Open Books Challenge 2026: By a Muslim Author

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the 2026 category "By a Muslim author."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
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Martyr!
Akbar, Kaveh
Paper Book
Discover the life-affirming debut novel from acclaimed poet Kaveh Akbar: a love letter to the world and our search for meaning - in faith, art, ourselves and those we care for. 'Dazzling' Ann Patchett 'Profoundly moving' Elif Shafak 'Gorgeous'...
Homeland elegies : a novel
Akhtar, Ayad
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST AND ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 'I read it in a fever, swept up in the kind of rapture you fall into when your most audacious friend kicks off on a hilarious, outrageous, but deeply sincere rant' Torrey Peters,...
Life as a unicorn : a journey from shame to pride and everything in between
Al-Kadhi, Amrou
Ebook
A heart-breaking and hilarious memoir about the author's fight to be true to themself WINNER OF THE POLARI FIRST BOOK PRIZE 2020 WINNER OF A SOMERSET MAUGHAM AWARD Amrou knew they were gay when, aged ten, they first laid eyes on Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. It was love...
Courting Samira : a novel
Awad, Amal
Paper Book
Set in Sydney, Australia, Courting Samira is a charming, big-hearted rom-com about a twenty-seven-year-old Palestinian woman who finds herself in an unexpected love triangle--a sparkling ode to meddling best friends, traditional courtship, The Princess Bride, and, of course, the possibility of...
The city of brass
Chakraborty, S. A.
Paper Book
Discover this spellbinding debut from Sunday Times bestseller S.A. Chakraborty. 'An extravagant feast of a book - spicy and bloody, dizzyingly magical, and still, somehow, utterly believable' Laini Taylor, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author Among the...
Exit west
Hamid, Mohsin
Paper Book
This is Nadia. She is fiercely independent with an excellent sense of humour and a love of smoking alone on her balcony late at night. This is Saeed. He is sweet and shy and kind to strangers. He also has a balcony but he uses his for stargazing. This is their story- a love...
A case of exploding mangoes
Hanif, Mohammed.
Paper Book
There is an ancient saying that when lovers fall out, a plane goes down. 'A Case of Exploding Mangoes' is the story of one such plane. Why did a Hercules C130, the worlds sturdiest plane, carrying Pakistan's military dictator, General Zia ul-Haq, go down on 17 August, 1988?
The girl and the ghost
Hanna Alkaf
Paper Book
* Chosen as a 2020 Kirkus Prize Finalist for Young Readers' Literature! * A Malaysian folk tale comes to life in this emotionally layered, chilling middle grade debut, perfect for fans of The Book of Boy and The Jumbies. I am a dark spirit, the ghost announced grandly....
The Jasad heir
Hashem, Sara
Paper Book
The kite runner
Hosseini, Khaled.
Paper Book
Afghanistan, 1975: Twelve-year-old Amir is desperate to win the local kite-fighting tournament and his loyal friend Hassan promises to help him. But neither of the boys can foresee what will happen to Hassan that afternoon, an event that is to shatter their lives. After the Russians invade and the...
Detective aunty : a novel
Jalaluddin, Uzma
With her daughter accused of murder, Kausar Khan goes from meddlesome aunty to Detective Aunty . . . 'I am such a fan' Emily Henry 'I'll read anything Uzma Jalaluddin writes' Kate Quinn _________ When her daughter Sana is accused...
Unmarriageable
Kamal, Soniah
Paper Book
Alys Binat has found happiness teaching English literature to schoolgirls. Although she knows that many of her students won't finish their education before dropping out to marry, Alys still hopes to inspire them to dream of more than what's expected. When an invitation arrives for the biggest...
As long as the lemon trees grow
Katouh, Zoulfa
Paper Book
An epic, emotional, breathtaking story of love and loss set amid the Syrian revolution. Burning with the fires of hope and possibility, AS LONG AS THE LEMON TREES GROW will sweep you up and never let you go._______________SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DISCOVER BOOK...
Like the moon loves the sky
Khan, Hena
Paper Book
Inshallah you are all that is gentle and good. Inshallah you feel safe, like all children should. Like The Moon Loves the Sky is Hena Khan's daily wish for her children. With lyrical lines, each based on a verse of the Quran, and narrative illustrations that trace the life of a child...
Thorn
Khanani, Intisar
Ebook
The dream hotel : a novel
Lalami, Laila
Paper Book
* LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2025 * * A READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK MARCH 2025 * 'A gripping, Kafkaesque foray into an all-too-plausible future' JENNIFER EGAN'So cleverly conceived, so relevant, that everyone should read it and...
Furthermore
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
Born as blank as canvas in a world brimming with colour and magic, Alice's pale skin and milk-white hair mark her as an outcast. Because, for the people of Ferenwood, colour and magic are one and the same. And since the disappearance of her beloved father, Alice is more determined than ever to prove...
This woven kingdom
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
AN INSTANT #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Instant New York Times bestseller Instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller Instant Indie bestseller Instant USA Today bestseller Clashing empires, forbidden enemies-to-lovers romance, and a long-forgotten queen...
My friends : a novel
Matar, Hisham
Paper Book
FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD 2024 WINNER OF THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL FICTION NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER FOR FICTION SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PROSE PRIZE 2025LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2024FROM THE...
The return : fathers, sons, and the land in between
Matar, Hisham
Paper Book
"Hisham Matar was nineteen when his father was kidnapped and taken to prison in Libya. He would never see him again. Twenty-two years later, the fall of Gaddafi meant he was finally able to return to his homeland. In this moving memoir, the author takes us on an illuminating journey, both physical...
A place for us : a novel
Mirza, Fatima Farheen
Paper Book
** The New York Times bestseller ** 'To be taken hostage by Fatima Mirza's heartrending and timely story is a gutting pleasure... She captures your mind and heart with an urgency that defies you to stop reading. I guarantee you will be different when you close the book'...
The fortune men
Mohamed, Nadifa
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA NOVEL AWARD 2021 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WALES BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2022 'Chilling and utterly compelling, The Fortune Men shines an essential light on a much...
The boldest white : a story of hijab and community
Muhammad, Ibtihaj
Nights of plague : a novel
Pamuk, Orhan
Paper Book
1901. Night draws in. With the stealth of a spy vessel, the royal ship Aziziye approaches the famous vistas of Mingheria. 'An emerald built of pink stone'. The 29th state of the ailing Ottoman Empire. The ship carries Princess Pakize, the daughter of a deposed...
Best of friends
Shamsie, Kamila
Paper Book
** SHORTLISTED FOR THE INDIE BOOK AWARDS 2023 ** CHOSEN AS A BEST BOOK OF 2022 BY THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, DAILY MAIL, FINANCIAL TIMES AND IRISH TIMES ** 'A profound novel about friendship. I loved it to pieces' - Madeline Miller ...
The bird king
Wilson, G. Willow
Paper Book
A jubilant story of love versus power, religion versus faith, and freedom versus safety, from the award-winning author of Alif the Unseen.
Fundamentally : a novel
Younis, Nussaibah
Paper Book
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION WINNER OF THE COMEDY WOMAN IN PRINT PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD AND PUBLISHED NOVEL AWARD 'A NEW NAME TO WATCH OUT FOR' THE TIMES 'THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR' STYLIST 'ELECTRIC' GUARDIAN ...
A dutiful boy : a memoir of a gay Muslim's journey to acceptance
Zaidi, Mohsin
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE 2021 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FOR GAY MEMOIR/BIOGRAPHY A Guardian Best Book of the Year A GQ Best Book of the Year A New Statesman Best Book of the Year A Dutiful Boy is Mohsin's personal journey from...

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