Al Balad Cafe

What was the first book to be borrowed from the Al Balad cafe’s new lending library? Lolita, of course. What was the first one to be added? A book on how to organize closets. Funny stuff.

 

The cafe staff are excited about the project, and also put out a project book donation box. Apparently book donation is kind of a new concept in Egypt, and it was quite a fun experience translating the term into perfect classical Arabic with the help of a friend. Here are some pics of the collection. If you’re in Cairo–please consider borrowing or lending a book!

Book Donation Box

The American University in Cairo is about to move out of its current location in the center of downtown Cairo to a suburban-style campus in the desert about 1 hour away. This has been quite a controversial move, especially for foreign students, who come to Cairo in part to participate its chaotic, exhausting and exciting lifestyle.

One of the few remaining vestiges of the University will be the wonderful English-language bookstore on the main campus. This bookstore also hosts a book donation box for the 100 Books Project. If you are in Cairo, please consider a donation!

 
Your donated Arabic or English language book will go to one of three places:

1) the lending library at the Al Balad Bookstore and Cafe across from the AUC main gate at 31 Mohammed Mahmoud, second floor.

2) the developing Siwa Knowledge Cafe and Cultural Center or

3) a series of libraries for Iraqi and Sudanese refugees, currently being developed.

There’s another book donation box at Al Balad. If you’re in Cairo, consider making a donation of a book you’ve enjoyed and would like to share with others!

 

Some Photos

Used book seller in Cairo.

These are from Al-Azbakiya, the used book market in Cairo. It used to be huge, now its two rows of sellers.  They have lots of English titles, as well as Arabic ones, but their condition tends to be poor. Classic fiction is much more prevalent than recently published contemporary fiction, and prices tend to be between $1 and $4 per used English-language paperback.

Meet our partner cafe

I’m sitting in Cairo, enjoying the atmosphere at the Al Balad Cultural Center and Bookstore, one of two 100 Books knowledge cafe partners we’ll be establishing on this trip. The center is at 31 Mohammed Mahmoud Street, a busy road in downtown Cairo which borders the leafy campus of the American University of Cairo. Around me, in a series of high-ceilinged rooms, is a large collection of Arabic-language books for sale, as well as a few hundred English-language books and a beautifully displayed CD collection of Arabic music. Art created by young local artists adorns the walls. There are colorful caricatures of famous Egyptians in watercolor, oil paintings of tired Egyptian farmers, and delicate wood carvings. There is a quiet buzz as people discuss work and chat with friends in English and Arabic.

 

This place is a kind of oasis from the dusty, loud streets, and young, intellectual-minded Egyptians sometimes spend the whole day here working at tables and drinking coffee. There are film showings and a great interest in what’s new in literature. In short, El Balad is an perfect partner for this project.

We’ve agreed to start a small English-language lending library here on Thursday, as the very first effort of the 100 Books Project. The young people who run the cafe are excited. They’ve chosen the titles they are most interested in from the 100 Books list—books they haven’t been able to stock here—like The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Farenheit 451, and the Life of Pi. Each book is going to have a 100 Books promotional sticker and a description of why the book is a great read. The idea is to add to business by creating another attraction for patrons. 

This is kind of a test case, as is the other 100 Books Cafe being established in the isolated oasis of Siwa this week, some 8 hours across the desert from here.  Will people read the books? Will more books be donated? What are the best lending policies? We will soon know more.

 

Traveling to Egypt

From Sharon Otterman, project founder:

I’m flying to Egypt tonight to get this very young project of the ground. I’ll be in Cairo May 15-23, in Siwa May 24-29, and back in Cairo May 29-June 3.

I’ll be keeping a record of my trip here on this blog. Starting a project which was just a thought a year ago is exciting and scary at the same time, and I hope to share some of those experiences here.

A special thanks to Mounir Nematalla for backing this idea and supporting the creation of the first full library of books in Siwa, Egypt. I also have some books for library at the Al Balad Cafe in Cairo.

This is learning by doing. Thanks for checking in.

a logo is born

We have a logo! Here it is, with and without English/Arabic text:

 

 

The concept is loosely based on the idea of the minaret–a stack of books like a staircase, ascending toward inspiration and knowledge. A very special thanks to Jeremy Wortsman from the awesome Jacky Winter Group, which represents Australian illustrators in the United States, for the design.

The logo will be incorporated into the project’s website as it gets snazzed up and gains in functionality in the coming months. Also, each book donated to the project will bear the logo on a specially designed label. Labels will also have information about each book, explaining why it was selected to be a part of the project.

Intro to the List

The 100 Books Project’s first goal is to make the highest quality English-language books available to Egyptian readers in informal lending libraries. The list on this site, located via the navigation bar above, represents our first, best guess of what a great collection of English-language books might include.

These books will initially be donated to two locations: the 100 Books Knowledge Cafe in Siwa, Egypt, and the Al Balad Cultural Center in Cairo. If you haven’t read the last post, “The Basics”, please do–it will fill you in on what this project is all about.

The list contains more than 100 Books. It is meant as kind of a menu of possible items that could create the cornerstone for a cafe-based lending library in Egypt or elsewhere around the world. What else should the book list contain? Which of your favorite books is missing? What would you like to read?

Post your suggestions and comments here on the site, or by emailing the project at info@100booksproject.org.

The 100 Books are intended as launching pad for discussion, conversation, online dialogue, film showings, and further expansion of the book collection–a kind of a seed from which a tree of knowledge can grow.

 

The Basics

First of all, welcome! The 100 Books Project’s mission is the exchange of high-quality literature and film between the United States, Egypt, and other countries worldwide. It’s a big mission, but we’re starting out small. Thanks for your attention at the beginning of this quest.

Let’s begin with a question. Of the books you’ve read in your life, which ones really grabbed you? Which ones really said something about life, pain, tragedy, courage, love? Or led you to an intellectual insight? Or brought to life an era of history by capturing the mood and tone and feel of that time?

We all know such books are out there. We often label them as our favorite books. They are the ones we keep on the shelf, often in the original copies we cherished when we first came across them. Sometimes we loan these volumes to others, or we buy new copies of them to give to friends.

Now, here’s the second question. If you could make some of these books available to people who live in another country, people who might not ever get to visit your country, but who are intelligent, literate, curious, and open-minded, which would they be?  What books would you share?

It’s a difficult question. That is the genesis of this project.

How Are We Percieved Overseas?

The idea for bringing high quality English language cultural materials to Egypt came about after I spent a year and a half living in Egypt as a Fulbright scholar and freelance journalist covering politics. The more Arabic I learned, and the more Egyptians I met, the more it became clear to me how badly my own culture was being represented in Egypt. Only our worst Hollywood movies were shown in theaters. The television broadcast commerical sitcoms and European pornography. Our most acclaimed novels, non-fiction books and films were not getting through.

I knew that in America, amazing works of literature just lie around on people’s shelves, and are often available on Amazon.com or in used book stores for less than $1.00. I also knew that thousands of Egyptian young people are capable of reading such works. So the issue became one of curation–that is choosing books that would appeal to intelligent young Egyptians–and availablity–making these books available to potential friends overseas.

But why not an exchange–literature traveling both ways across the Atlantic? How great would it be if Americans were pointed in the right direction about Arab books and literature. Collections of the best work could be recommended in cafes and bookstores. Classic Arab-language films could be shown in translation. It would certainly do no harm–and probably would have a positive impact on international understanding. In other words, Make Words, Not War.

But  what books should the 100 Books Project send? What books do you want to read? What books do you want to share?

That’s where I first need your input.

I have developed a list of suggestions, and want to know what you think.

     

Two Libraries

Two small libraries are already in the works for Egypt, thanks to the generous support of partner organizations there, who jumped at the idea to host a small library of 100 Books to start their collection.

There will be a library of books started in the Saharan oasis of Siwa this month, thanks to the support of a generous donor committed to sustainable development in the oasis, Mounir Neamantalla. It will be called the 100 Books Knowledge Cafe, and will also have internet access, coffee, and displays of local art. It will be open to both tourists and locals, with the hope being the facilitation of cultural exchange around ideas. It is now under construction, and should fully open to the public this fall.

The collection for Siwa will start out with 50 children’s books and 50 adult books. Books will be lent for short periods from the library for schools and tourists and individuals to read. Formally, the books will be owned by the Friends of Siwa, a multi-cultural organization based in Siwa dedicated to the sustainable development of the oasis.

A second collection will be started this month in Cairo. The Al Balad Cafe and Cultural Center, located just across from the American University in Cairo gate at Sharia Muhammed Mahumud, has offered to host a collection of books primarily intended for young Egyptians ages 18-35. Al Balad, started by a group of idealistic young Egyptians, shows films, offers internet access and has a display of local art. As with the Siwa cafe, Al Balad will determine its own policies for lending books, to make sure that the books are returned and to insure there is a small financial benefit to their participation.

The Project Will Grow

Each location will be able to accept further donations of books, so that the project can keep on growing. In addition, host locations can host book exchange shelves. For those, a reader would leave a book, in exchange for taking a book from the exchange part of the collection.

In other words, the 100 Books would form the core of the collection, which could expand as large as anyone wanted. Some locations could just have exchanges–I plan this month to approach a number of cafes in Cairo to see if they are interested.