Category: Mags & Books

I was at Avenues this past weekend and noticed that the American bookstore Borders was opening in place of where H&M used to be in Phase 1. Borders filed for bankruptcy and closed down in the US a few years ago but the brand still exists around the world including in the UAE. It’s not as cool as the Japanese bookstore Kinokuniya, but then again, beggars can’t be choosers.

The stationary store Paperchase is also opening right next door to Borders which is also pretty cool.

I don’t tend to collect as many things as I used to, but recently I got obsessed with trying to obtain some very old and difficult to find English books on Kuwait. The three most recent books I managed to get have now become my most treasured ones, The Arab of the Desert (1949), Kuwait and Her Neighbours (1956), and The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain (1955).

I had lusted after these books for some time now but because they were expensive, I never pulled the trigger on them. But, a few weeks back while at the home of the Australian ambassador, I spotted the books on his shelves. It was such an odd experience seeing them live, they were books I had obsessed about virtually but then seeing them in person felt so weird. I couldn’t believe he even had The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain, a book written by Violet Dickson, the wife of H. R. P. Dickson and published in 1955. Not only a very difficult book to get because of its scarcity, but also one that wasn’t that popular due to its subject matter.

I quickly flipped through the books and posted some pictures on my Instagram story. As I was flipping through the books and taking photos I quickly realized how badly I needed to have these books. All this time I had been reading on the books and looking at photos of their covers, but I had never seen the books from the inside. Both “The Arab of the Desert” and “Kuwait and Her Neighbours” are filled with illustrations, fold-out maps and family trees, loose documents, black and white photos and tons and tons of interesting information. They are very thick books filled with a lot of content and after spending just a few minutes with them, there was no way I wasn’t getting them.

The first thing I did was delete the photos of the books I had just posted on my Instagram story. I realized if I wanted to get my hands on these books then I should get them first, and then post about them. I then spent the next two weeks going through every website I could find looking for the right copies of these books. I wanted first editions, I wanted the books with their dust jackets, I wanted them in good condition and most importantly, I wanted to pay a reasonable price. After a few emails to various sellers asking for more photos of the books, and after a few more emails negotiating the prices, I managed to get my hands on all three books. I managed to get first editions of Kuwait and Her Neighbours and The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain (I think there is only one edition of this anyway), but I ended up getting a second edition print of The Arab of the Desert. I settled for a second edition print because of the price and the fact the copy I got was signed by his wife Violet Dickson.

I’m now trying to figure out how I can share the books online, not fully, but just a way for people to get a feel of these books. The best idea I have so far is to mount a camera on a tripod and then flip through the books while I record a video. If anyone has a better idea let me know. For now, I’ve temporarily created a highlight on my instagram account with pictures of the books and some pages inside. You can check those out on my account @mark248am

There are only a few more days left before the book fair is over so I dropped by yesterday to check it out. Not sure if its only me, but the book fair felt smaller than the previous years, at least when it came to English books. There just didn’t seem to be as many English booksellers as the previous years and even the large Arabic publisher’s exhibits seemed smaller than the previous years.

But, it’s still worth passing by and checking out. For more information on the book fair click here.

A couple of weeks back I posted snippets from an old book on my instagram account and a lot of people wanted to know what book it was and where they could get it from. So I decided not only to post about the book but also scan it all and make it available to download.

The book is a children’s book called Hamad the Diver and was published back in 1967. The story is about an Arab pearl diver living in Kuwait called Hamad. The story doesn’t mention specifically if Hamad was Kuwaiti or not but we do find out he is poor as many Kuwaitis were back then and that he was married with children. The second story taking place in the meantime is about a rich Iraqi girl called Fatima living in Basra whose father is trying to get her married. I don’t want to spoil the story too much but eventually, Hamad and Fatima end up getting married.

If you want to check out the book then you can download it from this link.

Update: The missing pages have been uploaded

The Family Bookshop, one of the oldest and most popular English bookshops in Kuwait closed down for good eight years ago. Just before they closed down I passed by and took photos of the place. I shared some of the photos back then but since it was National Bookshop Day a few days ago, I wanted to re-upload all the photos I took that day. The photos below are in higher resolution than the previous ones I had published and I’m also sharing all the photos I took that day, not just some of them. So check them out below.

Back in 2014, I found out about a bookstore located inside the Al Bahhar Entertainment Village (Youm Al Bahar) called the Kuwait Heritage Library. I never went back to it after my initial trip but decided to do so this past Friday to see if it was still there. It was!

Since my last visit, the place has changed quite a bit, the shelves now reach the ceiling and the tiny shop was even more packed with books. It’s pretty hard to move around inside the shop now because there are books everywhere.

What I loved about the bookshop is the vast amount of old books it contained in both English and Arabic. I found a ton of stuff I wanted but they were sadly all overpriced. For example, they had an original copy of the Sons of Sinbad book by Alan Villiers priced at KD150 when similar condition books can be found online for around 40-50KD. They also had The Kuwait Urbanization book listed for KD170 when better condition copies can also be found online for around KD100 (I got mine for KD50).

BUT, if you love digging through piles of old books and flipping through pages of vintage books on Kuwait then you’re gonna really love this place. They’re open in the evening from around 6PM to 10PM but their AC isn’t working really well right now so its SUPER HOT inside. So if you pass by make sure you’re in your gym gear or something you don’t mind sweating in. If you don’t know where Youm Al Bahar is, here is the location on Google Maps. They’re also on Instagram @kuwait.heritage.library

Last Thursday I was at the National Library looking for a specific book related to the Iraq invasion when I found a book called “Kuwaiti Resistance as Revealed by Iraqi Documents“. From the cover, it didn’t look like much but after flipping a few pages I was hooked. I knew I wanted that book so I went online to buy one from Amazon or eBay when I noticed the book was published by the Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait. The center was located next to my office so after work I decided to head to their small bookshop to see if they had it. They did, in fact, they had the book in English, Arabic, and French and for just KD3!

I’ve been meaning to post about the place for some time now ever since I found out they had a book shop. It was a small shop with just their publications so didn’t think it would be an interesting post but then on Thursday I also found out they had a library with a lot of interesting books and it was open to the public!

The Center for Research and Studies on Kuwait was established in 1992 with a number of objectives but mainly to collect various documents and studies relating to the Iraqi aggression against Kuwait. The book I purchased is one of many books the center has published on the invasion but they also have a wide range of books on Kuwait (history, environment, wildlife, etc).

The center has a library which although not as big as the National Library at least is open in the afternoon so people with jobs can pass by after work. The library is mostly filled with Arabic books but they did have a pretty decently sized section filled with English books as well as an archive of researches and presentations including proposals on the Kuwait Water Front Project (the Gulf Road basically) and original plans for the Kuwait Radion Television Centre which I had never seen before. They also had an archive of LIFE magazine issues dating from 1956 to 1963, two copies of the Saba Shiber book The Kuwait Urbanization and another book by Saba I didn’t know existed called Recent Arab City Growth (also dating back to the 60s and there is a copy on eBay for $375 so someone, please buy it right now because I can’t afford to buy all the rare books on Kuwait by myself).

If you’re looking to buy some books or spend some time in a library flipping through old books on Kuwait this is the place. Like I said it’s nowhere near as big as the Nationa Library but at least they have better opening hours. The center is open from 8AM to 1:30PM and then again from 5PM to 7:30PM. Here is their location on Google Maps.

TASCHEN are mostly known for their architecture, art and design books and I usually pass by their stores when on vacation but rarely ever buy anything since their books are usually large and heavy. But, this weekend I found out that we now have a TASCHEN Books dealer in Kuwait.

The dealer is located in Life Center in Shuwaikh, the same complex that houses the Contemporary Art Platform. They have a main store on the top floor next to CAP and another pop-up store on the outside called Stall 78. According to the dealer, they’re trying to match Amazon’s prices as close as possible which is great for us. I picked up the book “Food & Drink Infographics.” for KD22 while the retail price in the US is around KD21 (although Amazon currently has it discounted at KD17).

If you want to check the place out, here is the location of Life Center on Google Maps.

While at the National Library recently, I found a few newspaper clippings related to James Brown when he visited Kuwait back in 1978. I was hoping to find more coverage in the papers but I searched through 1 month worth of AlQabas newspapers and only found a few ads and one article. I’m gonna go back and try to look for more in other newspapers but for now, I’m gonna share the ones I found. One is on top and the rest are below. If only the library didn’t have the most impractical opening hours…

When I visited the Kuwait National Library back in March I noticed they had a room where they were scanning books on Kuwait in. I was told they would be launching a digital library soon called “Memory of Kuwait” and last week they did just that.

This platform was launched by an initiative of the National Library of Kuwait with a goal to connect the past with the present. It includes books, periodicals, manuscripts and other collections that document the stages of Kuwait through history.

This interactive digital platform utilizes advanced technologies in line with Kuwait National Library vision. Embracing new technologies in order to serve public visitors and to give them access to the library’s most important historical collections.

The library has so far scanned or digitized over 1,000 items like books, videos, newspapers and more and they’re all available to view right now on their website. But, I found the website really clunky and slow to use.

The videos I tried to watch were in the incorrect size format so they were squished while with the books or magazines I could only view a limited amount of pages. I keep getting a popup saying that I have limited access but there isn’t any information on how I can get more access! I can see a sign in button, but I can’t find the signup page so the whole thing feels like a bit of a mess.

I love the idea of a digital library especially when the main library is only open from 9AM to 1PM on weekdays. But I really really don’t like the software they’re using to navigate all these books, its too slow to be of any practical use. But, if you want to try it out yourself, here is the link.

The Better Books bookshop has been around for a very long time but I never got the chance to pass by the place until just a few days ago. Recently a friend of mine started volunteering there and when I looked up the bookshop on Google Maps, I realized it was actually walking distance from my apartment. So, I decided to pass by the bookshop and check it out.

Better Books have over 10,000 used books (and some new ones) ranging from children’s books to cookbooks, novels, self-help books, you name it. The place is small but also really cozy with different seating areas and is stacked with books everywhere. They also have a cool buyback policy. When you buy a used book from Better Books and you’re done with it, you can sell it back to them for half the price. If you also have books you don’t need they’ll also take them off you and give you store credit for them.

Better Books are located in Salmiya and you can find them on Google Maps. They’re open daily from 4PM to 9PM on weekdays and 10:30AM to 8PM on weekends. They don’t have an Instagram account or website, but they’re on Facebook.

Around 4 years ago I passed by The Kuwait National Library. The library wasn’t officially open then but I had a meeting with the team there and before my meeting started, I wandered around a bit and explored what I thought were all the English books they had in this very small section near the meeting room. I wasn’t that impressed.

Since then I’ve been meaning to drop by again but never did, partially because I wasn’t impressed the first time but also because their opening hours are terrible, 9AM to 1PM during weekdays.. basically when everyone is at work. But, I did manage to finally drop by the library this morning and I’ve changed my mind, I now love the place.

The national library is spread out over three floors not including the ground floor. I’m sure the way the books were divided kinda made sense, but I was just wandering around exploring and randomly looking for English books. So this is the thing I didn’t realize the first time I was there, there isn’t just one section where all the English books are located. Instead, the library is divided into different areas like Encyclopedias or books about Kuwait etc.., and in each of these areas you’ll find an English books corner.

There were a handful of people in the library when I was there (because everyone has a day job obviously), so I was able to just walk around the different floors and sections, randomly exploring without disturbing anyone. I’m not sure I managed to see all the areas but even if I did, I really do have to go back and spend a lot more time there.

My favorite sections were probably the books on Kuwait section as well as the newspaper archives section. If you check my instagram story I shared some videos of that section. The newspaper archive section had these massive books of different Kuwaiti newspapers from the 60s, 70s, 80s etc.. and you just flip through them, every page of the book is a page from a newspaper. They’re so good and there were so many of them so I really want to go back and flip through more of those books.

There was also this very cool section with shelves that opened and moved with a touch of a button, there was a section where employees were busy digitizing books using these super cool laser scanners (pictured above), and there was even a rare books section.

I really love old books, especially ones related to Kuwait so I really did enjoy just sitting on the floor and flipping through random books. You can’t take the books out of the library, but that’s really not an issue for me and if anything, I prefer it since the books will always be there to check.

Their opening hours are terrible and that really is my biggest issue with the place. I really want you all to pass by and check the library out, but I also know that the majority of you have jobs and aren’t going to want to take a day off just to explore a library. But if you can, then they’re open from Sunday to Thursday, 9AM to 1PM. The library is located right next to the Sadu House and the National Museum [Google Maps]. Everyone can access the library, and it’s free. You just need to give them your Civil ID card at the door.

If you follow me on instagram (@mark248am) then check out my story today, I’ll also have it as a highlight for a few days in case you read this post late.

The National Library of Kuwait’s website is nlk.gov.kw

Over 4,300 books have been banned so far in Kuwait since 2014 with 700 of them being banned just this year alone. Random books like the Little Mermaid were banned as well as books written by local authors. The book bans were so absurd that New York Times last month published an article about it which you can read [Here]

Over the weekend, local designer Mohammad Sharaf installed a book graveyard next to Kuwait’s Annual Book Fair to protest the banning of the books. The book graveyard got removed by the authorities quickly but the pictures went viral sparking a conversation on the subject again.

Now Alqabas newspaper is reporting that the appeals court have overturned the Ministry of Information’s book ban stating we live in a different time where the world is a much more open place. This is obviously great news so I really hope its true. I’m hoping this ruling could possibly encourage someone to open up a large bookstore in Kuwait. The book fair was incredibly packed when I visited it with people buying books so there definitely is a market.

The 43rd International Book Fair launched last week during the big storm and is going to be on until the 24th of this month at the Mishref Fairgrounds. I dropped by on Friday and it was extremely packed, like I’ve never seen the fairgrounds that packed in my life.

This is the largest book fair that takes place in Kuwait and its spread out across three halls. Around three aisles in one of the halls are dedicated to just English books but the rest is all in Arabic. For more information on the fair, click [Here]

Yesterday the New York Times published an article relating to Kuwait, but like most of the times we make the news, it wasn’t for a good thing. The New York Times had an article on the increase of book bannings that have gotten so extreme, we’re actually banning books that are not banned in Saudi Arabia. If that’s not absurd I don’t know what is.

Some of the books that were banned were written by local authors, so it’s not just foreign books that are being affected by this recent banning. Over 4,300 books have been banned so far since 2014 with 700 of them being banned just this year alone. Check out the New York Times article with more details on this [Here]