Anna Karenina - long, no happy ending, but the novel. theme: trying to be happy
Fathers and Sons - like Anna Karenina, more contemplative, but a good read about generational differences
Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy - heartbreaking, a one-time read for me--but very good fiction; tells the story of a family across a generation in early twentieth century Egypt, covers family dynamics, political upheaval, friendship, unrequited love... There is a great essay about this trilogy (as well as Mahfouz) by Edward Said in the NYRB: "The Cruelty of Memory..."
Naguib Mahfouz, Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth - in terms of fiction set in the ancient world, this is very good (more about Akhenaten's wife, to be honest)--also about personal beliefs and being an non-traditional leader
Colonialism and Its Forms of Knowledge, Bernard Cohn - the anthropological read on colonialism. The chapter on how the census fundamentally changed Indian society was a life-changing read
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell - this is my favorite Victorian novel, I will take it over any of Jane Austen's
Brunelleschi's Dome, Ross King - an interesting read on Florentine society pre-Renaissance and the challenges of building the Santa Maria del Fiore
Portrait of a Lady, Henry James - the novel on early twentieth century female independence, if you ask me. About a woman who makes an unconventional choice in marriage thinking it will allow her the agency she wants, but realizes she and her intentions were misled
Pygmalion, George Bernard Shaw - a play, but my favorite, on a woman trying to claim some agency by improving her education
Man and Superman, George Bernard Shaw - also a play, interesting discourse on gender. Relatively long
The Age of Innocence - on love and choices in early twentieth century New York
Lawrence in Arabia - don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of western imperialists outside of their home country--and this book does a good job at describing imperial folly
White Teeth - is this the first contemporary novel on this list? An unpleasant read (on being brown, black, biracial, and privileged white in modern London) with genuine truths and humor
Mrs. Dalloway - I did not enjoy this book until a month ago, despite having tried to read it many times. A day in the life of an unhappy woman. I get it now
The Art of Living, Epictetus - kind of self-help writing but interesting and beneficial nonetheless
The Architect's Apprentice - another contemporary(-ily written) novel. Set in Ottoman Istanbul and interesting--about architecture, the Ottomans, and love (of course, what else to drive plot). But, interesting
Black Milk - Elif Shafak's memoir. On herself, and on famous female writers (or wives-of-writers, like Tolstoy's wife Sophia). Highly recommend
Brideshead Revisited - I've always enjoyed this one for its description of the vanishing class system in Britain through a struggling young Oxford student, which I found relatable for another context
The Corporation that Changed the World, Nick Robins - the book on the East India Company, if you ask me. Short and an easy history read
In the House of the Law, Judith E. Tucker - this is a great book on Islamic law in the seventeenth (? and around) century Ottoman empire. It delineates the flexibility of Islamic law and particularly focuses on how women had far more rights under the system of the time compared to now... Very academic, but a short and interesting read
Hadji Murat, Tolstoy - a heart-breaking short story about a guerilla fighter who forms an uneasy alliance with the Russian military... about the injustices in life
Anything by Chekhov, but particularly his plays (they're about missing more interesting places, boredom, family dynamics, grappling with traditional values and scientific advancement...) and I recently really enjoyed the story The Duel (about personal spiritual beliefs)
Affective Communities:...the Politics of Friendship - on the politics of friendship across power strata. A short sociology read, dense but informative
The Red-Haired Woman, Orhan Pamuk - a play on Orpheus. This is my favorite Pamuk (others being Silent House and Snow, I am iffy on My Name is Red, I personally hate The Museum of Innocence--underage relationship--and Istanbul--author fantasizes killing someone)
White Nights, Dostoevsky - my favorite short story of all time. On how a few minutes of happiness are enought to last a lifetime
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War - on the Syrian revolution. It is a few years old now, published in 2015
The Sultan and the Queen, Jerry Brotton - an interesting account of Elizabeth I's dealings with the Ottomans
The Return, Hisham Matar - Matar's memoir on the loss of his father (who was kidnapped by the Gaddafi regime, fate unknown despite Matar attempting to trace it down)
The Vanishing Velazquez - non-fiction, about how an obscure shop-owner in England came across a Velazquez, proved it was real, and now the painting is lost
Dreams from My Father - I know... I think this is a good read, though, on identity, purpose, and coming of age
Evicted, Matthew Desmond - on evictions in the US; lots of facts, very sad and well-written. Author was evicted himself in his youth and spent two years living in the field
This is Not a Border, Ahdaf Soueif - collection of writings from the Palestine Literary Festival
The Ghost Map - an interesting account of how they figured out the cause of cholera in London
Notes on a Foreign Country, Suzy Hansen - I've given this book to so many people. It's by an American journalist who moved to Turkey over a decade ago, and about her experience reporting from about and realizing America's role in enforcing its hegemony and how media plays a role in it
20,000 Leagues under the Sea - I like to think that this is the first anti-nation state novel. So many layers to Captain Nemo
The Republic of Arabic Letters - really interesting, about the Qur'an and perception of Islam in early modern Europe
Making Morocco, Jonathan Wyrtzen - title says it all, interesting read
Stop Being Lonely, Kira Asatryan - I thought this was interesting book on relationships
Book of Conquest, Manan Ahmed - this is a history of the Chachnama, a text that the British used as a source for divide and rule and other legal bases of differentiation between Muslims/Hindus, but actually it was grossly misinterpreted (surprise, surprise) and is critical of (Muslim) princes
Bad Blood, John Carreyrou - on the Elizabeth Holmes startup, crazy story
Bella Figura, Kamin Mohammadi - a British Iranian woman's experience living in Florence one year, which changed her life. Kind of a self-help book of sorts but an enjoyable true story (spoiler alert, she marries a prince)
Fifty Million Rising, Saadia Zahidi - one Muslim women's increasing participation in the workforce. Lots of facts, interesting read
The Venetian Quran, Peter Tomassino - about a translation of the Qur'an widely circulated in Europe, that was actually for European refugees who were planning to move to the Ottoman Empire. Underrated part of history, IMO
Winners Take All, Anand Ghiridaradhas - was nothing new really, but provides language and context for a lot of the efficiency-driven corporate shifts and is an interesting read nonetheless
The Order of Time, Carlo Rovelli - a short book on the concept of time--what that has meant historically, across societies, and scientifically (Rovelli is a physicist)
The Last Leonardo, Ben Lewis - a fascinating read on the last Leonardo painting, its history and also its current status (it was purchased by MBS for the Louvre Abu Dhabi but has yet to be shown)
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Murakami - a short read on running, stamina, and what that has meant for Murakami
MBS, Ben Hubbard - a good book on the modern KSA
God's Shadow, Alan Mikhail - on Selim and his expansion of the Ottoman empire. Very accessible
Slavery and Islam, Jonathan Brown - a not-dense account of the history of slavery in Islam. In short, slavery has had many forms and definitions--most of which are vastly different from the African American slavery we are familiar with in America
The Dark Interval: Letters on Loss, Grief, Transformation, Rilke - a book of letters on grieving. Rilke can be extra but I think this is immensely helpful
The Baron in the Trees, Calvino - a somewhat surrealist Italian novel about a baron who decides one day he will give up living on earth and instead in the trees. Funny and heartwarming
A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, Saunders - on how to read certain Russian short stories, a good reminder on how to read in general
The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature, Viv Groskop - title says it all, and the book is pretty hilarious
The Corpse Washer - this is a very sad and great novel. About a man from a family of corpse washers who finds himself in demand after the onset of the Iraq War, and also about unrequited love and loss
My Uncle Napoleon - hilarious and relatable
