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In this thread is for the 2017 Challenge!
/challenges/...
You can discuss your progress, share what you're planning on reading,what you've read, ask questions etc.!

To be updated throughout the year:
1. A book by a female author In the Eye of the Sun by Ahdaf Soueif (finished 26April); Waking Lions by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (finished 27October)
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago) Refuge by Dina Nayeri (finished 2August)
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad.
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know. Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (finished 14January)
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq). Moving the Palace by Charif Majdalani (finished 7August); and An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine (finished 24September)
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf ( Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, U.A.E., Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait) Kingdom of Strangers by Zoë Ferraris (finished 22November)
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne (finished 17September)
8. A book by an author from Egypt The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz (finished 22April)
9. One a non fiction book
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book. TBR: Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan [5th century]
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENAT region.
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war : The English Teacher by Yiftach Reicher Atir(finished 6Apr)

I'm adding this book re: Libya in here somewhere: The Bleeding of the Stone by Ibrahim al-Koni based on this review from a friend:

/review/show...

In challenges I often end reading different books than what I originally planned but up to now I'd like to read the following books:
Many of them could count for multiple categories

The Moor's Account for either 1. A book by a Female Author , 7. A book by an author from Al Maghreb or 10. A historical novel.

Do Muslim Women Need Saving? for 9. A non-fiction book ( or by a female author)

An Unnecessary Woman for 5. A book by an author from Al-Mashriq

I Want to Get Married!: One Wannabe Bride's Misadventures with Handsome Houdinis, Technicolor Grooms, Morality Police, and Other Mr. Not-Quite-Rights for 8. A book from an author from Egypt

And maybe Frankenstein in Baghdad for 2. A Book by a new author . I'm both intrigued and repelled by the subject matter as I am not a fan of zombies!

I'm going to start small, and committ to 3 books. While I don't know yet which one I'll start with, these are four I'm interested in.

Of Noble Origin

Kiffe, Kiffe, Tomorrow
Him, Me Muhammad Ali

And if Frankenstein in Baghdad gets published I want to give it a try!

Hi everyone. I am new to this group. Thanks Kate for recommending it. I am trying to read a book from every country on the planet, so the challenge is perfect. I have committed to all 12 books.
The two books sitting on my shelf and waiting to be read are
Alaa Al Aswany's Friendly Fire (Egypt)
Turki Al-Hamad's Adama (Saudi Arabia)
I would also like to read
Tariq Ali's Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree (Pakistani author, history, war) and
Laila Abouela's Translator (Sudanese author)
The rest will undoubtedly appear in my life as books tend to do :-)

I'm excited for this because I think it's going to push me out of my comfort zone. I haven't planned anything yet, but I'm setting this up to update as I go.

1. A book by a female author
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago)
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad.
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know.
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq): An Unnecessary Woman
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf ( Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Oman,U.A.E.,Qatar,Bahrain,Kuwait)
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia): The Moor's Account
8. A book by an author from Egypt
9. One a non fiction book
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book.
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENA region: The Architect's Apprentice
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war

I finished "The day Nina Simone stopped singing" by Darina Al-Joundi and Mohammed Kacimi that covers the points 1 (partially), 3, 5, 9 and 12.
it was in my wish-list for a long time and I was lucky enough to find it at a thrift store. So, if anyone is planning to read it, go ahead! The book was a very interesting reading and also highly revealing on the sense of lost and discomfort that the civil war left to the inhabitants of Beirut.

I plan to update throughout the year...
1. A book by a female author
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago)
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad.
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know.
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq)
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf ( Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Oman,U.A.E.,Qatar,Bahrain,Kuwait)
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia)
8. A book by an author from Egypt
9. One a non fiction book
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book.
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENA region.
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war

Martina wrote: "I finished "The day Nina Simone stopped singing" by Darina Al-Joundi and Mohammed Kacimi that covers the points 1 (partially), 3, 5, 9 and 12.
it was in my wish-list for a long time and I was lucky..."

This looks fantastic, Martina.

Hi everyone,

A still have a book to decide on: the maghreb area. If you have any recommendations, please send them through.

The title I am most excited about is 'Letters to Young Muslim' (published only days ago) as the Emirati author Omar Saif Ghobash is one of the most respected leaders of moderate Islam

1. A book by a female author: 'B as in Beirut' by Iman Humaydan Younes (Lebanon)
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago): 'Letters to a Young Muslim' by Omar Saif Ghobash (UAE)
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad: 'Lipstick Jihad' by Azadeh Moaveni (Iran)
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know: TBC
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq: 'Teta, Mother and Me' by Jeand Said Makdisi (Lebanon)
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf: 'The Sand Fish' by Maha Gargash (UAE)
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb: TBC
8. A book by an author from Egypt: 'No One Sleeps in Alexandria' by Ibrahim Abdel Meguid (Egypt)
9. One non fiction book: 'On Identity' by Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book: 'A History of Modern Lebanon' by Fawwaz Trabousli (Lebanon)
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENA region: 'A case of exploding Mangoes' by Mohammed Hanif
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war: 'Golda Slept Here' by Suad Amiry

Ewa wrote: "Hi everyone. I am new to this group. Thanks Kate for recommending it. I am trying to read a book from every country on the planet, so the challenge is perfect. I have committed to all 12 books.
The..."

Hi Ewa,

I love your idea. I recently came across a blog whose author managed to do just that. Below is link that you might find useful as I understand some countries lack in translated published works:


Best of luck!

Delia wrote: "Hi everyone,

A still have a book to decide on: the maghreb area. If you have any recommendations, please send them through.

The title I am most excited about is 'Letters to Young Muslim' (publis..."

Wow! I have not heard of many of these titles!
So much to choose from!

I am probably going to read The Moor's Account for # 7 a book from an author from the Maghreb. The book, as far as I know, takes place in Spain and the Americas, but the author Laila Lalami is Moroccan.
I have not read a lot of authors from the Maghreb, only non-fiction by Fatema Mernissi. I have loved everything I've read of hers, but Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood is probably my favourite.

The autobiography For Bread Alone - An Autobiograpy by Mohamed Choukri is brutal but very good! The author did not even learn to read or write until he was an adult. I believe he was a protege of Paul Bowles

Thank you very much for the recommendations, Lila. I am afraid that is one part of the Arab world I have neglected.

Carol wrote: "For clarity, the Around the World in 80 books lists are over-inclusive. They intentionally include authors who are either originally from the applicable country, currently live in the applicable co..."

I think I might have been in the group for a while. If it's the one, I got fed up and left because whenever the country selected was a non-European or North American country, the people in the group would vote for a book that was written by a European or American author.

Carol wrote: ".I don't disagree , but to be honest group reads don't drive that group. The resources Diane collects and makes available are amazing so I ignore group reads, follow the personal challenges of a dozen friends from whom I get awesome and intriguing lead"

Good to know! Yes I remember being impressed with all the different titles that the moderator mentioned! It was the people in the group that always voted for books by American authors. Not that I am against American authors, but when joining a group like that it was with the intention of discovering authors from different countries.

I'm in!
1. A book by a female author TBR:
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago)
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad.
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know.
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq) TBR:
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf ( Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Oman,U.A.E.,Qatar,Bahrain,Kuwait)
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia)
8. A book by an author from Egypt TBR:
9. One a non fiction book
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book. TBR:
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENAT region.
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war TBR:

Hi everyone,

How is your reading going? My updated list is below:

I had chosen The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash for the GCC read. Not a lot of novels of Emirati authors are available in English and from what I understand this might be the first one (does anyone have any other background info on this?). It is the coming of age story of a girl in the Arabian Peninsula who grew up in the mountains and was married away as a third wife to a pearl merchant. A light read with some eye-opening insights into what life was like in the '50s.

1. A book by a female author: 'B as in Beirut' by Iman Humaydan Younes (Lebanon)
2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago): 'Letters to a Young Muslim' by Omar Saif Ghobash (UAE) - Currently reading
3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad: 'Lipstick Jihad' by Azadeh Moaveni (Iran)
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know: TBC
5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq: 'Teta, Mother and Me' by Jeand Said Makdisi (Lebanon)
6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf: The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash (UAE) - Finished in January
7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb: TBC
8. A book by an author from Egypt: 'No One Sleeps in Alexandria' by Ibrahim Abdel Meguid (Egypt)
9. One non fiction book: 'On Identity' by Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)
10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book: 'A History of Modern Lebanon' by Fawwaz Trabousli (Lebanon)
11. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENA region: 'A case of exploding Mangoes' by Mohammed Hanif
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war: 'Golda Slept Here' by Suad Amiry

Hi, I'm thinking maybe I will work on this challenge although the Middle East isn't of a particular goal for me this year, I'm doing a lot of reading about borders and refugees, so it's going to crossover a lot.

I'm a bit confused by #5 - Al Mashriq is a paper, does the author have to write for it? Or is it the name of a region? Is this a clever thing or an actual thing? Same question for #7.

Jenny (Reading Envy) wrote: "I'm a bit confused by #5 - Al Mashriq is a paper, does the author have to write for it? Or is it the name of a region? Is this a clever thing or an actual thing? Same question for #7."

Hi Jenny, Al Mashriq = Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria

I'm reading Hafez's Divan, which goes under the categories 4, 9 and 11.

I've modified the list for my own challenge. This year I want to focus on reading authors from the 7 countries on which the current president of the US tried to impose an immigration ban : Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Sudan, and Yemen. Here's my challenge and I am currently finishing #5 and ready to start #10:

Kate’s reading challenge:

1. A book by a female author: Red Wine / Amina Zaydan (Egyptian)
2. A book from the prize winners: IPAF or the Arab Booker, or Naguib Mahfouz Medal: not yet chosen

3. A book from an author in exile or just living abroad and or with the theme exile and or living abroad. Beer in the Snooker Club / Waguih Ghali

4. A book by an author from Syria: not yet chosen
5. A book by an author from Iraq: No Knives in the Kitchens of This City / Khaled Khalifa
6. A book by an author from Yemen: not yet chosen

7. A book by an author from Sudan: Leila Aboulela
8. A book by an author from Iran: Touba, and the Meaning of Night / Shahruush Parsipur
9. A book by an author from Libya: not yet chosen
10. One book from an author from a non-Arabic country in the greater MENAT region: Somalia. The Orchard of Lost Souls / Nadefa Mohamed
11. A non fiction book: not yet chosen
12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war: not yet chosen

How do we mark the book titles and/or authors to have them added to the list in the column to the right? (Books mentioned... )

Kate wrote: "How do we mark the book titles and/or authors to have them added to the list in the column to the right? (Books mentioned... )"

Kate, I suspect you need to use the "add book/author" feature in your updates, so that your references to books and authors are links rather than clear text.

Delia wrote: "I had chosen The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash for the GCC read. Not a lot of novels of Emirati authors are available in English and from what I understand this might be the first one (does anyone have any other background info on this?). "

I just read The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai for #6 a Book from the Arabian Gulf. The author, Maha Gargash is from the United Arab Emirates and it's her first novel.
I liked it a lot and would recommend it.
Here is my review:
/review/show...

Anyone else doing the Challenge?

Lila wrote: "Anyone else doing the Challenge?
I just read The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai for #6 a Book from the Arabian Gulf. The author, Maha Gargash is from the United Arab..."

This looks great, Lila. I've read two Challenge books and will finish my third this week. All great reads.

Carol wrote: "Lila wrote: "Anyone else doing the Challenge?
I just read The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai for #6 a Book from the Arabian Gulf. The author, Maha Gargash is from th..."

How did you like them? Did you have a favourite?
I've had good luck with the three I read. I liked them all a lot.
I am looking forward to starting The Moor's Account soon. I see it's got mixed reviews, but the subject matter interests me a lot!

I'm doing very badly on my challenge. In fact I'm doing very badly with all my reading at the moment, I seem to have lost my mojo. I'm waiting for a copy of The Moor's Account to come from Amazon and I hope this will be the book that restores my reading habit.

This is what I have read up to now:

1. A book by a female author:
One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan Al-Shaykh

5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq):
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine

6. A book by an author from the Arabian Gulf ( Saudi Arabia,Yemen,Oman,U.A.E.,Qatar,Bahrain,Kuwait):
The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash

7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia):
The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami

8. A book by an author from Egypt:
The Cairo House by Samia Serageldin


I have absolutely no idea what to read for # 2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago)

Does anyone here have any ideas?

Lila wrote: "This is what I have read up to now:

1. A book by a female author:
One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan Al-Shaykh

5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, P..."

Did you like the "The Cairo house " ?
For a A book from a new author , five years makes it difficult for the translation issues .

You can check Vertigo , it is Ahmed Mourad's first novel and was published ten years ago .

Also Mohammad Rabie’s first novel, Amber Planet, won First Prize in the Emerging Writers category of the Sawiris Cultural Award Competition in 2011. Yet I do not think it was translated into English , while his third novel Otared -published in Arabic in early 2015- appeared in English in 2016 and has been shortlisted for the 2016 International Prize for Arabic Fiction .

Niledaughter wrote: "Lila wrote: "This is what I have read up to now:

1. A book by a female author:
One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan Al-Shaykh

5. A book by an author from Al Mashri..."

Maybe we can bend the rules a bit and make it 5 years after it's been translated in English? There would definitely be more choices that way!

Lila wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Lila wrote: "This is what I have read up to now:

1. A book by a female author:
One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan Al-Shaykh

5. A book by an ..."

i'm a fan of that approach. We were shooting for recent availability in the English-language market all along, I believe.

Carol wrote: " 'm a fan of that approach. We were shooting for recent availability in the English-language market all along, I believe. .."

Exactly! The idea is to "Challenge" ourselves to read new things!

whatever makes it more interesting for you :)

Niledaughter wrote: "Did you like the "The Cairo house " ."
Sorry Niledaughter! I just realised I never answered your question regarding The Cairo House! Yes, I did like it. I gave it 4 stars because I enjoyed it but not necessary so much that I'd re-read it. That's how I rate books, if they captivate me so much so much I don't want to leave the world they put me in and I feel like rereading them I give them 5 stars. This was not the case for Cairo House, but I still appreciated her writing enough that I read Samia Serageldin's The Naqibs Daughter for # 10. One book set in the nineteenth century or historical book. It was also go and very informative for me as I did not know that much about Napoleon's occupation of Egypt.

I think for 2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago) Together Tea by Marjan Kamali would count would it not?

Lila wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Did you like the "The Cairo house " ."
Sorry Niledaughter! I just realised I never answered your question regarding The Cairo House! Yes, I did like it. I gave i..."

You totally reminded me that book:Refuge|33113289] -- which I absolutely loved -- counts for this debut category. I'll have to try to fit in Together Tea this fall.

What books would everyone here consider to be in this category:
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know.?

Lila wrote: "What books would everyone here consider to be in this category:
4. A book considered a classic that everyone should know.?"

Off the top of my head, these would qualify, but I'm sure there are others that also belong on the list.

The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk / Palace of Desire / Sugar Street by Naguib Mahfouz
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Rubaiyat: By Omar Khayyam - Illustrated
Tales from the Thousand and One Nights
The Travels of Ibn Battutah by Ibn Battuta
Leg Over Leg: 4-Volume Set by Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (unless you believe that his emigrating to America deprives him of native status)

i have all of these. Are you going to be doing group reads? Also consider the A Hundred and One Nights.

ReemK10 (Paper Pills) wrote: "i have all of these. Are you going to be doing group reads? Also consider the A Hundred and One Nights."

Possibilities of what to read in group reads are being discussed here
/topic/show/...



I've been counting some of the group reads and for the challenge.
I usedThe Moor's Account for 7. A book by an author from Al Ma·ghreb (Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia)
The Blue Between Sky and Water for 12. A book where the characters are living in a war zone or during a period of civil war
Together Tea for 2. A book from a new author (an author of a debut published less than 5 years ago)
And An Unnecessary Woman for 5. A book by an author from Al Mashriq (Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Iraq)

Here are all the books I've read up to now
/user_challe...

My updates by now:
- "The day Nina Simone stopped singing" by Darina Al-Joundi and Mohammed Kacimi (1, 3, 5, 9, 12)
- "Arabian nights and days" by Naguib Mahfouz (8)
- "Divan" by Hafez (4, 9, 11)
- "Beer in the snooker club" by Waguih Ghali (3,8)
- "Ibn Zuraiq Al-Baghdadi: A Passenger of Time" by Ahmad al Dosari (6, 10)
- "White castle" by Orhan Pamuk (10, 11)

I still miss point 2 (a book by a new author) and point 7 (a book by an author from al-Maghrib)