Well, here it is! the first Man Booker longlist including for the first time a diverse list of authors who write in English from all around the world. This is significant as entries were previously only available to British and Commonwealth authors.

New Zealand author Eleanor Catton, winner of the 2013 prize, commented:  "I think it's a really great thing that finally we've got a prize that is an English-language prize that doesn't make a distinction for writers who are writing from a particular country."

The winning entry will walk away with not only the title of 'Best Novel' but a cash prize of 50,000 pounds. The shortlist will be announced September 9th and the winning novel will be revealed on October 14.


To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, Joshua Ferris (Viking)
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan (Chatto & Windus)
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler (Serpent's Tail)
The Blazing World, Siri Hustvedt (Sceptre)
J,  Howard Jacobson (Jonathan Cape) 
The Wake, Paul Kingsnorth (Unbound)
The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell (Sceptre)
The Lives of Others, Neel Mukherjee (Chatto & Windus)
Us, David Nicholls (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Dog, Joseph O'Neill (Fourth Estate)
Orfeo, Richard Powers (Atlantic Books)
How to be Both,  Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)
History of the Rain, Niall Williams (Bloomsbury)

Today, on bookshelves in Virgin Mega Store in Dubai is this amazing cookbook written by two gorgeous ladies Saheer Asfour al-Habash and Hala Malhas. This is the second edition to their highly popular cookbook 'The Best of Home Cuisine' released last year. With a 150+ recipes there is something for everyone. 

Saheer and Hala embark on a culinary journey to create dishes that are a fusion of traditional Middle Eastern and modern International cuisine creating nothing less than divine tastes. Their recipes bridge the gap between generations culminating in culinary creations that are guaranteed success at everyone's table.

Saheer and Hala's passion for cooking is much more than food on a plate. it is about healthy living, family bonding, memories and heritage. It is a cookbook created by two women who fully understand today's dynamic family and have therefore designed recipes that are quick, easy and tasty. Simply put, this is cooking at its very best.

Just read that Tom Hanks will be starring in movie 'A Hologram for the King' based on the novel with the same title written by Dave Eggers. Parts of the movie will be shot in Egypt. The movie is said to be released next year.

The 2012 novel revolves around the very depressed American salesman, Alan Clay who we meet waking up in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2010 having arrived in the Kingdom for an audience with the King. The novel is set in the King Abdullah Economic City and the project is a holographic teleconferencing system that Allan's firm 'Reliant' is hoping will impress the King. Alan Clay has pinned high hopes on the project and looks to its launch in the Kingdom as his ticket out of the misery he has plunged himself in.

Dave Eggers' other famous titles are 'What is the What?' which is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.adtv The other is 'Zeitoun' the story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the Syrian American from New Orleans, who chose to stay in his town during Hurricane Katrina.

With the conflict in Syria still raging on with no sign of abating, comes this brilliantly horrific debut novel by British writer Sumia Sukkar. It is shocking, dark and disturbing. A novel about the reality of war on innocent civilians.

Click the link to see the full review of "The Boy From Aleppo Who Painted the War' by Sumia Sukkar

According to the Guardian yesterday, 'And Tango Makes Three', a story about two male penguins raising a baby penguin is to be pulled out of libraries in Singapore and destroyed because officials believe that it goes against general family values focusing instead on homosexuality. Two others: 'The White Swan Express: A story about Adoption' and 'Who's in My Family? All about Our Families' will face the same fate. 
All titles can be found on amazon.co.uk
The Guardians full article can be read HERE.

Author who wrote a book about the Pamplona Bull Races has been gored by a bull. According to various sources, the bull, the heaviest of the day, gored American author Bill Hillmann in the leg. Ironically, the book's title 'Fiesta: How to Survive the Bulls of Pamplona' published by Mephisto Press in June 2014 explains how to avoid just that ;)

HWJN by Ibraheem Abbas & Yasser Bahjatt 

This is the story of HWJN, son of Meehal al-Fayhee, a jinn and this is his love story with Sawsan, a human. A heart wrenching story that breaks down the boundaries of what we hold true about Jinn. It is a compassionate tale of humanity and the greatness of all God's creations. A tale that will spring to mind whenever things go bump in the night. Brilliant. (Paperback edition: 260 pages)

The 2013 novel is published by the society Yatakhayaloon: the League of Arabic Scifiers. Watch their YouTube Video in which Engineer Yasser Bahjatt talks about the society.

The novel is available on Amazon. It is available for Kindle users.