراس آمنة
(+probably many more)


2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
A History of the Middle East


3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about "Empowering women''
Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World and/or The Complete Persepolis


4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq
إني المشنوق أعلاه


5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham
Anything by Nizar Qabbani


6.A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula
كبرتُ ونسيت أن أنسى
and/or في ديسمبر تنتهي كل الأحلام
and/or كتاب صنعاء


7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb
In the Country of Men
and/or Journal, 1955-1962: Reflections on the French-Algerian War

8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt
‫رج�� تحت الصفر��


9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author
Honor


10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author
Tehran, Lipstick and Loopholes



11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa
موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال


12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia
A Thousand Splendid Suns

My plan for the ��23 is like my plan for ��22, ��21 and ��20. Finish the books I own which are on my reading list challenge from ��20. This list while I read other interesting books that come along.

1. Ice, Sonallah Ibrahim.
2.Velvet, Huzama Habayeb
3 The Longing Of The Dervish, Hammour R. Ziada
4. I Stared At The Night Of The City
6. The Theocrat, Bensalem Himmich

Now reading The Longing Of The Dervish.
Seems I’m a slow reader when it comes to this list.

reply | flag

I understand! There are some books that stay on my list a long time too.

🐢🐢🐢🐢

Rachel’s MENA 2023 Challenge
12/12
MENA 2023
��1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict: Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa (Palestine) 28 Dec 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history: As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh (Syria) 1 Dec 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��3. a book, fiction or non-fiction about Empowering women: The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah (Kuwait) 14 Apr 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��4. a book, fiction or non fiction. written by an author from Iraq: When the Apricots Bloom by Gina Wilkinson (AA) 31 Dec 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��5. book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Al Sham (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria): Into the Wadi by Michele Drouart (Jordan, Australian author) 30 Jul 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��6. A book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Arabian Peninsula- (Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates): The Pearl Thief by Noor Al Noaimi* (Bahrain) 14 Jul 2023 ⭐⭐�� my review

��7. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from The Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania): In the Country of Others by Leïla Slimani* 28 Feb 2023 ⭐⭐�� my review
��8. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by an author from Egypt: Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi* (Egypt) 26 Dec 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��9. a book, fiction or non-fiction, by a Turkish author: The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali* (Iran) 2 April 2023 ⭐⭐�� my review
��10. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an Iranian author: The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar* (Iran) 17 Mar 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ my review
��11. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from Sudan and the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea): The Translator by Leila Aboulela (Sudan) 30 Dec 2023 ⭐⭐�� my review
��12. a book, fiction or non-fiction by an author from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan or Pakistan: The Tale of Aypi by Ak Welsapar* (Turkmenistan) 8 Apr 2023 ⭐⭐⭐⭐�� my review

Rachel wrote: "Rachel’s MENA 2023 Challenge
4/12
1. a book, fiction or non-fiction book about the Palestine conflict.
2. a book, fiction or non-fiction based on or about MENA history
3. a book, fiction or non-fic..."

I’ve gotten a lot of great suggestions from you Rachel! Thank you!

Challenge completed! My books are above. I feel like I kind of cheated for book I read for Iraq, Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabi'a because it was very short

This year, I've read (and loved!):

#1 (Palestine conflict) Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

#12 (Central Asia) Jamilia by Chingiz Aitmatov

... and currently reading:

#8 (Egypt) Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz

New to the group, so I'm happy to get three in before the year is up! And I look forward to reaching other MENA regions in the coming year.

Yes! Finished the challenge. Books above in message 14