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.