For all its bustling crowds and round-the-clock, big-city action, Dubai can be a lonely place for the newcomer. This town is built on business, after all, and many of the transient millions who live here are motivated workers who consistently labour to put in extra hours and extra effort on the job. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave a lot of time for finding people with common interests or for nurturing friendships.
And at the end of a long workday or working week, putting in the effort to find like-minded people - and then developing relationships with them - can seem more like a daunting exercise in the use of precious energy than an important step towards building a circle of supportive friends in a new home.
So it would make sense to find ways to cut to the chase, right?
Enter the book club. Here, people who share an interest in one of life's most accessible yet luxurious pleasures - reading books and discussing them with others - agree upon a title, read it in advance, and meet periodically to enjoy one another's perspectives and insights on the book.
A quick scan of a few online resources reveals almost too many book club opportunities to count: general-interest, women-only, business-sponsored, library-hosted, and even book clubs for professionals who are interested in the latest business-development publications. There are clubs for readers based on language. They meet all over the city, from Festival City to Deira to DIFC, in restaurants, coffee shops and members' homes. Meetings are timed to offer convenient opportunities for a broad range of readers, from stay-at-home mothers to those who can't leave the office until well into the evening.
A great discussion forum
Most book clubs organise using online sites, but rely on the real-world component of in-person conversation to enjoy the experience of reading together. Of course, it doesn't hurt that there's usually also an opportunity to share a meal, a coffee or a dessert while talking about something other than work. For those who simply don't have the time to meet others in real life, there are book club websites, where readers can discuss literature using web forums and other social media tools.
I recently attended my first book club meeting in Dubai, and I'll admit I was a little nervous before I got there. I wondered how seriously the other members would take themselves; would this be a reminder of first-year university lit class, or would everyone be so friendly that we'd never get to the topic of the book itself? Would I fail to recall details from the 834 pages I'd finished reading a week before?
Farhan Ghazaly, organiser of Dubai Book Club, insists that readers should not feel intimidated about attending. "There is never any pressure to finish the recommended book, and even if you find very little time to read, you are just as welcome to the group, and your opinion is just as valuable to us, as any voracious reader's."
Happily, my concerns evaporated as I entered the café where the host was holding our table.
I ordered a coffee and others enjoyed their post-work dinners while we engaged in an animated chat, kept on-topic by the host's prepared questions. It was neither pretentious nor lazy; we were simply avid readers, examining and comparing our reactions to a well-written work of literature.
It turns out, it is simply a pleasure to sit in fellowship with other readers and reflect on our relationship with a book.
And as an added bonus, other readers contribute to the book list, encouraging you to explore genres and titles you might not have otherwise considered.
So whether you're new to Dubai or simply looking to discover new depths of conversation, dig around a little and find yourself a book club. You're nearly guaranteed to find something that suits your interest and your schedule.
If you're on the timid side, speak in advance with the host or moderator; she can help with introductions. Many best-sellers are published with reading group guides included toward the back of the book. Use these to explore your own thoughts on the work prior to participating in the group conversation.
You'll feel prepared and confident, and can focus more wholly on interacting with your fellow readers - and perhaps your new friends.
Why it makes sense for busy people to join a book club:
- You'll read more. Committing to the club's reading list guarantees one book each month that you otherwise might not have chosen.
- You'll broaden your book list. The book club I've joined includes an avid sci-fi reader, who's bent on converting the rest of us.
- You'll read more deeply. By anticipating the conversation ahead, you may find yourself reading more thoughtfully, considering the elements of literature more deliberately.
- You'll experience Dubai's diversity. It's easy to fall into the rut of spending time with others who are more like us in terms of culture, background, education or professional field. By focusing on a single common interest that transcends all these, book clubs can help us learn from the diversity around us.
- You'll get to know new people with common interests.
Five to try
Jo's guide to the book club favourites.
1. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The remarkable love affair of Ernest Hemingway and his wife, Hadley.
2. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Orphaned twins Marion and Shiva Stone come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.
3. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Henrietta Lacks was just a poor tobacco farmer, but her cells, taken without her knowledge, became important tools in medicine.
4. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
A tragicomic story of a man who gets entangled in an affair that threatens to destroy his family's future.
5. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
After his boat sinks, Pi Patel finds himself alone in a lifeboat, with just a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger.
Jo Phillip has worked as an editor, writer, marketer and farmer. She lives, writes and reads alongside her husband and two children in Dubai.
