The Boundless Book Club

Talking about books that are The Business, the Emirates Literature Foundation team delves into the books you can find on the shelves of the business section of a book shop. 

With not one but two special guests, this episode welcomes Mimi Nicklin, author of Softening the Edge, who shares her thoughts on harnessing the power of empathy in the corporate world, and the Foundation’s very own CEO and Trustee, Isobel Abulhoul, who brings a book title we, the team around her, try not to take personally..

Books and authors recommended in this episode:

Softening the Edge, by Mimi Nicklin

Mimi and Ahlam discuss how the book came into being and what lessons we can learn from the pandemic about kindness and empathy in all parts of our lives. This is a call to action for anyone, anywhere, who believes in a better way to live.  

Surrounded by Idiots, by Thomas Erikson

Isobel assures us she doesn’t mean it literally, and we try to believe her, as she recommends this book to anyone who feels like they are surrounded by idiots. And it is not just a striking cover; this book helps you understand yourself and your and social skills better, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people.

The Fame Formula, by Mark Borkowski

This book is effectively the history of PR, starting with snake oil salesmen and scoundrels, taking us through to the 2010s. Peppered with entertaining anecdotes and implausible tall tales, the entire first 370 pages is a very entertaining introduction to a chapter with an actual formula for fame, which you had forgotten you came for when you first opened the book.    

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? Stake? ….She’s not sorry. 

All Emiratis are rich, the Swedes are aloof and the English are all boring. Or are they?

In this episode Andrea and Annabelle are joined by Khalid Al Ameri, Emirati YouTuber and vlogger who is known for his (often hilarious) daily videos about life with his Arab-American wife Salama Mohamed, which break down cultural perceptions and stereotypes.

He talks to us about the stories that he thinks challenge stereotypes, whether stereotypes can be a force for good, and the book he thinks everyone should read.

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zanib Mian 

This funny, charming children’s book (and series) can be enjoyed by everyone. The first book tells the story of Omar, a young Muslim boy who moves to a new town in the UK with his family and has to make sense of his new environment, including the class bully, and the mean lady who lives next door. But it is impossible not to be won over by someone as charming as Omar, both for his fictional foes and for the reader.

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Sixteen year-old Aza Holmes tries to solve the mystery of a missing billionaire with her best friend and Star Wars fan fiction writer Daisy. The only obstacle in her way? The relentless onslaught of her anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. It’s an honest look at a disorder often dismissed as a straightforward need to be tidy, through the quirky storyline and quick-witted teenage dialogue that John Green writes so well.

From Rags to Riches: The Story of Abu Dhabi by Mohammed Al Fahim 

From Rags to Riches is a book Khalid recommends everyone read to understand the recent history and development of the UAE and the work that went into turning rags into the riches you can see today. Don’t They Know it’s Friday by Jeremy Williams also gets a mention.

The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida 

If you’ve ever wanted to understand what it’s like in the mind of a child with autism, this book comes highly recommended from novelist David Mitchell and his wife KA Yoshida who painstakingly translated the book to bring it to a wider audience, and from Khalid in this episode who also has a child with autism. Naoki explains the unique way he feels and perceives the world, why he lines up his toy cars and blocks, and why he doesn’t make eye contact when speaking. Andrea also recommends The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read...

Every year the Booker Prize is awarded to the best original novel written in English and published in the UK. The longlist of 13 is whittled down to a shortlist of six, with much debate and discussion over who should win, who will win, and which books we are most delighted to have discovered. Ahead of the winner announcement on 19 November, Andrea, Ahlam and Annabelle from the Emirates Literature Foundation caught up with Saeed Saeed, Arts and Culture features writer for The National (thenationalnews.com) to discuss four of the six shortlisted books, and their own predictions.

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi  

Ahlam reflects on the key conflict at the heart of Burnt Sugar – having to care for a parent who neglected you as a child. Set in contemporary Pune, India, the fraught mother-daughter relationship flits between Antara’s present-day looking after a mother with Alzheimer’s and her childhood where she was abandoned at an ashram and a boarding school.    

The Shadow King by Mazaa Mengiste 

Saeed Saeed takes us on a tour of a novel set during Italy’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia as an orphaned servant adapts to a new household, and ultimately takes up arms against Italian officers.

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

Diane Cook presents a world in which pollution and overpopulation is the new normal, and a group is sent to an unforgiving wilderness state as an experiment. Among this group are mother and daughter – Bea and Agnes – whose relationship is tested by both landscape, circumstances and what it means to be human.  

This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Zimbabwean novelist, playwright, and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembga tells the story of a woman embittered by her failed potential in a run-down youth hostel in Zimbabwe’s capital. Told in the second person, the novel is tense, immediate and an exploration of Zimbabwe and the legacy of its colonial history.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? Stake? ….She’s not sorry. 

What was the last book that really scared you? Get a cauldron-sized pumpkin latte ready for this special Halloween episode of the Boundless Book Club where you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle talking to Jessica Jarlvi, author of psychological thrillers When I Wake Up and What Did I Do? about what scares them in real life and fiction, and the books they’d recommend, from a solid thrill to pure hide-beneath-the-covers terror.

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Horns by Joe Hill

When Ignatius Perrish’s girlfriend is found raped and murdered in his small New Hampshire hometown, everyone thinks he’s guilty. Without enough evidence to prove otherwise, Ig sets about to find the real culprit using the devilishly powerful horns he’s mysteriously acquired on his forehead overnight. A clever take on a classic tale of good vs evil that incorporates first love, childhood friendships, a chilling crime, and an exploration of what makes a monster and what makes a man.

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Twilight fans beware, none of the vampires in this story are sparkly and nice - Swedish horror master John Ajvide Lindqvist has seen to that. In a dreary suburb of Stockholm, a bullied twelve year-old boy notices new neighbours arrive suspiciously in the dead of night in - a young girl and an older man. The true nature of their relationship and those that develop throughout the book are more terrifying than you can imagine.

Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell

If you’ve ever found porcelain dolls a little bit creepy, this book won’t help shake that fear. A young girl loses her best friend and goes to stay with her cousins on a cold and remote island in an old schoolhouse. Little does she know that while the teachers and students are long gone…they left something far more sinister behind.

The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

A chilling short story from the author of Gone Girl in which a sex worker becomes a palm reader and is drawn into the life of a family through a reading. What begins as an investigation of a malevolent presence in the family’s house becomes a wider fear of the family members themselves.

About us:

Ahlam bolooki is the festival director for the emirates airline festival of literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the arab world. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as the little prince and the giving tree, but has also developed a new appetite for crime fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea gissdal is the head of communications and marketing for the emirates literature foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for scrabble.

Annabelle corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the emirateslitfest each year. She runs the festival book club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. Evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? stake? ….she’s not sorry. 

Settle in for an extra special episode of the Boundless Book Club as Ahlam and Annabelle chat to one of the six incredible authors shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction…which is essentially the Oscars for literature! Dubai-based novelist Avni Doshi joins us for an in-depth conversation about her debut, Burnt Sugar, a captivating story of a fraught mother-daughter relationship tested by dementia and painful memories set in contemporary India. From how her own mother reacted to the book’s publication, to the near hallucinatory experience of being nominated for the prize, sit back and enjoy Avni’s relentless wisdom on the themes of memory, motherhood, and more.

About the Author:

Avni Doshi was born in New Jersey in  1982 and is currently based in Dubai. She won the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize in 2013 and a Charles Pick Fellowship at the University of East Anglia in 2014. Her debut novel is published in India by Fourth Estate under the title Girl in White Cotton.

About the Booker Prize:

The Booker Prize is the leading literary award in the English speaking world, and has brought recognition, reward and readership to outstanding fiction for more than five decades. Each year, the prize is awarded to what is, in the opinion of the judges, the best novel of the year written in English and published in the UK and Ireland. It is a prize that transforms the winner’s career.

The winner receives £50,000 as well as the £2,500 awarded to each of the six shortlisted authors. Both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a global readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? Stake? ….She’s not sorry. 

Episode Description – Love

In this episode of the Boundless Book Club from the Emirates Literature Foundation, you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle talking to Miles Buckeridge, reporter from What’s On, and a sci-fi enthusiast, a banner carrier for geekdom, and a man who believes in love being a crucial part of living your best life.

Which brings us to the big topic.. 

Stevie Wonder just called to say it. Meatloaf would do anything for it. The Beatles say they can’t buy it.

This episode is all about love.

What do you think is the best literary depiction of love, and do you believe in soul mates? Send us a message on social media or ping us an email on [email protected].  

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

It is big and it is epic. Miles is talking about love that transcends mortality, and as a lover of the abstract, he is a big fan. This book is a series of six stories, where one leads to the next, until they start the return journey. Each story is a different style, from noir to adventure, but each has a common character, reincarnated. Do you love the idea of soul mates? Then this one is for you.

Conditions of Love – the philosophy of intimacy, by John Armstrong

Looking at love through the lens of literature, from Gothe, to Socrates, via Plato, Tolstoy and many other big names in literature, John Armstrong makes us question how we look at love. Is it a feeling that happens to us, or an active choice we make and continue to make? Andrea recommends this erudite little book, which shines a light on our understanding of love.  

Broken Wings, by Kahlil Gibran

Ahlam is drawn to this tragedy of love that goes unfulfilled. When young Kahlil meets Selma they fall madly in love at first sight, but their love is not to be. At the same moment they find each other, unbeknownst to them, Selma’s father accepts a proposal for her hand in marriage by a prominent religious man on behalf of his nephew. Duty triumphs over love, but their love is perfectly preserved in their hearts forever.

War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line, by David Nott

Annabelle confuses everyone by not choosing a Jane Austen book, but that’s what happened. Instead, she shared the details of this non-fiction memoir about being a doctor in a war zone. David Nott’s unflinching account doesn’t spare us any of the horrors of war, and the love story that follows is unexpected and beautiful.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various...

In this episode of the Boundless Book Club from the Emirates Literature Foundation, you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle talking to Saeed Saeed, Arts and Culture features writer for The National (thenational.ae), about the voices from the Middle East that we want everyone to know about.

There are so many though and this is just a small selection so we will definitely have to revisit this topic. If you have any suggestions, send us a message on social media or ping us an email on [email protected].  

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Baghdad Noir, edited by Samuel Shimon. Contributors include Muhsin Al-Ramli, Sinan Antoon, Salima Salih and more.

Choosing just one book for this podcast is always a challenge for Boundless Book Club members, and Saeed is no exception, so he has chosen an anthology of crime fiction set in Baghdad titled Baghdad Noir. The stories vary in style and contributors include heavy-hitters like Ahmed Saadawi of Frankenstein in Baghdad fame. Saeed talks about how it works on many levels and also acts as a travelogue to Baghdad, with a personal highlight of his being the opening essay by Editor Samuel Shimon. Most importantly for Saeed, the book is nothing like Diagnosis Murder.

Maps of Wandering and All That I Want to Forget, by Buthaina al-Essa

In this episode Ahlam talks about finding her path to a career in literature through a conversation with Buthaina while visiting Kuwait. Ahlam recommends two of her books: For Arabic speakers Maps of Wandering tells the story of two parents whose child is lost in the masses of Haj, and the impact this has on their relationship. If you’re looking for a book in translation, then she recommends All that I want to Forget about a woman who dreams of studying poetry and French literature and is instead steered towards an arranged marriage.

Azazeel, by Youssef Ziedan

A slow burn but justifiably so and worth the initial perseverance, Annabelle recommends Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan. Written entirely in the first person save for a fictional ‘translator’s note’ at the beginning, the book is presented as the memoirs of a 5th Century Monk called Hypa. Compelled to ‘confess’ his life story to the page by Azazeel or Lucifer as you otherwise might know him, the reader gets to experience the region’s tense religious history, from Alexandria to Jerusalem and beyond, through the eyes of a man wrestling with his own faith.

Embroideries, by Marjane Satrapi

This moving and entertaining graphic novel memoir by Persepolis author Marjane Satrapi is Andrea’s recommendation. When the men of the family leave the room, the women in Marjane’s life unite around the samovar to talk about their sex lives and more with each anecdote more scandalous than the last. These women share some funny, some sad, and some truly harrowing life experiences, but with the lightness of touch and wry humor that makes it a real treat.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student,...

Episode Description

In this episode of the Boundless Book Club from the Emirates Literature Foundation, you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle talking to Editor of Think With Google MENA and travel blogger Sara Hamdan, aka @holidaysinheels, about the books that are as good as a plane, train or automobile at transporting us to incredible locations.

As always, we would love to hear from listeners. Send us your top armchair travel books for a chance to win a selection of books that will transport you to your next adventure. Message us on social media or ping us an email on [email protected]  

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Pearls on a Branch  : Oral Tales by Najla Jraissaty Khoury

One thing books are better at than modern-day travel? Time travel. Ahlam travels back in time to a world of tradition she yearns for, when Arab families would gather on the rooftop, under the stars and listen to a storyteller weave tales into the night. Fans of the phrase 'Once Upon a Time' can look forward to learning about its magical Arabic equivalent.

The One Memory of Flora Banks, by Emily Barr

Flora Banks has an amnesia that means she can't make memories, so imagine her suprise when she kisses a boy at a party and remembers it the next day. Thinking he might hold the key to it all, she follows him all the way to the town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard. More upbeat than the YA novels she's been reading lately, Andrea recommends this one for readers hankering for a cold trip, and Emily Barr's Backpack ˆfor those looking to spend time on the South East Asia trail by way of a psychological thriller.

60 Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home by Malachy Tallack

After the death of his father, Malachy Tallack travels from his home in Shetland, through the 60th parallel - travelling westward first through Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia and more until finally coming back home. Annabelle recommends this travel memoir which packs a punch with its observations of our contradictory need as human beings for both danger and shelter, and the author's own exploration of home, love and loss.

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Sara moves us South to warmer beachy climes with this family saga set against the backdrop of war-torn Cuba. Moving between the present-day of the protagonist Marisol's uncovering of her family history and her grandmother's experiences in 1958, Sara was drawn to this by the beautiful cover, recommends it for the incredible sense of place, but not necessarily for the love story...

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like

In this episode of the Boundless Book Club from the Emirates Literature Foundation, you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle talking about fiction and non-fiction books that offer hope in dark times, and which might brighten up your own bookshelf. This topic was suggested by a listener, and we do our best to please. You might be surprised by the books that made the list..

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

Fifty Million Rising, by Saadia Zahidi

Nothing says ‘Hope’ quite like cold, hard, facts and figures that demonstrate how an entire generation of women in the Muslim world entering the workforce have improved their countries’ economies and societies. Andrea shares some dazzling statistics that will make you hopeful for the future in spite of the current news cycle.

Factfulness, by Hans, Anna and Ola Rosling

Annabelle makes a pit stop recommendation of this breath of fresh air, which debunks the popular school of thought that most of the world’s problems are getting worse. Using clear rational arguments underpinned by facts, we learn to see through our biases to understand what the statistics really tell us.

Thief of Time, by Terry Pratchett

Annabelle finally lands on a Terry Pratchett novel in the ‘Death’ series for her own personal dose of hope. After loving the philosophical clarity with which satirical Grim Reaper ‘Death’ observes humanity in Reaper Man, she decides to find hope in the humour of Thief of Time - a book about what happens when we don’t embrace a bit of chaos in our lives.

The School of Life: An Emotional Education, by Alain de Botton

Ahlam delves into the book that gives her hope in its exploration the contradictory and often confusing emotional baggage of being human. From our need to put down roots to our simultaneous need for the freedom to travel the world, de Botton gives philosophical clarity to otherwise perplexing aspects of the way we live.

Millionaire Expat: How To Build Wealth Living Overseas, by Andrew Hallam

How many of us have ever felt hopeless about our finances? This one’s a practical recommendation from Andrea for instilling hope in a more secure financial future rooted in straightforward advice on how to invest your money wisely, on your own without falling prey to bamboozling financial advisors.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? Stake? ….She’s not sorry. 

Classics - it’s a section in every bookshop and on every bookshelf - but what makes a book a classic? In this episode of the Boundless Book Club from the Emirates Literature Foundation you’ll find Ahlam, Andrea and Annabelle sharing their favourite classic novels and the ones they’ve been resisting or that didn’t live up to the hype.

Books and authors mentioned in this episode:

The Beautiful and the Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde

Ahlam nearly misses out on great read because of Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance in the Baz Lurmahn adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Set during New York’s Jazz Age, The Beautiful and the Damned follows the life of Anthony Patch, who chases money and beauty in elite East American society. It naturally tied into one of Ahlam’s favourite classics, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Grey, a story of a beautiful man who sells his soul so that a painting of himself will age instead of him. Such a compelling representative of virtue corrupted by hedonism, the character of Dorian even lives on in modern films and television series.

The English Patient, by Michael Ondaatje

A young Canadian nurse, a Sikh bomb disposal expert and a thief called Caravaggio are flung together with all their secrets and baggage into a crumbling Italian Villa at the end of the Second World War. The fourth resident of this lockdown situation is the eponymous English Patient - suffering from horrendous burns after a plane crash. The novel flits between his present day care from nurse Hannah, and a gradual reveal of the English patient’s past. It’s not her favourite book overall but Annabelle makes the case for abandoning the 50 pages rule for beautiful books that reward perseverance and patience.

Vile Bodies, by Evelyn Waugh and Good Behaviour, by Molly Keen

A marriage plot turned on its head, this Evelyn Waugh classic published in 1930 is a satirical look at Britain’s rich young partygoers - the ‘bright young things’. It follows the story of writer Adam who wants to get married and in trying to secure the funds to marry his beloved Nina, loses her to another man. Andrea comments on the dark underbelly of this glitzy story and its similarity with Ahlam’s classics, and also on the parallels between Adam’s betrayal and Evelyn’s real-life betrayal by his wife at the time of writing.

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, Dombey & Son, by Charles Dickens and Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Today’s podcast is not welcoming of nautical-themed fiction. Andrea just can’t get through Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick - man hunts whale for many pages. The End. Next! Funnily enough, the classic that Annabelle can do without is Treasure Island - from it’s endless references to jibs and sailing directions, to the fact that it just isn’t the Muppets version - Stevenson’s tale of adventure promised so much and just didn’t deliver. Charles Dickens also comes up as a classic author that just doesn’t hit the spot.

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a...