7 Books From Authors In The Region That You Need To Read In 2021
Support your local authors while being inspired by their body of work.
Books not only make for a great addition to self-care days but make a great gift to anyone looking to read stories with a Dubai/UAE point-of-views, for a change.
Get your coffee mugs ready, find a sweet spot at home (or your fave café), and prepare to spend hours with your nose under these books.
Read some of the best work the Middle East has to offer…
7. Be enamored by the several short stories that are inspired by Lebanon and the Beirut lifestyle with And So We Drive On: Short Stories by Marina Chamma
Marina Chamma published “And So We Drive On: Short Stories,’ a 144-paged book that is comprised of short stories that shed light on Lebanon as an inspiration and despair, through the citizens’ lens.
Read this synopsis from the back of the book to get a feel of just one of the MANY stories you’ll see:
“A mother encounters her son, arbitrarily detained during Lebanon’s civil war, revealing almost everything she wanted to know about his dreadful ordeal. A nearby shooting causes an unexpected detour, unveiling a desolate Beirut, hidden behind pitch-black nights and unfinished buildings. A soon to retire spy returns to Beirut and reestablishes contact with a former asset, but is he the one being spied on this time?”
And So We Drive On is available at all Virgin UAE stores.
6. Motivate yourself again and again with a book that touches up on self-development in many forms, or simply put, Just Read It
Written by Emirati author, Omar Al Busaidy, who has also had 11 years of experience working in the UAE’s corporate world- this book will motivate you to get things done, especially for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Students or working professionals who want to achieve more in both their personal and professional lives can truly benefit from Just Read It, one page at a time.
So what are ya waiting for?
Buy Just Read It here
5. Dare to be vulnerable and read Rock Your Ugly to learn all about the UAE individuals who have overcome toxic beauty standards- one story at a time
What started as a photo project and therapeutic output for UAE-based photographer Waleed Shah has now turned into a book, soon to be published.
Rock Your Ugly is exactly as it sounds, a photo book that looks into the lives of everyday people willing to bare all and reclaim those parts of themselves they have struggled to embrace.
Men and women have been photographed revealing their physical insecurities along with stories that detail everything, the photographer of the project has been quoted saying, “We all have things we don’t like about ourselves… but why hide it, when we can rock it?”
Pre-orders for Rock Your Ugly are available here
4. Enter the epic fantasy world of The Armagondas with a graphic novel written and by pioneer Emirati artist Jalal Luqman</h2>
Order The Armagondas here
3. Paul Evans details his life manual in his book When I Woke Up that goes into his memory of a parallel universe whilst in a coma, being captured at gunpoint in Cairo, and his quest to entrepreneurship in the Middle East
If all of that hasn’t convinced you yet, we don’t know what will.
Paul Evans, known for leading Solutions Leisure, the nightlife and entertainment group that har brought us Lock, Stock & Barrel, and Asia Asia truly outdid himself with this memoir.
Buy it here.
2. Follow along the adventures of three best friends who engaged in a harmless act that results in tragedy: read Not Bad People
Written by the presenter of the business breakfast show at Dubai Eye 103.8, Brandy Scott wrote her debut novel Not Bad People with a unique take on three best friends’ engaging in a harmless act that leads them “to confront buried resentments, shattering secrets, dark lies, and the moral consequences that could alter their lives forever.”
Buy it here
1. The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai is a story about a 17-year-old girl in the Arabian Peninsula set in the 1950s
Maha Gargash sets the tone for traditional and modern Arab stories, with a twist. In The Sand Fish: A Novel From Dubai, she writes about a young girl Noora who had to deal with a series of struggles with an inspiring perspective and immense strength.
Read it here.
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