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Welcome to The 100 Books Project
Our goal is to make the highest-quality English-language cultural production available to Arab children and adults in the Middle East. Beginning in Egypt, the project will stock donated books from a curated list in a series of Knowledge Cafes, which will lend their books on a free or low cost basis. The collections will be designed to inspire and inform readers even as they help build local English language literacy. The lists will be generated by donors who wish to share their favorite books and Arab readers who request specific books. Shipping to Egypt will be handled by the project. Please participate and let us know what books you would like to donate, what books you would like to read, and what books you would like to see included on this list of 100 books. A list of 50 additional childrens' books will be included for youth center collections. The first shipment to Egypt leaves May 14, 2008--so hurry in with your suggestions and donations! The first cafes will be in Cairo and Siwa, an Egyptian oasis. Click below to read more... The Problem
1) We have a glut of high-quality books collecting dust on our bookshelves in America. Thousands of books sell on Amazon.com for 99 cents or less, and many are simply thrown out.
2) Few English-language books are available in Egypt and other Arab countries—especially high-quality, recently published books. There is great interest in receiving these books, which are out of the price range of millions of Arabs who have learned English or are learning English.
3) Right now, America's main cultural exports to the Middle East are mass-market Hollywood movies filled with sex, violence, and profanity. Certainly, there are other kinds of books and cultural production which we are proud of—and which we feel better represent us.
The Solution
The purpose of this project is to share a wider range of our favorite books with the vibrant young people of the Arab world. Rather than a massive book-dump project, the aim of 100 Books is to share books, music and films in a personalized way, a way that also helps us reflect on how we want to be perceived by people of great potential overseas.
The 100 Books Project's mission is to provide high-quality, donated books and cultural materials to informal lending libraries and cafes in the Middle East.
In Siwa, I met a number of brilliant young people who had taught themselves English but lacked access to books beyond the few romance novels and mysteries tourists had left behind. They were having trouble picturing what they could do with their lives besides work in hotels. I began to wonder, if I could bring 100 Books to this oasis, what would they be? What would other people want to donate?
The Founder
Sharon Otterman was a U.S. Fulbright grantee in Egypt from 2005-06. She studied Islamic and secular women's activism in Cairo as a fellow at the Institute of Gender and Women's Studies at the American University in Cairo, and at Al Azhar University, the Islamic world's oldest seat of Sunni learning. She stayed on until 2007, learning Arabic and serving as a contributing editor to the American University in Cairo's Arab Media and Society Journal.
Sharon is a Yale College graduate with a B.A. in Philosophy. She holds a Master's in International Affairs from Columbia University. A life-long lover of books, this project is a labor of love and an effort to promote increased understanding and inspire creativity between the people's of the Arabic and English speaking worlds.
The Future
The 100 Books Project is in the process of being incorporated as a nonprofit organization based in New York. In 2008, the project will provide book collections to two libraries in Egypt, continue the development of its website, and formalize its relationship with institutions both in the United States and the Middle East. Additional cafes will be founded in coming years.
In future months, the project will also be developing a list of Arab language books, translated into English, intended for schools and libraries in the United States, to share the best of Arab literary culture and encourage increased cultural understanding.
If you are in the Middle East and would like to host a collection of English-language books, or if you are in the United States and would like to host a collection of Arabic-language books translated into English, please email us at info@100booksproject.org.
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How can I help? 1. SUGGEST. The first thing we need is your suggestions for the book list. If you have a suggestion, please email it to us at info@100booksproject.org. We are looking forward to your comments and suggestions. You can also express support for or disagree with an entry on the list. 2. DONATE BOOKS. If you have a book that is on the list--or another book by an author on the list--and you would like to donate it, we would deeply appreciate if you would send it right to us! Another option is to order the book from Amazon.com and have it mailed to us. The majority of the books on the list sell used through Amazon for less than $2, plus shipping. Please order used books in good or very good condition. Books can be sent to our shipping address at: The 100 Books Project, 40-12 72nd Street, Suite B, Woodside, NY 11377 Our immediate goal is FOUR of each title. You can check current inventory here. 3. DONATE FUNDS. If you would like to fund a library or send a cash donation, stay tuned. We should be ready to accept cash donations within the coming months. The project was incoroporated in April 2008 in the State of Delaware, and is awaiting its formal documentation.
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