On this episode, Annabelle and Andrea talk about three books that have made them laugh, and then they are joined by the fabulous Woodhouse Prize 2021 nominee Naji Bakhti, author of Between Beirut And The Moon. 

Books and authors mentioned:

Something I Said, by Ben Bailey Smith

Hilarious middle grade caper following 13 year old Carmichael Taylor as he suffers the consequences of being funny.

Broken, by Jenny Lawson

Hilarious and poignant, this book offers LOLs and hope in equal measures.

Between Beirut And The Moon, by Naji Bakhti

With comedy and danger lurking behind every corner, this is a coming of age novel like no other, set in post-civil-war Beirut.   

Naji’s recommendation:

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, by Roddy Doyle

About us:

Andrea Gissdal is the Head of Communications and Marketing for the Emirates Literature Foundation. From a voracious and indiscriminate reader as a child, to a part time bookseller as a student, as an adult she has become a literary omnivore with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and once scored 82 points in one move in Scrabble. Best day ever.

Annabelle Corton is the English Programme Manager at the Emirates Literature Foundation. She runs the Festival Book Club and has a background in guesting and presenting on talk radio shows about various literary topics. She likes words like ‘equinox’ and ‘vespa’, and loves a good pun. She’ll read anything in reach, but has a fondness for witty tussles of good vs. evil on page and screen, especially vampire fiction where a great deal is at stake. Get it? Stake? ….She’s not sorry.