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

[Mia]

I'm going to read Three thousand miles for a wish. It takes place in Saudi Arabia

[Ashley]

Thanks Penelope! That's very helpful!

[Leslie]

Set in Middle East
My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel- by Ari Shavit
A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal - by Åsne Seierstad
And Then All Hell Broke Loose: Two Decades in the Middle East -by Richard Engel
My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq
by Ariel Sabar

[Julia]

Starting The Kite Runner tonight. I am excited to get this challenge underway!

[Niffer]

Would the Flashman novels count for this? :p

[Janice]

I plan on reading Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey, a graphic novel!

[Patricia]

I think I'll read Snow by Orhan Pamuk for this since I have it on the shelf at home.

[Martha]

Since I read An Unnecessary Woman last year, The Hakawati is a contender.

I also have Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence to consider, as well as his new book, A Strangeness in My Mind

[Pixelina]

Thinking of The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan or something by Pamuk perhaps.

[Elizabeth]

I just finished The Road from Home: A True Story of Courage, Survival, and Hope. It's set in Turkey and was about the Armenian genocide, which was something I knew nothing about. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I'd recommend it. It was also a Newbery Honor book.

[Kate]

I think I will read the second of the The Cairo Trilogy: Palace Walk / Palace of Desire / Sugar Street. I read the first awhile ago and have been wanting to continue. this challenge is so darn fun! I love reading that others are reading and the lists that BookRiot gives us. My TBR has never been more out of control.....

[Cheryl]

Just finished "Chicken with Plums" by Marjane Satrapi. I'm not sure if I'm going to use it for this challenge or the book under 100 pages. But I can safely say that any of Satrapi's graphic novels are not only a great fit for this challenge, but all of them are deeply touching. I can't recommend "Persepolis" (her most famous work) enough!

[Sarah]

Was hoping to read Throne of the Crescent Moon - Saladin Ahmed for this, but sadly his cities, while clearly Arabian are fictional. Have already read The Wrath and the Dawn so may just go with the sequel when it comes out (The Rose and the Dagger) unless something else appeals...

[sarah]

The Kite Runner is a book I've been meaning to read for years.

[Sean]

Cheryl wrote: "I can't recommend "Persepolis" (her most famous work) enough!"

I just finished the first volume, and I'm itching to open the second.

[Lucy]

I highly recommend Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson to anyone who hasn't read it. Great book.

[Nicole]

Mona wrote: "Nicole wrote: "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 a..."

I think you may be right. My mistake!

[Rachael]

Julia wrote: "Starting The Kite Runner tonight. I am excited to get this challenge underway!"

I've just finished it for this task too and it is amazing - enjoy!

[Loreen ☕️]

I see from scanning the comments that many folks are reading Reading Lolita in Tehran for the task.

[Dhruv]

Finally the time to take The Kite Runner off the TBR list. It is destiny.

[Justin]

Orhan's Inheritance is amazing.

[Eva]

I read Henna House for this category and couldn't put it down.

[Robin P]

Michelle wrote: "I just read The Reluctant Fundamentalist which was interesting, and I'd like to hear thoughts from anyone else who read it. =)"

I read it a couple years ago and it's certainly topical with what's going on today. But it's so darn short. I tend to like longer books with more "meat" in them.

[Trudie]

Is anyone thinking of reading something from Zoë Ferraris for this one, maybe Finding Nouf ?

[Luce]

I assume kite runner would work for this task? I've been wanting to finally read that one...

[Catey]

I thought that "I, The Divine," on one of the lists linked in the original post, sounded awesome, but it seems like the narrator is in America reflecting; does anyone know of that book and/or have thoughts on strictness of challenge specifications?

[Anna]

Your advice, fellow readers: I was thinking about reading Redeployment, which has been on my shelf forever. But should I read something that's not Americans in war?

[Bonnie G.]

Anna wrote: "Your advice, fellow readers: I was thinking about reading Redeployment, which has been on my shelf forever. But should I read something that's not Americans in war?"

Redeployment is not set in the Middle East. I think every story is set in the US, though there are scenes from battle. But read it anyway, it is SO good.

[Jennifer]

Lucia wrote: "I assume kite runner would work for this task? I've been wanting to finally read that one..."

The Kite Runner is set in Afghanistan, which is part of South Asia, not the Middle East.

[Jennifer]

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

Written in the Stars takes place in Pakistan, which is part of South Asia, not the Middle East.

[Jennifer]

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns both take place in Afghanistan, which is part of South Asia, not the Middle East. I noticed a lot of people want to read these books to fulfill this challenge, but they aren't eligible.

[Rainey]

Depends on the definition one is using.

Other definitions of the Middle East


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.

[Sarah]

I just finished The Bastard of Istanbul for this category and I highly recommend it, it's a little on the longer side 300+ pages but extremely well written and captivating.

[Bonnie G.]

Rainey wrote: "Depends on the definition one is using.

Other definitions of the Middle East


The Greater Middle East was a political term coined by the second Bush administration in the first decade of the 21s..."

I was just coming here to say the same thing. The moniker "Middle-East" is geopolitical, not strictly (or mostly) geographical.

[Rainey]

I think in today's society both are relevant.

[Kira]

I'm reading Girls of Riyadh for this one.

[Renee]

I just finished Last Train to Istanbul excellent read, about Turks and Turkish Jews during WW II

[Shannon]

Jennifer wrote: "The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns both take place in Afghanistan, which is part of South Asia, not the Middle East. I noticed a lot of people want to read these books to fulfill this cha..."

The Library of Congress disagrees with you:
https://www.loc.gov/item/2013593015/

As a librarian, I'm going to err with them and read one of these books by Hosseini that I've not read yet.

[Bonnie G.]

Shannon wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns both take place in Afghanistan, which is part of South Asia, not the Middle East. I noticed a lot of people want to read these books to..."

The Library of Congress is my infallible authority on all things book related. (this is especially true when it agrees with me :))

[SibylM]

Signature published a very interesting list of books to check out in their "Literary Primer on the Modern Middle East"
http://www.signature-reads.com/2016/0...

[Monica]

I was considering The Kite Runner for this task. Now I'm leaning heavily towards When Gravity Fails by George Alec Effinger. It fulfills more than one club challenge for me, plus it looks fascinating.

[Lauren]

Finished Circling the Square: Stories from the Egyptian Revolution - a collection of stories from Cairo in the years 2008-2013, before and after the revolution that started in 2011. Wendell Steavenson, a New Yorker journalist interviewed dozens of people and collected the stories here in a very compelling way. I also really liked the way that she included many photographs of the street art and graffiti in and around Tahrir Square in the book.

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

I meant to apply The Attack, but ended up reading Mike's Place because it looked interesting at the library (don't you hate that?). This graphic novel about a blues bar in Tel Aviv fits the bill perfectly, and the format works really well for the multiple story lines - especially after the bar is attacked by a suicide bomber.

[jillannjohn]

I read And the Mountains Echoed for this task.

[Chessa]

I read Alif the Unseen for this challenge and LOVED it.

[Viv]

I'm going for a non-fiction read for this challenge, and reading Until We Are Free: My Fight For Human Rights in Iran by Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi. I'm hoping it will give me a better understanding of the region. I guess this would also count for Task 21 to read a book about politics.

[Britany]

Set in Bodrum, Turkey

Finished by Terry Hayes-- 3 Stars.

Equal parts exhilarating and sluggish. Had to rate it right in the middle.

My review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Trudie]

I selected Finding Nouf for this challenge as it is set in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia. Certainly, I feel like I got a good dose of Middle Eastern culture. However as a mystery novel it was disappointing.
My Review

[Heidi]

Just finished Thousand Splendid Suns to accomplish this task. Highly recommend this book for this category. It is written by the author of the Kite Runner.

[Britany]

Yes Nicola- definitely worth reading.