What is A Shared Space Book Club?
A Shared Space Book Club aims to bring together individuals from different backgrounds to read various books from an Islamic/Southeast Asian lens. Whether the text is secular or set in an unfamiliar culture, there is always something within a book that each of us can resonate (or disagree!) with.
That shared space is what drives this book club. With each participant’s unique experience and perspective grounded in religion and identity, we discuss our thoughts on a common area found within the pages of a book.
Wanna be a part of this? Fill up the form below!
Perks of joining A Shared Space
- Learn and hear about different perspectives of the same book
- Discuss a book of any kind through the lens of a Muslim/Singaporean identity
- Get a form of accountability to finish a book
- Meet awesome like-minded people, and have deep discussions with other awesome people who may not agree with you
Who can join?
- Everyone is welcome – all genders & beliefs
- To contribute meaningfully to the discussions, you would need to read the book
- However, you don’t need to finish the whole book to listen in and join the sessions
Book Club #1 – The Stationery Shop
What is this book about?
Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 50’s Tehran, finds refuge in Mr. Fakhri’s stationery shop.
Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry. Their romance blossoms and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place.
On the eve of their marriage, Roya promises to meet Bahman when violence erupts—a result of the 1953 coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s—and their own—future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts remain fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on to a whole other life in California.
More than sixty years later, fate leads her back to Bahman. This second chance offers her the opportunity to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?