Welcome to Litsy!

After “the Disgraceful Event“, Yehia queues outside The Gate to ask for treatment for an injury received. Told from multiple viewpoints, mostly Yehia a doctor, but also Yehia's girlfriend, and other people in the queue. Inspired by post-Arab Spring events, it‘s a clever blend of dystopia, absurdism and Kafka. But it is conveyed dispassionately. We hear the character's thoughts, but don‘t feel their emotions. An intriguing, if not compelling read.

Another tough read. A kind of Kafka in #Egypt. Governments and bureaucracy are hidden behind a gate and people are queuing to ask their questions and requests for all kinds of basic human rights. The gate never opens though and people spend their lives just waiting in line.

#pop22 #NameOfABoardGameInTitle #FoodAndLit #ReadingAfrica2022 🇪🇬
#19822022 #2016 #52BooksIn52weeks #AuthorWithXYZinTheirName

Aziz‘s dystopia is a chilling insight into government corruption.

Translated from the Arabic, THE QUEUE by Basma Abdel Aziz is a short dystopian novel that explores the psychology of authoritarianism. After the Gate assumes power in an unnamed Middle Eastern City, citizens have to wait in a queue to gain permission for even their most basic necessities. I loved the symbolism of the queue for democracy, or the pursuit of it. I did wish that the Gate was explored more and the characters a bit more developed.

Yikes! Today got away from me! #IntegrateYourShelf

This week, I wanted to look for African translations for #WomenInTranslation month; apparently, that is a hard to find task! A lot of authors in Africa are published in English first rather than any regional language. The tagged book has been on my TBR for years though, so maybe this year...

If you can't find a translated text, tag one of your favorite African authors who identifies as a woman.

This was an interesting dystopian book. I‘m not sure if I‘d put it on a list with the greats of the genre but sometimes, you need the perspective that time allows to realize how well those books stand. I really enjoyed reading an Arabic take on the genre. I would recommend this one to anyone who enjoys a good depressing dystopian book.

Starting book 4 for the Tome Infinity and Beyond round three readathon! The Queue is my pick for a read from Africa because the author is from Egypt. This has been a really fun readathon!

Surreal satire, with dark—very dark—humour that left me in despair for the future of humanity. Individuals are sometimes altruistic & help each other but what can be done against the greater power of authoritarianism? Maybe the bleakness prompted me to rate this 4 stars on Goodreads last night but I realized today that I‘ll never forget it, so 5 stars it is.
#Translation by Elisabeth Jaquette. #Audiobook superbly narrated by Mark Bramhall.

I finished The Queue at 9:30 last night, the 30th book I read in August. Looking back on these covers, I realize that I haven't reviewed them all yet on Litsy. Watch for a lot of activity from me because I will try to catch up today. #AugustReadingStats

So I shut up and hold out a one-pound note, but he throws it on the ground, snatches back both pieces of bread, and shouts at me, 'We don't have any bread! And don't come back!”

Citizens #walklikeegyptians every day to queue in front of the Gate for permission for the most basic needs, the line grows longer but the gate never opens.
Great novel about the sinister nature of authoritarianism, illuminates the way that absolute authority manipulates information, mobilizes others in service to it, and fails to uphold the rights of even those faithful to it.

#wanderingjune @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

About halfway through the book written by the amazing Basma Abdel Aziz and I am really enjoying the story. It‘s a dystopian novel and reminds me of “1984”. It‘s also been a goal of mine to read more works by non-western authors. I welcome recommendations! #currentlyreading (recommended to me by @JeannieReads )

What?!? Ok, this got a so-so because of the ending...it‘s a good story otherwise. Anyone who‘s read it help me out in understanding the ending, please!

Another book finished during the #24b42019.

#litsyAtoZ2018 #endofyearreadingcrunch #Q #abecedarianTBR #diverseauthors #diversebooks #femaleauthor

Even #TwinkyToles is confused. #catsoflitsy #littenkitten #readingbuddy #gingerbrat #mybrat #Tolesbrats

Forgot to post this last night. I‘m hoping to finish this book tonight. #readathon #24b42019 #endofyearreadingcrunch #LitsyAtoZ #Q #AbecedarianTBR #diversebooks #diverseauthors

Next up. #LitsyAtoZ2018 #Q #abecedarianTBR #mountTRB #endofyearreadingcrunch
#TwinkyToles #littenkitten #catsoflitsy #Tolesbrats #mybrat #gingerbrat

The concept was good, but the story rambled pointlessly.... This would have been better as a short story.

Chilling and apropos in light of the current administration.
#SetInTheMiddleEast #MiddleEasternAuthor #GetReading2018 #18of36 #audiobook

Thanks to @ReadingEnvy for recommending this one! I heard it on her podcast #79 and I found it interesting. I will admit that I have OD on dystopian fiction but it seems that The Queue comes at it from a different perspective like Station Eleven. I hope it is!

The writing here was a like a slow burn that snuck up on me - a powerful story about citizens learning to cope in a country that has become autocratic.

#amreading The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz, loving the characters and the writing

https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/mar/01/translators-vanguard-lit... A great article about the worth of books in translation with some recommendations. Happy Friday!

Up next! Can‘t wait to get started on this one. I need a novel after such heavy reading (We Were 8 Years in Power.) #TBR #amreading #readwomen

There‘s another really cute shark in my tea today!

Look at the cute shark infusing my tea!

Struggling through the last minutes of this one, but at least I have delicious food and drinks?

I wish I had something I knew I‘d enjoy waiting in the wings; if I had, I‘d Nancy P this one. It‘s all character development which I usually love, but I need more about the world in order to feel the tension that should be building. The narrator isn‘t helping, he‘s basically just reading the book aloud. 😕

Sadly finished the existing eps of The Penumbra Podcast today and needed something that wasn‘t too heavy or demanding of my attention. Cloud Library has been a giant fail for the most part since my library switched to it, but found a couple of titles today that may not suck. We shall see.

Saturday afternoon coffee and a read.

At home with a sick puppy. I read to her and she fell asleep.

Sounds eerily familiar...

Working on my own writing and reading a little bit this Sunday afternoon. #bookriotreadharderchallenge #writerslife

1. Give me Doritos over Cheetos
2. The Queue (6 books down so far)
3. Solo parenting stir crazy kids while husband is at work
4. Speak every language
5. I'm only a high school graduate

@jesshowbooks

A bureaucratic dystopia that wonderfully shows the effects of beating down the population by simply making the red tape impossible to unsnarl or cut through. It was chilling in it's realistic portrayal, not of uprising, but of a people that can't do anything but become numb to the government's ever closing fist.

It's a balmy 20 degrees so I'm having a quick drink in the garage with my Kindle 😂. I neeeeed my quiet space, the cold front was killing me.

Starting this for my A entry in #LitsyAtoZ. Shaping up to be a good one! Image from https://arablit.org/2017/08/31/basma-abdel-aziz-on-writing-the-queue/

In an unnamed, probably Egyptian city, people are told to line up outside the Gate whenever they need government paperwork done. But the Gate never opens. Meanwhile, the movements of certain citizens are tracked constantly, and people are disappearing, but no visible government officials, just edicts. This was very disturbing- those in the queue didn‘t consider protesting, or even leaving. Even more scary: the events in this could easily happen.

At one point this morning I was all "I'm going to go for a run today."

Plans change. ???‍♀️

Side note: baileys side eye. ???

Easy like Sunday morning.

😍🍳🍞😍

Drove the 40 minutes home from the boyfriend's house this morning to realize that I left my house keys there and had to go back.

I earned this coffee. Just going to stay here awhile. 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

Day 2 of the #Riotgrams challenge ! Yellow star of yellow covers 🌞🌟

Happy Easter Littens! Mine is starting early with coffee and hoping to finish this one! It's so weird but so wonderful 💗

#bookishconfession - does anyone else see short author bios like this and then immediately want to know more about them? I may (hypothetically) accidentally Internet stalk because I think someone's really badass but feel creepy later!? Please say I'm not the only one? 😳

This has been on my tbr for almost a year after hearing about it on Bookriot and I'm finally starting it! Anything being called Orwellian is in my wheelhouse

#translation #Arabic

Babysitting the collator in the Print Shop instead of reading like I want to be, but it's almost lunch time!

"Politics had eaten away at people's heads until they in turn had begun to devour one another." I just started this political fiction book based on life after the Arab Spring and it feels like it could be talking about life here in the United States as well.

A picture of the ludicrousness that comes with totalitarianism. And I do mean ludicrousness. Be prepared.

Really enjoying this dystopia from Egypt. Bonus: it's by a kick-ass lady! #recommendsday

Watch out for those wily females who encourage people to think!!!