Serial Readers United

Through an exploration of Kuwait’s independent bookstores, the article challenges the reputation of Gulf Arab monarchies as generally lacking a reading culture. It treats independent bookstores as urban spaces designed to enable participation in the practices and rituals of reading books and as indicators of reading microcultures in the country. Run by readers and writers, independent bookstores fill a gap in the cultural landscape in order to cultivate highbrow readership. They nurture emerging communities of readers, creating intimate spaces that blur the boundaries of public and private. They balance art and commerce to assume roles as arbiters of taste, community centers, and literary-cultural societies. Aided by social media, their activities spill over into the wider community and expand beyond the borders of Kuwait, attesting to the resilience of historical patterns of the Arab world of letters and the emergence of the Gulf as a new center in the circuit.

Egypt starts to regain regional clout

Significance This will be the first such visit since 2011. In June, President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi appointed a new ambassador to Doha, part of a process of mending relations that were broken when Egypt joined three Gulf Arab states in boycotting Qatar in 2017. The boycott was lifted in January. Egypt is actively seeking to improve relations with several regional states. Impacts Egypt, which is seeking closer ties with both Turkey and Greece, could potentially become a mediator in disputes between them. Strong relations with both Turkey and Saudi Arabia might create a strong Sunni Muslim alliance to counter the influence of Shia Iran. A well-recognised international profile will increase Cairo's confidence in ignoring criticism of its record on human rights.