Our Shared Shelf discussion

Hello everyone!

Let's fill this thread with additional resources or books that follow the same themes as "The Things I would Tell You"

That way if anyone is interested in further reading they have a pile of books, podcasts, organizations, websites, etc that they can check out!

These are fellow anthologies from Muslim women


Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women
A collection of 25 American Muslim women stories and memories that focuses on their search for love

I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim
40 American women under the age of 40, share their experiences of their lives as Muslim women in America. While their commonality is faith and citizenship, their voices and their messages are very different

Found this one too!


Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman

Thank you for the suggestions, Pam :)

Awesome! Thanks Pam! 😊👍

When I was taking a few classes in Islamic Studies, one author I later remember reading particularly well is Fatima Mernissi. Her interpretations are individualistic and cheeky, speculative and provocative, and don't represent all of Islam. But I enjoyed them very much, and they force you to realize how diverse the spectrum of thoughts and interests in the Muslim world really is. It might be worthwhile to start with her memoir of her Moroccan childhood, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Note: her most notable works were published beginning in the 1970s and 80s, and she died in 2015.

Awesome addition Dorothy, thank you.

Does anyone have some suggestions on books to information / history of islam and islamic countries in general? As I am reading "The things I would tell you" I realize my lack of knowledge in these topics.

Thanks :)

I can name a few:
Disclaimer, I'm not an expert. I simply enjoy Muslim thought after taking a Muslim history class in school.


I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Malala offers a lot of history about Pakistan before the Taliban came. As well as what it was like to live under their new regime


Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books
A female perspective of the changes that occured in Iran that moved further into a theocracy.


The Great Theft
A dense, almost academic look at how Islamic study has been rewritten by extremists and the effects on Islamic education.


Letters to a Young Muslim
A father from the United Arab Emirates shares some history on the pre-oil days of his country; through the major shifts in the last 30 years ato what is now the playground for the rich and wealthy. His father was a poor Bedouin and now his son has never known want. He writes letter to his son regarding his insights from this quick turnabout.

What about you, OSS community? What do you recommend?

Thank you very much:) I will definitely have a look at these:) I also already read the first one, I liked it a lot!

Right. Malala's story is so inspiring and also very educational!

As a cis white woman from the States it's difficult to understand the complexity of the culture plus the religion plus the significant historical moments that are still affecting life today.

I haven’t read this, it’s newly released It's Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race

I recently read Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela who wrote The Insider in The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, 13 fiction short stories about emmigrant/immigrant experiences in Africa, Britain & the Middle East, beautifully woven stories turning the mundane into thought pondering gems - conveying the intricacies of feeling at home yet not at home. Nearly all of the vignettes were hits. i think it’s better to read it taking breaks rather than in one go as a novel to avoid repetition fatigue by the end.