Lebanese Bookoholics: 2016

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Bookoholics' Year 2016 Round Up

Bookoholics have had quite a busy and fruitful year, find below the different meetings that were held in 2016 (the books' theme was books from around the world):

1. Blind Date with A Book # 3: Jan 13

2. Discussion of Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book (led by Katia): Jan 25

3. Discussion of وجه مارغريت القبيح with its author Kassem Marwani (led by Hoda, Rihab, Salam, Nadia, Rayane): Feb 5

4. Discussion of Nikos Kazantzakis' Book from Greece, Zorba The Greek (led by Rihab): Feb 23

5. Discussion of Aravind Adiga's Book from India, The White Tiger (led by Rayane): Mar 17

6. Discussion of صانع الألعاب + وارسو قبل قليل with its author Ahmad Mohsen (led by Hoda and Rihab): Apr 7

7. Discussion of Mohammad El Baridy's Book from Tunisia, جارتي تسحب ستارتها (led by Hoda) + Poetry Reading: Apr 25

8. Lunch at Shakespeare n Co: May 22

9. Discussion of William Saroyan's Book from Armenia, My Name Is Aram (led by Raghd) + David Foenkinos' Book From France, La Délicatesse (led by Maysoon): Jun 3

10. Iftar on June 24

11. Bookoholics' 4th Year Anniversary featuring John Green; Discussion of his 4 novels An Abundance of Katherines, The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, Papertowns (led by Hoda, Mohammad Zein, Salam, Selim): Jul 12

12. Farewell gathering on July 16

13. Discussion of Sun Mi Hwang's Book from South Korea, The Hen who Dreamed She Could Fly (led by Salam) + Valeria Luiselli's Book from Mexico (led by Mohammad Zein), The Story of My Teeth: Aug 5

14. Discussion of الخلدان الصماء with its author Abed El Hakim El Kadiry (led by Hoda): Sep 9

15. Discussion of Sadegh Hedayat's Book from Iran, The Blind Owl (led by Malak) + Betoul El Khodeiry's Book from Iraq, كم بدت السماء قريبة (led by Zainab): Sep 16

16. Discussion of Julie Otsuka's Book from Japan, When the Emperor Was Divine (led by Mohammad Saab): Oct 10

17. Attending the meeting with author Sinan Antoon: Nov 5

18. Discussion of Celeste Ng's Book from China, Everything I Never Told You (led by Moustafa) + Jorge Luis Borges' Book from Argentina, The Book of Sand and Shakespeare's Memory (led by Mohammad Zein): Nov 7

19. Discussion of Muriel Barbery's L'Elégance du Hérisson (led by Rihab) at Le Salon Du Livre Francophone: Nov 12

20. Visit to the National Library: Nov 17

21. Discussion of Maksim Gorky's Book from Russia, Mother (led by Hoda): Nov 30

22. Discussion of Javier Marias' Book from Spain, A Heart So White (led by Hoda and Majida): Dec 14

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Meeting with Author Ahmad Mohsen and Discussion of his 2 Novels

On April 7th, 2016, we had our meeting at Antoine's Bookstore, Beirut Souks Branch, at 5:30 p.m. to discuss author Ahmad Mohsen's 2 novels وارسو قبل قليل and صانع الألعاب in his presence.

Salam introduced the author and inquired about his love of books, writing, and journalism. After we got to know him better, Rihab led the discussion of وارسو قبل قليل which has been longlisted for the Arab Booker Prize 2016. After a short break, Hoda led the discussion of صانع الألعاب which was longlisted in 2014-2015 for Sheikh Zayed fiction prize for young writers.

This meeting has been by far the funniest and most enjoyable in the presence of an author. We thank Ahmad Mohsen for his honesty, attitude, and for making this meeting a success. We will be awaiting the publication of his third novel which we are eager to read and discuss with him.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Discussion of The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

On March 17th 2016, we had our meeting at Dar Bistro & Books in Hamra Street at 5:30 p.m. to discuss The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. This book was picked as the second book of out books around the world theme for all of year 2016. The White Tiger is our voted book from India!

The book was a hit, and all those who read it rated it as 3, 4, or 5 stars out of 5 on Goodreads. The discussion leader was Rayane who conducted a 10 questions quiz at the end of the discussion. The winner of the quiz was Salam, our very own white tiger!

I will share here my Goodreads Review :

' The story of a poor man's life is written on his body, in a sharp pen. '
How far would you go to break free from servitude? Would you stop a man's life to start living as a human being?
I felt disgusted by many descriptions in this novel. I can never get the images in my head about the Ganga river! Now, to me, disgust is a more visceral feeling than sadness. So, the author earns points for making my insides churn.
This is an original novel with quite an original narrator and protagonist. Munna, or Balram, was a perfectly crafted realistic character. I have to admit that I felt compassion towards him, and as peaceful as I think I am - thinking I would never murder a soul - I wonder how I would act if I was in his shoes. He gives many good counter arguments as to how humans kill one another seeking freedom and they are dubbed the title of glorious heroes. What was he to do? Was he to remain a soulless servant? He is a white tiger, he had to escape the coop! The novel couldn't have had a happy ending either way.
About India; light and darkness, corruption, castes, religions, and lots of social and economical injustices, well it all broke my heart. Although I think that all governments are corrupt, and all citizens are screwed by their governments and misled in some way, the servitude thing which Adiga compares to a rooster coop is quite alarming; I do not see how such a master-servant system could ever be solved without any spilled blood. We had a civil war in Lebanon fueled by social injustices and excessive greed of the wealthy and powerful. Balram was right in saying that the history of humankind is a long story of fights between the rich and the poor.
Well deserved Booker Prize for Adiga. This novel is a masterpiece.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

March 2016 Books (Books from Around the World Theme) (Armenia Theme) (Tunisia Theme) + Books Discussed with Author

1. My Name is Aram : William Saroyan

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2. جارتي تسحب ستارتها : محمد الباردي

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3. صانع الألعاب : أحمد محسن

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4. وارسو قبل قليل : أحمد محسن

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

February 2016 Books (Books From Around the World Theme) (India Theme)

1. The White Tiger : Aravind Adiga

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Discussion of Zorba The Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis

On February 23rd 2016, we had our meeting at Costa Café in Hamra Street at 5:30 to discuss Zorba The Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. This book was picked as the first book of our books around the world theme for all of year 2016. Zorba is our voted book from Greece!

The discussion of Zorba was led by our member Rihab who also prepared some Zorba bookmarks.
Download the Zorba Bookmarks Here

I will share my Goodreads review of the book:
Women, the sea, alcohol, food, and hard work are the priorities of Alexis Zorba's life. He embraces the divine and the demonic in him; he laughs at customs, books, dogmas, patriotism, and the supernatural. Dancing is the way he handles extreme emotions. He needs his drink at night so that his soul can feel free. He is thirsty for love; and the more physical love he attains, the more emotional warmth he looks for.
Zorba is painted as an extraordinary madman or wise man by many. To me, he is a very simple man with lots of simple needs and some sass. He looks for instantaneous rewards and satisfaction. He wants things now, right now. These needs are primitive needs: food, alcohol, sex, and money. He disregards everything that gets in the way of him getting these needs.
Now, the narrator is far more interesting. He is really struggling. He reflects a lot before deciding on what to do in order to minimize future regrets. He is torn between becoming a Buddha, and satisfying his primitive bodily needs. So, he is quite the opposite of Alexis. He is complex! And, God I love complex characters! He goes to books, writes all night, relies on intuition, daydreams, and floats around. Alexis' 'erratic' lifestyle and beliefs draw him in like a moth is drawn to the brightness. But is a fire burning so bright, or is it a transcendent light? I think it is both. I think that the narrator wasn't right, and Zorba wasn't right. They're both at extremes. I guess that humans would be happiest if they can satisfy both their primitive and their higher intellectual needs. (Think Maslow's pyramid of needs)
The novel was quite enjoyable, especially in the first and last quarters. The middle was a bit redundant. The writing style was good. I especially loved the narrator's reflections and inner reasoning. The author was able to transport me to the shores of Crete in Greece. For that, I am highly grateful. This is an unforgettable duo of characters. I quite enjoyed the movie starring Anthony Quinn.
“Every man has his folly, but the greatest folly of all … is not to have one.”
Let us enjoy our follies while they last!