12. Nominations for books from the "Stan" countries or Central Asia

[Niledaughter]

Please share your recommendations in here

[Jalilah]

Does Bangladesh count even though it does not end with a Stan?
I am reading Djinn City by Saad Hossain and it occured to me I might be able to use it for this category.

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

It sounds fine to me, Jalilah! The Middle East and South Asia have plenty of cultural ties, and this book clearly draws on some.

[Jalilah]

Melanie wrote: "It sounds fine to me, Jalilah! The Middle East and South Asia have plenty of cultural ties, and this book clearly draws on some."

I'm really enjoying it up to now! If you liked Alif the Unseen, I think you'd like this one too!

[Niledaughter]

Jalilah wrote: "Does Bangladesh count even though it does not end with a Stan?
I am reading Djinn City by Saad Hossain and it occured to me I might be able to use it for this cate..."

It looks interesting! I was thinking of reading Jamilia

[Jalilah]

Niledaughter wrote: "Jalilah wrote: "Does Bangladesh count even though it does not end with a Stan?
I am reading Djinn City by Saad Hossain and it occured to me I might be able to use ..."
Jamila was going to be my first choice, but when I found Djinn City for the into the forest group challenge I realized I could count it for the challenge in this group. I would still like to read Jamila.

[Niledaughter]

Would like to read Jamilia in September?

[Johanna]

It seems to be a good book. So perhaps.

[Niledaughter]

it would be nice to have a reading group for it starting from September 15. It is a small book, I will check if there is an online version of it.

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

Sounds good! We will also be reading Travels with a Tangerine / Ibn Battuta Oct-Dec.

[Jalilah]

Melanie wrote: "Sounds good! We will also be reading Travels with a Tangerine / Ibn Battuta Oct-Dec."

My library has this so I gave ordered for the group read. I read his Yemen: Travels In Dictionary Land during the time when I lived in Yemen from 1996-99.

Niledaughter wrote: "Would like to read Jamilia in September?"

My library doesn't have it, but I really want to read it, so have ordered Jamilia from my bookstore.
I could read it in September, but October or November are okay for me too.

[Niledaughter]

Great :) we can read it in September before "Travels with a Tangerine"

I could only reach a copy on Open library.

[Niledaughter]

Niledaughter wrote: "Would like to read Jamilia in September?"

I opened a discussion thread in here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Jalilah]

Niledaughter wrote: "Niledaughter wrote: "Would like to read Jamilia in September?"

I opened a discussion thread in here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."

Niledaughter wrote: "Great :) we can read it in September before "Travels with a Tangerine"

I could only reach a copy on Open library."

I bought a copy of Jamilia and have a library copy of Travels with a Tangerine
I am ready to start with either book!

[Julia]

From Afghanistan I really enjoyed The Patience Stone, from Pakistan The Reluctant Fundamentalist and from Uzbekistan A Poet and Bin-Laden.
I've heard good things about The Tale of Aypi , from Turkmenistan, and I've been looking for an edition of Hurramabad, from Tajikistan.

[Jalilah]

Julia wrote: "From Afghanistan I really enjoyed The Patience Stone, from Pakistan The Reluctant Fundamentalist and from Uzbekistan A Poet and Bin-Laden.
I've heard..."

Wow, I heard of the first 2 books but not the later 3! Since reading Jamilia I have become kind of obsessed with Central Asia but did not have much luck finding anything so thanks!

[Julia]

Jalilah wrote: "Wow, I heard of the first 2 books but not the later 3! Since reading Jamilia I have become kind of obsessed with Central Asia but did not have much luck finding anything so thanks!"

Glad I could help! From Uzbekistan, I read A Poet and Bin Laden, but I have heard that The Railway, by the same author, is even better, so that could be a suggestion as well.

[Jalilah]

Julia wrote: "From Afghanistan I really enjoyed The Patience Stone, from Pakistan The Reluctant Fundamentalist and from Uzbekistan A Poet and Bin-Laden.
I've heard..."


Thank you so much for recommending The Tale of Aypi! I really liked it and can highly recommend it!
Here is my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Orgeluse]

I had already had my eyes set on The Tale of Aypi as it was published by this interesting publishing house Glagoslav. I will take it into consideration for this challenge :))

[Julia]

Jalilah wrote: "Julia wrote: "From Afghanistan I really enjoyed The Patience Stone, from Pakistan The Reluctant Fundamentalist and from Uzbekistan [book:A Poet and Bin-Laden|16071439..."

I really liked your review, thanks for posting! It will definitely be my choice for this challenge.

[Carolien]

I completed The Pearl That Broke Its Shell for this task. It's a story of resilience which provides lots of food for thought. I struggled with the copy I was reading, a small font and the first sentence in each chapter is in a light grey font that is completely unreadable at night. That detracted from the overall experience, but it's a lovely story.