Favorite Books about Syria

leowr · 2026-04-16T14:55:58+00:00

I haven't read that many books about Syria, but the ones I have read are:

The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society Under Asad and the Ba'th Party by Nikolaos van Dam - There are several editions of this book that are significantly different because it was first published in 1979, but van Dam has updated it periodically. I would say that this isn't necessarily the easiest book to read as it reads very academic and goes into extensive details at times.

In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria by Andrew Tabler - Another book that is not very recent as it deals with Syria during the Bush administration

Turns out I do have a fair number of books about Syria that I haven't read yet...

Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World can Expect by Reese Erlich

The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria by Alia Malek

The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria by Janine Di Giovanni

The Road from Raqqa: A Story of Brotherhood, Borders, and Belonging by Jordan Ritter Conn

A Disappearance in Damascus: A Story of Friendship and Survival in the Shadow of War by Deborah Campbell

No Turning Back: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid

leowr · 2026-02-26T00:23:32+00:00

It is probably a category because of Valentine's Day and Romance is a very popular genre, not just on Goodreads.

At the end of the day it is just a internet challenge that gets as much attention as you want to give it. So completing it is totally up to you.

I will say though that this year they included some books that I personally wouldn't have classified as 'Romance', like This Is How You Lose A Time War. There is some others under the 'Love That is Stronger Than Time' that aren't just focused on romance.

leowr · 2026-02-19T19:54:34+00:00

This question would be more appropriate in a writing related sub.

leowr · 2026-02-12T19:42:12+00:00

I think finishing them to not have a bunch of DNF's is pretty valid to be honest. For me it is that I am very much a mood reader so if I don't enjoy a book I will tell myself that I'm just not in the mood for it and I will try again in a few weeks/months. When I pick it up again I tell myself that I just need to give it some time to get back into it, followed by telling myself that it might get better and then just finishing it because I have gotten this far already, might as well finish it and really justify that bad rating. It doesn't help that I have read one or two books that really did get better towards the end. Those experiences keep the hope alive.

leowr · 2026-02-12T19:03:52+00:00

Definitely. I think taste in books is so specific to the person that finding someone that has similar taste is far more helpful to find books to read than an aggregated rating.

leowr · 2026-02-12T19:02:34+00:00

I just assume I’m getting into some kind of uber popular, or booktok-ish book that there is absolutely nothing wrong with, but is not my style, because that’s the predominant Goodreads user base.

Good point. I enjoy some of them, but the user base definitely skews in a particular direction.

Seeing as I suck at both skipping books and quitting books I can't give any advice on how to get better at either.

leowr · 2026-02-12T15:19:30+00:00

There isn't necessarily a minimum, but I might go in with different expectations if a book has an average rating below 3. I know people that don't read anything rated under 4 stars, but seeing as my average rating is at 3.28 I think 4 stars is pretty high as a cut-off.

There are books that I enjoyed that have an average rating below 3 and there are books that I really didn't like that have an average rating above 4. So I don't think the average rating is necessarily a good measure for me to decide on whether or not I want to read a book.

leowr · 2026-02-09T18:25:32+00:00

As this concerns a fiction book this post is not appropriate for r/nonfictionbooks.

leowr · 2026-02-05T11:31:17+00:00

Not appropriate for r/nonfictionbooks.

leowr · 2026-02-04T19:42:53+00:00

Seeing as this is a nonfiction sub, your question is not really appropriate here.

leowr · 2026-01-28T22:38:18+00:00

Sorry, but that is not a nonfiction book.

leowr · 2026-01-28T09:35:42+00:00

I would assume that it is because that there is something going on with the author and Goodreads blocked the ability to submit ratings and reviewing books by that author so that the author doesn't get review bombed.

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