Country: Lebanon “… a boundless drop to a boundless ocean.” The Prophet by Khalil Gibran What should I write about this book that hasn’t already been said? Selecting this book for Lebanon for the MENA reading challenge was a no brainer. It has been on my to-read shelf for as long as I’ve had one.Continue reading “Book Review: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran”
Octagon
Book Review: Our Women on the Ground
This is a book of essays written by 19 women journalists – sahafiyat – from the Arabic speaking world. Edited by Zahra Hankir, these stories are gut-wrenching and sometimes out right nerve wracking. Reading about their experiences sometimes made me very indignant too. It is no secret what women have to deal with in someContinue reading “Book Review: Our Women on the Ground”
Solitude Island
Audience
Book Review: American War by Omar El Akkad
Country: Egypt American War is a story about the complete destruction of an individual as a result of radicalization. At first, I thought the book was about the realities of the dystopia it is set in: climate change driven displacement of families, civil war, an incurable lab-synthesized plague. But through the pages, we see theContinue reading “Book Review: American War by Omar El Akkad”
Cannonball
2023 Reading List
Since 2020 I have themed my reading lists. I was inspired to do this because I realized that I had read and continue to read too few women authors. This realization dawned on me after I read an article by Onnesha Roychoudhari. It goes without saying that the first year my goal was to readContinue reading “2023 Reading List”
Book Review: The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi
Country: Kuwait Throughout our lives, we adorn many hats. But we are usually known by just one name. The Bamboo Stalk is about a boy who has two names. Isa in his birthplace Kuwait and Jose in his boyhood home in the Philippines. A mixed heritage child, Isa is shunned by his Kuwaiti family. TheContinue reading “Book Review: The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi”
Book Review: Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
Country: Oman “Life appeared to her sharply divided in two parts, like night and day: what we live, and what lives inside of us.” Jokha Alharthi, Celestial Bodies We all know, or at least should know, that life is one big compromise. That doesn’t mean that we can’t or don’t experience joy. We snatch glimpsesContinue reading “Book Review: Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi”
Ms Elanie 