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Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller
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Published:
Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2021
Status:
Available from OverDrive
Description

"As a bookseller, I loved Shelf Life for the chance to peer behind the curtain of Diwan, Nadia Wassef's Egyptian bookstore—the way that the personal is inextricable from the professional, the way that failure and success are often lovers, the relationship between neighborhoods and books and life. Nadia's story is for every business owner who has ever jumped without a net, and for every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore."
—Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here
"Shelf Life is such a unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time. It is the story of Diwan, the first modern bookstore in Cairo, which was opened by three women, one of whom penned this book. As a bookstore owner I found this fascinating. As a reader I found it fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny."
—Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way)

The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef's troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan

The streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart.
In 2002, with her sister, Hind, and their friend, Nihal, she founded Diwan, a fiercely independent bookstore. They were three young women with no business degrees, no formal training, and nothing to lose. At the time, nothing like Diwan existed in Egypt. Culture was languishing under government mismanagement, and books were considered a luxury, not a necessity. Ten years later, Diwan had become a rousing success, with ten locations, 150 employees, and a fervent fan base.
Frank, fresh, and very funny, Nadia Wassef's memoir tells the story of this journey. Its eclectic cast of characters features Diwan's impassioned regulars, like the demanding Dr. Medhat; Samir, the driver with CEO aspirations; meditative and mythical Nihal; silent but deadly Hind; dictatorial and exacting Nadia, a self-proclaimed bitch to work with—and the many people, mostly men, who said Diwan would never work.
Shelf Life is a portrait of a country hurtling toward revolution, a feminist rallying cry, and an unapologetic crash course in running a business under the law of entropy. Above all, it is a celebration of the power of words to bring us home.

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Format:
Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read
Street Date:
10/05/2021
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780374600198
ASIN:
B08R2KLMSL
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Citations
APA Citation (style guide)

Nadia Wassef. (2021). Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)

Nadia Wassef. 2021. Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)

Nadia Wassef, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021.

MLA Citation (style guide)

Nadia Wassef. Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021.

Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
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Date Added:
Oct 01, 2021 13:12:31
Date Updated:
Oct 09, 2023 18:56:04
Last Metadata Check:
Mar 28, 2024 18:11:58
Last Metadata Change:
Jan 30, 2024 07:42:32
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      • bioText: Nadia Wassef is an owner of Diwan, Egypt's first modern bookstore, which she co-founded in 2002 with her sister, Hind. She received an MFA from Birkbeck College at the University of London; a Master in Social Anthropology from the University of London; and a Master in English from American University in Cairo. Before Diwan, she worked in research and advocacy for the Female Genital Mutilation Taskforce and in the Women and Memory Forum. Featured on the Forbes List of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East in 2014, 2015, and 2016, Wassef's work has been covered in Time, Monocle, Business Monthly, and elsewhere. She lives in London with her two daughters.
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fullDescription

"As a bookseller, I loved Shelf Life for the chance to peer behind the curtain of Diwan, Nadia Wassef's Egyptian bookstore—the way that the personal is inextricable from the professional, the way that failure and success are often lovers, the relationship between neighborhoods and books and life. Nadia's story is for every business owner who has ever jumped without a net, and for every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore."
—Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here
"Shelf Life is such a unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time. It is the story of Diwan, the first modern bookstore in Cairo, which was opened by three women, one of whom penned this book. As a bookstore owner I found this fascinating. As a reader I found it fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny."
—Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in the best possible way)

The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef's troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan

The streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart.
In 2002, with her sister, Hind, and their friend, Nihal, she founded Diwan, a fiercely independent bookstore. They were three young women with no business degrees, no formal training, and nothing to lose. At the time, nothing like Diwan existed in Egypt. Culture was languishing under government mismanagement, and books were considered a luxury, not a necessity. Ten years later, Diwan had become a rousing success, with ten locations, 150 employees, and a fervent fan base.
Frank, fresh, and very funny, Nadia Wassef's memoir tells the story of this journey. Its eclectic cast of characters features Diwan's impassioned regulars, like the demanding Dr. Medhat; Samir, the driver with CEO aspirations; meditative and mythical Nihal; silent but deadly Hind; dictatorial and exacting Nadia, a self-proclaimed bitch to work with—and the many people, mostly men, who said Diwan would never work.
Shelf Life is a portrait of a country hurtling toward revolution, a feminist rallying cry, and an unapologetic crash course in running a business under the law of entropy. Above all, it is a celebration of the power of words to bring us home.

reviews
      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        May 1, 2021

        The first woman to solo anchor a network evening newscast, winner of multiple honors (including numerous Emmys and two Edward R. Murrow awards), and cofounder of Stand ​Up To Cancer, Couric discusses her personal and professional lives in Going There (750,000-copy first printing). The current U.S. Poet Laureate and a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Harjo relates how she came to be a Poet Warrior whose verse bespeaks compassion and demands justice. As revealed in Brandon Stanton's photoblog Humans of New York--and now in The Redemption of Bobby Love--at age 14 Love was charged with disorderly conduct in the Jim Crow South, subsequently drawn into a band of thieves, and facing a 30-year prison sentence when he escaped to New York, changed his name, and led the model life of a family man with multiple jobs, church, and Little League until the FBI and NYPD came calling after decades (150,000-copy first printing). After successfully negotiating the high-risk birth of twins, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Ruhl came down with Bell's palsy--a condition paralyzing half the face--and unlike most patients did not recover quickly; Smile relates how she spent a decade searching for a cure while grappling with her suddenly inexpressive face (100,000-copy first printing). Picking up directly after Theft by Finding, Sedaris's previous volume of diaries, A Carnival of Snackery brings us up to the present (750,000-copy first printing). Told by Egyptian Canadian actor Sharif, A Tale of Two Omars relates his life as the grandson of the famed actor on his father's side and Holocaust survivors on his mother's while also reflecting on his life as a gay man in the Arab (and larger) world. Featured on the Forbes List of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East in 2014, 2015, and 2016, Wassef is the founder and manager of the Cairo-based Diwan, Egypt's first modern bookstore, which now has ten locations, 150 employees, countless loyal customers, and a book of its own with Shelf Life (25,000-copy first printing).

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

      • premium: True
      • source: Publisher's Weekly
      • content:

        July 26, 2021
        In this bold and humorous debut, Wassef reflects on founding a modern bookstore, “the first of its kind in Cairo,” at a critical time in the early aughts when Egypt’s illiteracy rate was at an all-time high and revolution was on the horizon. With her sister, Hind, and friend, Nihal, Wassef made her passion for books into a profession and together the three women opened their bookstore, Diwan, in 2002, in the face of a patriarchal society and “bureaucratic despots.” Wassef details the business’s evolution, over her 14 years running it, from an audacious dream to the national success and household name it continues to be today, with several locations operating across Egypt. In chapters cleverly named after sections of the bookstore—from “Pregnancy and Parenting” to “Egypt Essentials”—she braids personal anecdotes, historical context, and day-to-day interactions with regulars (including the occasional disgruntled customer who tries to return a book purely because they didn’t like it). Occasionally, Wassef’s musings can feel disjointed as she toggles between these various modes, but her singular voice and witty observations make up for it. This is a book for book people, challenging the perspective of the traditional American and European publishing worlds with verve and style. Agent: Caroline Dawnay, United Agents.

      • premium: True
      • source: Kirkus
      • content:

        August 15, 2021
        The uplifting story of an Egyptian woman's passion for books. In 2002, Wassef and her two sisters opened a bookstore they called Diwan on the outskirts of Cairo. Her country was in political turmoil, and citizens had little interest in reading and writing. As she writes in this engaging and heartwarming memoir, "starting a bookstore at this moment of cultural atrophy seemed impossible--and utterly necessary." On International Women's Day, they opened their groundbreaking bookstore/cafe, stocking Arabic, English, and some French and German titles, later adding films, music, and stationery. It served as an oasis on a hot, traffic-choked street, the author's "love letter to Egypt." The women had a lot to learn about the business of selling books in a price-sensitive market: hardcover vs. paperback; data entry and other administrative tasks; hiring--and firing--staff; what makes a good display; customer relations in a masculine world; that a bookstore isn't a library and must turn a profit. Women began to see Diwan as a place of refuge, and tourists visited. Wassef added space for an office, merchandise, bestseller displays, and a special Egypt Essentials section, and the staff puzzled over discounts, net prices, short ships, and censorship challenges--e.g., stocking Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef. In 2007, they opened their second branch. "Then," she writes, "we drifted from the black into the unfamiliar red. We were in the throes of a global recession." New art and design, self-help, and how-to sections helped. At the height of their success, they had 16 stores (and closed six). This is much more than a bookseller's story. Wassef discusses Egyptian history, politics, and culture. She learned that bookselling is like "marriage and football. While a fair amount of skill is needed, it's more about fate, and luck." The first five years were "chaos," the next five frustrating, the last five "just painful," as she juggled a career, children, and two divorces. Book lovers will thoroughly enjoy experiencing Wassef's dream.

        COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Booklist
      • content:

        September 15, 2021
        In 2002, the author and her sisters founded Diwan, a multi-lingual, multicultural bookstore in Cairo, Egypt. Mubarak was in power and the social climate was not exactly ripe for such a venture, and yet despite all odds, it not only survived but grew to 16 locations. However, this is not merely a book about a business venture, though readers will learn much about the ins and outs of the bookselling business. Wassef also describes the social and political climate of Egypt and the restrictions that women are faced with. Bookselling is not necessarily a source of great profits, but it offers fulfillment in many other ways. The locations and styles of the stores reflect the women and the society's changes. Their specially designed bag becomes something of a status symbol. Eventually, Wassef moves to London and leaves Diwan in the hands of her sisters and partners. This is a personal story that tells much about a woman's life in the Arab world and is well worth reading. Appropriate for most libraries.

        COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      • premium: True
      • source: Library Journal
      • content:

        September 1, 2021

        In this memoir, Wassef, the cofounder of the influential Cairo bookstore Diwan, recounts building her business and narrates her journey as a wife, working mother, and Egyptian. She paints a vivid image of the book industry in Cairo of nearly 20 years ago, when she entered the scene with her sister Hind (cofounder of Diwan), describing the harried world of publishing and the misogyny that working Egyptian women faced, as well as the streets and neighborhoods of her city. With the founding of Diwan in 2002, the sisters were determined to provide a new outlet for culture and entertainment and carve out a space for women to freely read and explore. Wassef writes about building her reputation and skill as a bookseller over years of operating Diwan and overseeing large and small aspects of the store; all the while, she reflects on her identity as an Egyptian woman. The narrative combines memoir, a business success story, and literary criticism, and Wassef shares her love of fiction and the kinds of books she has gravitated to in times of need. VERDICT Wassef's toughness and honesty will endear her to readers, who will surely champion her throughout this chronicle spanning marriage and divorce, the Egyptian revolution of 2011, the country's first democratic election, and the author's eventual decision to leave her role at Diwan to make space for the new.--Mattie Cook, Flat River Community Lib., MI

        Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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"As a bookseller, I loved Shelf Life for the chance to peer behind the curtain of Diwan, Nadia Wassef's Egyptian bookstore—the way that the personal is inextricable from the professional, the way that failure and success are often lovers, the relationship between neighborhoods and books and life. Nadia's story is for every business owner who has ever jumped without a net, and for every reader who has found solace in the aisles of a bookstore."
—Emma Straub, author of All Adults Here
"Shelf Life is such a unique memoir about career, life, love, friendship, motherhood, and the impossibility of succeeding at all of them at the same time. It is the story of Diwan, the first modern bookstore in Cairo, which was opened by three women, one of whom penned this book. As a bookstore owner I found this fascinating. As a reader I found it fascinating. Blunt, honest, funny."
—Jenny Lawson, author of Broken (in...

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