Book Club: Reading SWANA, Reading Towards One Another

Nose in the Books is pleased to introduce a new reading group, Reading SWANA, Reading Towards One Another, hosted by Alexandre Mecattaf.

The wider aim of this reading series is to introduce readers to Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) through the lives of its people rather than through familiar images of war and crisis. With that purpose in mind, the four books in the series offer distinct points of entry into a region too often perceived as distant or monolithic. Spanning different countries, histories, generations and social classes, the selection foregrounds women's and queer experiences while tracing how larger historical and social forces shape intimate relationships, struggles and choices.

The selection moves from a Lebanese Christian woman whose solidarity with Palestinians places her life at risk in Sitt Marie Rose to a gay man caught between love, family and revolution in Guapa; from three Omani sisters finding their own paths through a society still marked by slavery in Celestial Bodies to the intertwined lives of rich and poor residents under one Cairo roof in The Yacoubian Building.

Despite their differences, all four books ask questions that may feel unexpectedly close: What do we owe our families? Where do we find belonging? Whom are we permitted to love? How do we remain ourselves when society demands otherwise? At a moment of immense suffering in the region, when its people are too often reduced to a single narrative rather than seen in their full complexity, reading these stories can help us move beyond the distance of headlines and encounter unfamiliar lives with curiosity, tenderness and care.

Nose in the Books will be ordering copies of Guapa, Celestial Bodies and The Yacoubian Building for each participant and have them mailed to your door via SF Express (pay on delivery). We look forward to welcoming you at the library!

Texts and dates:
▹ 19 September 2026: Intros and (optionally) Sitt Marie Rose
▹ 31 October 2026: Guapa
▹ 28 November 2026: Celestial Bodies
▹ 12 December 2026: The Yacoubian Building