Rana Minzalje, a member of the Al Multaqa book club, has inspired her daughter Lama Wazzan to start one of her own.
Rana Minzalje, a member of the Al Multaqa book club, has inspired her daughter Lama Wazzan to start one of her own.

Between the lines



As a member of Al Multaqa ("the gathering" in Arabic), one of the longest-running book clubs in Abu Dhabi, Rana Minzalje is a self-confessed bookaholic. "I read a lot, often after everyone in the house has gone to bed. All my life I've loved to read, ever since I was a little girl." She's met her match among fellow Al Multaqa members. "Sometimes, we read a book a week, like after summer break when we feel our minds have got lazy," she says, laughing.

There isn't a lazy mind in evidence on a recent evening when close to 20 women gathered in a spacious Al Bateen home to discuss Beelzebub (Azazeel) by the Egyptian writer Yusuf Zeydan. The novel has already stirred up plenty of controversy in Egypt and has these readers on the edge of their brocade couches. As they go around the circle - a democratic process with each member having her say, some from prepared notes - I'm reminded again that a book club doubles one's pleasure. First, there's the pleasure of reading a book; then there's the pleasure of talking about it.

Aedan Lake, the communications and public relations manager of Magrudy's, knows about those pleasures, having run a book group out of the main Dubai store and having helped other groups get started with their reading lists. "When someone finds a book they love, they want to talk about it," he says, adding that in Dubai where life can be transient, people are hungry to connect. You know the feeling, he says: "You've just read this amazing book that's changed your life and there's no one to tell!"

While the number of book clubs running in the UAE is hard to pin down - precisely because of that transience - interest continues to grow, according to Valsan Mamgalassery, the manager of the Magrudy's in Abu Dhabi. "At least once a week, I receive an order from a local book club. Book clubs are a good opportunity to gather and discuss something of mutual interest. I find people want to do something while they're here."

This was what I had in mind when I arrived in Abu Dhabi last autumn. One of the pieces of home I knew I would miss most was my 20-year-running book club in Montreal. Over those years, we read books we loved, some we barely made it through, and many we would never have read (let alone finished!) otherwise. We debated and listened and emptied many a teapot. We came to know one another in ways we hadn't expected.

"When you share over books, you come to know how someone thinks about love, religion, politics," says Minzalje, who has been a member of Al Multaqa for 12 years. (Asma Seddiq, the group's founder, opens her home for the twice-monthly meetings and orders books for members.) "We have very good friends among us now. Being in a book club teaches us how to accept other points of view." In fact, Al Multaqa was recently accepted into the network of Unesco book groups. With 3,700 book clubs spread over 100 countries, these groups are pledged to support Unesco's objective to know "the other" and to support and understand cultural pluralism. These goals won't be hard for Al Multaqa to embrace. With members from Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, Sudan, Jordan, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq and the Palestinian Territories, "we're the United Nations!" Minzalje says with a laugh.

The book being discussed this particular evening will put tolerance to the test. I don't understand Arabic, but Minzalje has clued me in about Azazeel and the furore it's created in some circles. Set in fifth-century Egypt and Syria, Zeydan's novel focuses on what followed Rome's adoption of Christianity, the doctrinal conflicts and the suppression of dissent and doubt. "Zeydan is a Muslim writer, but you can hardly believe that because he's so versed in Christianity," Minzalje explains. "What he's really asking is why we don't leave space for every question in religion. Let's ask the questions."

The women sit forward when their turns come to speak. There is much head-nodding and note-taking. The last speaker is so animated, the tiny gold ornaments on the sleeves of her abaya shimmy. In the end, if there isn't total agreement, there is the satisfaction of opinions voiced and listened to. Even after several rounds of tea, coffee and chocolates, the conversation continues. The laughter, too. As in the best book clubs, the books are taken seriously without the members taking themselves too seriously.

This year, Al Multaqa members have worked their way through some serious reading: the six novels shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. But in past years, says Minzalje, "We've focused on Arabic translations of Chinese, Japanese, South African, South American and Turkish writers. We try to cover the world in books." The group reads not one, but three, books from a country. "You can really touch the heritage when you read several books from a region."

A group of younger women, one of whom is Minzalje's 24-year-old daughter, Lama Wazzan, has been inspired by Al Multaqa. Though this group is only a few months old, they've read a number of novels already, including last year's Man Booker Prize winner, The White Tiger. Book selections alternate between those written in English and Arabic. "A lot of us were educated in English, and actually find it difficult to read in Arabic," explains Wazzan. "This is a perfect way to improve our Arabic, to hold on to our language."

Like her mother, she's grateful for the doors her club has opened. "We get to discuss social, religious and historical issues, in addition to literature," she explains. "I've been introduced to new schools of thought." The experience has even brought her closer to her mother. "We're reading some of the same books as my mother's group. Now there is something else for us to talk about." As my Montreal group discovered after reading more than 100 books together, sometimes there's more to talk about when you don't love a book. Or when the group is strongly divided. One of our more memorable meetings took place on a sultry evening on a rooftop terrace as we thrashed it out over a collection of Alice Munro stories. Two of the members were pregnant at the time; two of us were raising young daughters as single mothers. We debated deep into the night about the role of mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. And then we drank more tea.

"I think you even get something out of a book you hate," says Jennifer Robins. Having started a book group in Boston - "It's still going," she says - Robins knew she wanted books and company in her new home, too. Her Abu Dhabi group, which numbers about eight members, has devised a democratic way to choose their monthly reads. "Whoever's hosting picks the book," she explains over coffee in a quiet cafe. "The only allowable reason for vetoing a book is if you've read it already." The group has recently read and discussed Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and The Tipping Point, Rajaa Alsanea's The Girls of Riyadh, David Sedaris's When You are Engulfed in Flames, the graphic novels Maus and Persepolis, and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. "This month we're reading the teen vampire novel Twilight," she says, smiling and shrugging. "You end up reading books you wouldn't otherwise read." She adds that her preference is to go "heavy, light, heavy, light".

My new book club here - we come from all over the Commonwealth and the United States - may follow that advice. Deciding at our first meeting in December to read books from the region, we plunged right in with the heavyweights: Orhan Pamuk and Elias Khoury. Busy women all, we're now thinking we'll need to sprinkle in some lighter (smaller) books. Next: The Girls of Riyadh. Still, depth trumps entertainment for readers like Minzalje. "When you read a book for a book club you look for the depth, even in a book you're not enchanted with. Sometimes you force yourself to finish a book simply because you want to be in the discussion. I always find that any book will add something to you and to your life."

For those interested in starting a book club, there are many websites, such as www.book-clubs-resource.com. The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair runs from today to Sunday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Al Multaqa will host writers at its fair booth every day at 11am and 5pm.

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
%3Cp%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Abdullah%20Al%20Qahtani%20v%20Taha%20Bendaoud%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ali%20Taleb%20v%20Nawras%20Abzakh%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Xavier%20Alaoui%20v%20Rachid%20El%20Hazoume%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Islam%20Reda%20v%20Adam%20Meskini%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Tariq%20Ismail%20v%20Jalal%20Al%20Daaja%0D%3Cbr%3EBantamweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Elias%20Boudegzdame%20v%20Hassan%20Mandour%0D%3Cbr%3EAmateur%20Female%20Atomweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Hattan%20Al%20Saif%20v%20Nada%20Faheem%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Maraoune%20Bellagouit%20v%20Motaz%20Askar%0D%3Cbr%3EFeatherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Ahmed%20Tarek%20v%20Abdelrahman%20Alhyasat%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Featherweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Mido%20Mohamed%20v%20Yazeed%20Hasanain%0D%3Cbr%3EShowcase%20Flyweight%20Bout%3A%0D%20Malik%20Basahel%20v%20Harsh%20Pandya%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now

THE LIGHT

Director: Tom Tykwer

Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Slow loris biog

From: Lonely Loris is a Sunda slow loris, one of nine species of the animal native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore

Status: Critically endangered, and listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list due to growing demand in the global exotic pet trade. It is one of the most popular primate species found at Indonesian pet markets

Likes: Sleeping, which they do for up to 18 hours a day. When they are awake, they like to eat fruit, insects, small birds and reptiles and some types of vegetation

Dislikes: Sunlight. Being a nocturnal animal, the slow loris wakes around sunset and is active throughout the night

Superpowers: His dangerous elbows. The slow loris’s doe eyes may make it look cute, but it is also deadly. The only known venomous primate, it hisses and clasps its paws and can produce a venom from its elbow that can cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto

Price: From Dh39,500

Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder

Transmission: Four-speed auto

Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km

25%20Days%20to%20Aden
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Michael%20Knights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20256%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2026%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.