Cairo, the 21st March, 2011

A gentleman and a lady.

Egyptian literature has never been so alive and egyptians, generally speaking, have never let their immense creativity and talents out there as much as these days.
Festivals everywhere celebrating Egyptian Revolution, t-shirts with comical political statements full of pride, flags and hats with egyptian colours all over town...you name it!

The voting for the approval - or not - of some changes that were made to egyptian Constitution happened yesterday all over town and people were mobilized to VOTE and, finally, have a say on their country s future. I felt proud of egyptians, once more, as I felt during the Revolution.

One of the ways you can have a real feel about this people s minds is through blogging - very active activity in Egypt - and books that were recently published. The ones who used to shut their mouths during Hosny Mubarak s regime are spreading their words now and the few brave writers who never shut up, even when they could be punished and killed, are stronger than ever.

Here are two books that I ve just read from a male writer *Alaa Al Aswany (not a beginner in this Literature world and a very interesting man, I may add) and blogger Ghada Abdel Aal who saw her blog transformed into a best seller book and a television show with the same name of her book.

* "On the State of Egypt" by Alaa Al Aswany
Group of chronicles from the past recent years about the political, social, religious life in Egypt. Never boring or convenient. Always accurate, brave, clean and interesting approach to the analysis of a society full of contrasts and contradictions.
I LOVE this MAN!

* "I want to get married" by Ghada Abdel Aal
Not a Shakespeare s follower regarding literary quality but a funny account of most egyptian women s minds, fears and wishes. A truthful portrait of the way egyptian women - and men - are pressured by society and their families to marry just anyone who is "suitable" in order to procreate and follow the sheeps that have repeated these loveless associations in the name of TRADITION, ending up with hateful relationships, children who suffer from their parents mutual hate and endless unhappiness (oh, and a LOT of cheating from both parts, althoough only men are socially accepted to cheat!).

* Of course I am reading another stuff at the same time but none of it is related to Egyptian society.
Some of it is OSHO (on YOGA, specially after I left my own Yoga ex-teacher speaking by herself after patronizing me and speaking to me during class as if I was a 5 year old misbehaved naughty girl), Eckhart Tolle ("A NEW EARTH") and a book about the moon and its inffluence on nature and human beings...
Lots of goodies to read along!