| What do you do when the main event of the publishing year doesn’t happen? |
| By Kate Durham |
| Host a bevy of baby book fairs to try to make up the losses. After escalating protests forced the last- minute cancellation of the Cairo International Book Fair, originally set to open January 29, booksellers from AUC Press to the second-hand kiosks of Ezbakeya hosted small-scale fairs to drum up business.AUC Press led the pack in March by opening up the gardens of the American University in Cairo’s Downtown campus to booksellers, while Ezbakeya offered special discounts at the stalls. The General Egyptian Book Organization used the opportunity to launch several fairs officials said will become annual events: the Faisal Street Book Fair in Ramadan and the Arab Book Fair, both in Cairo, and several other fairs around the country. The most creative attempt was the nation’s first-ever virtual book fair at arabiabookfair.com, which opened in April and generated enough interest for organizers to keep the Arabic-only website running permanently. The revolution also inspired bookshelves worth of Tahrir-inspired coffee table books, commentary and even a compilation of tweets trying to immortalize those memorable 18 days. An informal poll of the nation’s major bookshops, including Diwan, Alef Bookstores and Kotob Khan, however, suggests that our book-buying habits are not very revolutionary, with Tahrir books, recent releases and old favorites on the lists of top-selling tomes. After poring over the local bestsellers, here are et’s picks for 2011’s top reads, in no particular order. THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO by Stieg Larsson The lead-up to a Hollywood adaptation (due out this month) of this crime thriller has reignited interest in this crime trilogy, published after Larsson’s death. The first book, Dragon Tattoo, introduces Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker and investigator on the very convoluted trail of a corrupt businessman believed to be a serial killer. TIPPING POINT by Malcolm Gladwell Gladwell looks at that point where an idea crosses the line from introduction to widespread acceptance, and how to push your idea or product across that threshold. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID (SERIES) by Jeff Kinney Started as a fictional blog by Greg (the wimpy kid), Kinney has expanded Greg’s stories into a series of illustrated novels, the first of which was turned into a 2010 live-action film. The sixth Wimpy Kid book, Cabin Fever, was released last month. ON THE STATE OF EGYPT by Alaa Al-Aswany Comprising the English translations of Al-Aswany’s newspaper columns published before the revolution, this book was rereleased in April with a new foreword on Tahrir Square. Critics have called On the State of Egypt the backstory of the revolution. THE AGE OF DECEPTION by Mohamed ElBaradei Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Egyptian presidential hopeful Mohamed El-Baradei offers a blunt assessment of his years heading the International Atomic Energy Agency. THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code’s Robert Langdon is back in a thriller that takes him to Washington DC to unravel the mysteries of the Freemasons. ALEPH by Paulo Coehlo Coehlo’s latest release, Aleph, continues his oft-explored theme of self discovery, as the deeply autobiographical main character meets Hilal, the woman he loved and betrayed 500 years ago. The two cross time and space in search of forgiveness. EGYPTIAN FREEDOM STORY by Mohamed Fadel Fahmy and Samy Al Tobgy This photo documentary takes us through the March constitutional referendum, with photos from multiple sources. In addition to chapters on life in Tahrir and the Battle of the Camel, the authors have dedicated a special section to graffiti as the art of the revolution. BIG NATE BOREDOM BUSTER by Lincoln Peirce A not-just-for-children activity book for fans of the comic strip Big Nate, starring the witty and whimsical sixth-grader of the same name. TAHRIR SQUARE: THE HEART OF THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION This coffee-table book features the best images from Swedish photographer Mia Gröndahl who captured the spirit of the tent city. Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin provides the foreword. |
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