"What keeps a book alive? How many times has that question been asked! The answer, I believe, is simple. A book is kept alive by the loving recommendation one reader makes to another."

Henry Miller, The Books in My Life

With the beginning of each year, new dreams accompany us, and a moment of optimism and determination overwhelms us, during which we are overwhelmed with the enthusiasm of beginnings in order to embark on new projects.

Beginnings are always an appropriate point for setting goals and planning for the next stage, with all the promises it carries.

And we in "Maidan" wanted, at the beginning of the year, to get close to a number of Arab writers and writers, in order to know what they are planning for during 2023, what are their projects, and how do they prepare for the next year?

And since reading is part of the writer’s life, through which his knowledge grows and in whose shadows his vision and ideas mature, we asked eleven Arab writers a question about what they plan to read and what books are on their reading schedule during the year 2023, and we collected their answers in this report.

Sudanese writer Amir Taj Al-Sir

Sudanese writer Amir Taj Al-Sir (communication sites)

Amir Taj Al-Sir is a Sudanese writer and novelist. His novel “366” won the Katara Prize for the novel, and his novels “The Caterpillar Hunter” and “Flowers Eaten by Fire” reached the lists of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction known as “Booker” in 2011 and 2018, respectively, and reached His novel "The French Perfume" was included in the International Translated Literature Award 2016.

Taj Al-Sir shares with the readers of “Meidan” what books he intends to read during 2023, referring to a list of books, including the novel “Memory of Departure” by the Tanzanian writer “Abdul Razzaq Garanh”, the author of the amazing worlds and the recent winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the novel “Hament” for English Maggie O'Farrell, this is something from Shakespeare.

There is also a novel by the French "Melise Bisri" entitled "The Third Inn of Time", which won the well-known French Goncourt Prize, as well as the novels of "Mansoura Ezz El-Din" and "Jean Dost" and books on the social history of the Sudanese tribes, and other things according to time, says "Taj". Debt".

Egyptian writer and translator Ahmed El-Zanaty

Egyptian writer and translator Ahmed Al-Zanati (communication sites)

Ahmed Al-Zanati is an Egyptian writer and translator. His novel "The Turquoise Carpet" won the Sharjah Prize for Arab Creativity, and he was awarded the Egyptian Cultural Palaces Authority in 2017 and 2021.

Ahmed answered in an exclusive interview with "Maidan": "First, I plan to read "Karl Popper ... An Unfinished Research", which is an intellectual biography of the Austrian/British philosopher that was published in 1976. My personal interest stems from a general interest in reading biographies of philosophers and thinkers. Also The novel "Love" by the Italian novelist "Dino Pozzati", whose style I admired since the novel "The Tatar Desert" and his touching short stories, and the theme of the novel as I read about it is very attractive.

He adds, "I also want to read the novel "The Sea" by the Irish novelist "John Banville", whose translation will be published soon. I tried "John Banville" before in the novel "The Book of Testimony" and the novel "Eclipse", and it was a wonderful experience. In "Eclipse" A clear interest in the language and the small details of life, and his novel “The Sea”, according to critics’ opinions, is his most beautiful novel, and finally the novel “The Pole” by the South African writer “J.M. Coetzee”, which will also be published next year, and I saw a review of it on one of the sites I was attracted by its general idea, of returning to classic texts such as The Divine Comedy to redraw a love story from a new perspective.

Egyptian writer Bilal Fadl

Egyptian writer Bilal Fadl (communication sites)

Bilal Fadl is an Egyptian writer, screenwriter, and media personality. His works varied between stories, novels, scenarios, and essays. His novel "Umm Mimi" reached the long list of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction "Arabic Booker" in its last session.

Fadl also presented the television program "Book Juice", a cultural program that reviews a book in each episode and interviews a writer.

Bilal spoke to the readers of "Maidan" about what he plans to read in the coming year, saying that he divides the time between reading new books whose topic interests him or loves their writers, and according to him: "This remains a worker like the livelihood that our Lord sends, and hours that afflict and many disappoint." .

Fadl added, "I also make sure that there is a regular time to read the classics or works that I have read before and deserve to be re-read. This year I will re-read "A Thousand and One Nights" and "Bada'i al-Zuhur wa Waqa'at al-Dur" by "Ibn Iyas", and the book The Story of Civilization by Will Durant.

Egyptian writer Rasha Adly

Egyptian writer Rasha Adly

Rasha Adly is an Egyptian novelist and visual artist. Her novels "Passion" and "The Last Days of the Pasha" were longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction "Arabic Booker" in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

In an exclusive interview with Meydan, she said: "Write to me quickly and extensively" by the French "Françoise Sagan" is at the top of my reading list next year, and it is a correspondence between the author and her childhood friend that will be published for the first time. Also, the novel by the French writer "Patrick Modiano" ", which was recently published by the "Galimar" house, and the novel "Unknown Seine" by the writer "Guillaume Miso".

And Rasha adds: "Also on my list is the novel "Women of Troy" by Pat Parker, and the recent work of "Annie Arnault", who won the Nobel Prize in Literature, titled "The Young Man."

Moroccan writer Sakina Habiballah

Moroccan writer Sakina Habiballah (communication sites)

Sakina Habiballah is a Moroccan writer, poet, and translator. She holds an honorary fellowship in creative writing from the University of Iowa, USA. Her publications range from poetry, stories, and novels.

Sakina answered us about what she intends to read in 2023, saying: “Years ago, I read a poll published by the Guardian newspaper about the classics of literature that most of us claim to have seen, although we did not, in fact, then I accompanied him with a list of the titles of those books. I do not lie, I found two books among them that I thought I I have already read them, but the truth is that I did not pass the first chapter of them. No, I did not make a decision to go back to reading them, but since that day I have become more careful when it comes to reviewing what I read. At the end of this year, I made a similar decision: to re-read the works that I read once, very long ago. At the end of my adolescence I completely forgot about it, but I still sometimes talk about it as if it was part of my memory.

And Habibullah adds: “I found it similar to the Guardian list, because I also talk about bread I make from wheat that was blown by the wind two decades ago and sometimes I swear that its ripe smell still fills my nose. I will start next year with “In Search of Lost Time” by Marcel Proust. I read it when I was not yet twenty, I was often motivated by the desire to accumulate the largest number of readings, to excel, and to delude myself with knowledge, which are reasons that explain well why today I do not remember anything about it. It will also be a return to a lost time, starting from another lost time.

Egyptian writer Adel Esmat

Egyptian writer Adel Esmat (communication sites)

Adel Esmat is an Egyptian writer and novelist who has published many novels. He won the State Encouragement Award in 2011 for the novel “Days of Blue Windows” and the Naguib Mahfouz Award presented by the American University in Cairo in 2016 for the novel “Tales of Youssef Tadros”. His novel “The Commandments” also reached To the short list of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction "Arabic Booker".

In an exclusive interview with Meidan, Esmat talked about what he intends to read in 2023, saying: “I have deferred readings about the history of Egypt, and they will be on the reading list next year, and these are the most important of them: “The Islamic Roots of Capitalism, Egypt (1760-1840),” authored by Peter Gran” and published by “Dar Al-Fikr”, and “The Arab Revolution” by the writer “Salah Issa”, published by the “Cultural Palaces Authority”, as well as “The Pursuit of Justice” by “Khaled Fahmy” published by “Dar Al-Shorouk”, as well as “Awqaf, Society and Politics In Egypt” by Ibrahim Bayoumi Ghanem, published by Orbits for Research and Publishing.

Saudi writer Abdullah Nasser

Saudi writer Abdullah Nasser (communication sites)

The Saudi writer Abdullah Nasser, the author of the two collections of short stories “The Art of Abandonment” and “The Stuck on a Sunday”, and the winner of the Riyadh International Book Fair Award “The Path of the Saudi Writer” in 2020, spoke to the readers of “Maidan” about the idea of ​​​​the reading list in 2023, and he said: “ I read according to mood and whim, and if I need to write something that requires research. In my mind, I read more of the writings of the Moroccan "Abdel-Fattah Kilito", for example his book "Literature and Suspicion", and the book "Springs of the First Language" by "Saeed Al-Ghanmi". Michel de Montaigne”, “The Divine Comedy” by “Dante”, “The Message of Forgiveness” by “Abu Ala’a Al-Ma’arri”, and that I re-read the collection of “Sinbad” by “Ahmed Bozfor”. I would also like to read more books of plastic art and biographies ".

Egyptian writer Mohamed Abdel Nabi

Egyptian writer Mohamed Abdel Nabi (communication sites)

Mohamed Abdel Nabi is an Egyptian writer and translator. His novel "In the Spider's Room" won the Arabic Literature Prize presented by the Arab World Institute in Paris in 2019, and the Sawiris Cultural Prize in 2017, and it also reached the short list of the Arab Booker Prize in 2017. As for his novel " The Ghost of Anton Chekhov” won the Sawiris Cultural Award at its ninth session in 2010, and he is the founder of the “The Story and What It Contains” workshop that is concerned with developing literary writing skills.

Abd al-Nabi shared with the readers of "Maidan" his reading projects for the coming year in a special conversation, saying: "I aspire to complete the reading of "Italo Calvino". I started reading it in the current world and I plan to read the rest of his works in 2023. I also intend to read the complete works of the great writer "Yahya Hakki." ".

Like the Saudi writer Abdullah Nasser, Abd al-Nabi has the same interest in the French "Michel de Montaigne", as he adds: "I also want to read Montaigne's articles, which are published in 3 parts by Dar Ma'na and translated by Farid al-Zahi." And the book "How Live Life, or Montaigne's Life" by "Sarah Bakewell" published by "The House of Enlightenment". Also, on behalf of Montaigne, I am preparing to read the book "Montini" by the writer "Stephan Zweig" and translated by "Ahmed Al-Zanati". I also want to read "Alexandria Quartet" by "Lawrence Durrell" And more by the great writer Salah Issa, as well as the complete works of Baudelaire, translated by Rifaat Salam.

Syrian writer Maha Hassan

Syrian writer Maha Hassan (communication sites)

Maha Hassan is a Syrian writer and novelist. Two of her novels were shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction "Arabic Booker", namely "The Umbilical Cord" in 2011, and "Novels" in 2015.

In an interview with the readers of "Maidan" about what she plans to read, Maha said: "There are many books that I started reading at the end of 2022 and I have not finished them yet, such as the novel "In Search of the Ball of Wool" by the friendly Syrian novelist "Rosa Yassin Hassan", and also a book "Empty Cages" by "Fatima Qandil". I also intend to read the new work of the Moroccan "Abdel-Fattah Kilito", as I follow everything he writes, because it intersects with a deferred project of mine on language and exile. I also read, for research-creative reasons, "One Thousand and One Nights" , which I will focus more on during 2023.

Syrian writer Nagham Haider

Syrian writer Nagham Haider (communication sites)

Nagham Haidar is a Syrian writer and dentist. She has published three works of fiction so far, the latest of which is the novel "Lost Battles" published by Hachette Antoine House during the current year.

Nagham won the Syrian Ministry of Culture Award for the Short Story in 2010.

In response to Medan's question about what she intends to read, Nagham says: "I am now reading the novel "The Magic Mountain" by "Thomas Mann", and I may finish it by the New Year. As for the list of books, I intend to read the novel "Sadness in My Heart" by the writer "Hilal Shoman", I am interested in this writer's experience and style. There is a novel "Hajrat Nouna" by "Christina Fernandez", I read her before the novel "With Agatha in Istanbul" and I was fascinated by her unique worlds, so I was curious to read more of her.

And Nagham added: "I will also read the novel "Think of Me Tomorrow During the Battle" by "Javier Marías" translated by "Ali Al-Ashqar". Because of my current interest in German literature, I intend to read "Nothing New on the Western Front" by "Erich Maria Remarque", and finally " Water and Dreams" by "Bachelard", translated by "Ali Ibrahim" and presented by "Adonis".

Egyptian writer Nora Nagy

Egyptian writer Nora Nagy (communication sites)

Noura Nagy is an Egyptian writer who has published four works of fiction, the book "Writers and Unity" and the short story collection "Like Naive Movies".

Her novel "Aspects of Camelia" won the Yahya Hakki Prize for Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Sawiris Cultural Prize.

And about the plans for the next year, Noura says: “I intend to read all the books that were postponed from last year. I had a list of books that I had read only a few of them; Readings about the novel, writing techniques, etc. So every day I put more books next to my bed, novels such as "Sweet Smell of Death" by "Guillermo Arriaga" and translated by "Mohamed Al-Fouli", I loved the synopsis written on the cover that reminded me of the atmosphere of the novel "The Story of a Declared Death" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Nora continues sharing her plans with the readers of "Maidan" by saying: "I also want to read the book "Sexual Masks" by "Kamili Bayla", and I had read it before in a digital copy and wished to read it on paper for more focus in its useful chapters. Also on my list is the novel "The Wife". Lost" by "Gillian Flynn", which is a thriller and suspense novel. I am also waiting for many publications in the Cairo exhibition of my favorite books.