Task 13: Read a Book That's Set in the Middle East

[Book Riot]

This thread is for dropping ideas, questions, resources, comments, and discussion about Task 13: Read a Book That's Set in the Middle East.

A few resources to get you started:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[Bea]

I have The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy slotted for this task.

[Emma]

What counts as the Middle East?

[Bea]

Well, I just looked that up on Wikipedia and found this list: Territories and regions (of the Middle East).

Guess I am going to need to change my book.

I will read The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

[Emma]

Bea wrote: "Well, I just looked that up on Wikipedia and found this list: Territories and regions (of the Middle East)....

Oh good. I was thinking of reading To the End of the Land but wasn't sure if Israel counted.

[Rainey]

For this one I plan on reading An Unnecessary Woman or The Bamboo Stalk or And the Mountains Echoed

[Cheryl]

I am going to read .

[Ollie Z]

I'm going to try for Escape from Baghdad by Saad Hossain if I can find it on inter library loan.

[[deleted user]]

I've just reserved Reading Lolita in Tehran from my local library. Heard great things about it. And, since I've never read Lolita... (rabbit-hole!).

I have a couple of others on my shelf as well: The Yacoubian Building and The Map of Love.

[Allie]

I think I might try Istanbul: Memories and the City. I had to look on that link to make sure Turkey counted!

[Martha]

There are so many choices in this category. I'm reading The Architect's Apprentice right now and probably won't finish it before the first of the year. This will probably be the first 2016 challenge category that I complete.

[Karin]

God in Pink is my pick.

[Jolynne]

An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!

[Martha]

Jolynne wrote: "An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!"

I agree! I read it last year and it was one of my favorites.

[Martha]

Cheryl wrote: "I am going to read or."

I liked both of those.

[Kathryn]

I'm reading Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie.

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

I have a lot of books on my To-Read shelf that can apply ( Woman at Point Zero, Alif the Unseen); I just finished a graphic memoir, The Arab of the Future.

But for this task, I will most likely use The Attack.

[Tatiana]

I've had A Thousand Splendid Suns sitting on my shelf for a while. I will probably read that for this topic.

[Sean]

Persepolis has been sitting on my list of books to read for to long. Time to rectify that!

[Dayna]

I'm going to read Reading Lolita in Tehran, which has been on my TBR for far too long!

[Beachesnbooks]

I really loved Reading Lolita in Tehran--this would also totally work in the feminist book category. I think I'll be reading The Dovekeepers for this task.

[Sarah]

Jaleenajo wrote: "I really loved Reading Lolita in Tehran--this would also totally work in the feminist book category. I think I'll be reading The Dovekeepers for this task."

I have been wanting to read The Dovekeepers as well! I will be adding it for this task.

[Laura]

Jolynne wrote: "An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!"

I am so torn between this and A Thousand Splendid Suns!!

[Nelly]

Since i come from Egypt which happens to be in the Middle East, i can recommend the following books:

The Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz - Noble prize winner
In the Eye of the Sun - Ahdaf Soueif
Things i have been silent about - Azar Nafisi

[Rachel]

Reading Lolita in Tehran.

[Rainey]

Martha wrote: "Jolynne wrote: "An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!"

I agree! I read it last year and it was one of my favorites."

Well I had planned on reading something else for this task but you have convinced me and I bought and will read An Unnecessary Woman. So much for my goal of only reading books I already own.

[Natalie]

Anyone read Zoe Ferraris? Her books are set in Saudi Arabia and worth checking out if looking for something from the mystery genre.

[Ashley]

What about a book set in a fictional place that is based on Middle Eastern culture? i.e. The Assassin's Curse or The Wrath and the Dawn

[Karen]

Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

[Jolynne]

Rainey wrote: "Martha wrote: "Jolynne wrote: "An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!"

I agree! I read it last year and it was one of my favorites."

Well I had planned on reading something els..."

What were you going to read? I'm not finding anything appealing. I was thinking one of Khaled Hosseini books.

[Emelie]

Bea wrote: "Well, I just looked that up on Wikipedia and found this list: Territories and regions (of the Middle East).

Guess I am going to need to change my book.

I will read [book:The Blood of Flowers|3486..."

That is one of my all time favorites. You're going to love it!

[BookDrunkard is on storygraph as bookdrunkard78]

I was thinking of maybe Written in the Stars but I'm not 100% sure yet.

[Luce]

How about "I am Malala"? That should work, right?

[Cheryl]

Tatiana wrote: "I've had A Thousand Splendid Suns sitting on my shelf for a while. I will probably read that for this topic."

Loved it!

[Cheryl]

Laura wrote: "Jolynne wrote: "An Unnecessary Woman

This book is great!"

I am so torn between this and A Thousand Splendid Suns!!"

I didn't read the first one , but your second choice was an awesome read.

[SibylM]

Lucia wrote: "How about "I am Malala"? That should work, right?"
Pakistan is not considered to be part of the Middle East -- it's in South Asia.

[Rainey]

The Greater Middle East was a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21st century,[24] to denote various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan.[25] Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included.

[Rainey]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middl...

[Bobby]

I've been putting off The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for a few years, so this might be a hint that now is the time to read it.

[Rokkan]

Bobby wrote: "I've been putting off The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for a few years, so this might be a hint that now is the time to read it."

Ditto this :D

[Nicole]

Bobby wrote: "I've been putting off The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for a few years, so this might be a hint that now is the time to read it."

You may also want to count it as your completion for reading the first book in a series by a person of color! :) I'm reading this for that category, and A Thousand Splendid Suns for this.

[Daena]

I have also put this one off way too long, The Kite Runner

[Chickadee]

I'm going to read

[Lauren]

The Arab of the Future has been on my list for awhile - perfect time to read it for this category.

[Kristi]

I'm going to read My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story for this challenge. I've had it on my shelf calling my name since last year!

[Martha]

Dom wrote: "I've just reserved Reading Lolita in Tehran from my local library. Heard great things about it. And, since I've never read Lolita... (rabbit-hole!).

I have a couple of oth..."

I enjoyed The Map of Love. I read for a book group years ago and then again later because I liked it so much.

[Alice]

I wonder if Pomegranate Soup qualifies… written by an Iranian author, a family transplants to Ireland. I have no idea how much takes place in the Middle East before the book switches.

[Astrid]

I'm between The Kite Runner and Infidel (this one has parts that are set in the Middle East).

[Chickadee]

Natalie wrote: "Anyone read Zoe Ferraris? Her books are set in Saudi Arabia and worth checking out if looking for something from the mystery genre."

Yup! I just started to meet this challenge.

[Penelope]

Ashley wrote: "What about a book set in a fictional place that is based on Middle Eastern culture? i.e. The Assassin's Curse or The Wrath and the Dawn"

When I looked up Khorasan where "The Wrath and the Dawn" takes place, I found that it is "a historic region which lies mostly in parts of modern-day Iran." For this reason, I have chosen this book for a book that is set in the Middle East.