The Business episode

Talking about books that are The Business, the Emirates Literature Foundation team delves into the books you can find on the shelves of the business section of a book shop. 

With not one but two special guests, this episode welcomes Mimi Nicklin, author of Softening the Edge, who shares her thoughts on harnessing the power of empathy in the corporate world, and the Foundation’s very own CEO and Trustee, Isobel Abulhoul, who brings a book title we, the team around her, try not to take personally..

Books and authors recommended in this episode:

Softening the Edge, by Mimi Nicklin

Mimi and Ahlam discuss how the book came into being and what lessons we can learn from the pandemic about kindness and empathy in all parts of our lives. This is a call to action for anyone, anywhere, who believes in a better way to live.  

Surrounded by Idiots, by Thomas Erikson

Isobel assures us she doesn’t mean it literally, and we try to believe her, as she recommends this book to anyone who feels like they are surrounded by idiots. And it is not just a striking cover; this book helps you understand yourself and your and social skills better, handle conflict with confidence, improve dynamics with your boss and team, and get the best out of the people.

The Fame Formula, by Mark Borkowski

This book is effectively the history of PR, starting with snake oil salesmen and scoundrels, taking us through to the 2010s. Peppered with entertaining anecdotes and implausible tall tales, the entire first 370 pages is a very entertaining introduction to a chapter with an actual formula for fame, which you had forgotten you came for when you first opened the book.    

About us:

Ahlam Bolooki is the Festival Director for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the largest celebration of the written and spoken word in the Arab World. Ahlam finds it difficult to choose a favourite genre as it’s always changing and she’s still in the midst of discovering her literary self. She’s catching up on all the gems she missed as a child such as The Little Prince and The Giving Tree, but has also developed a new appetite for Crime Fiction so who knows what’s next?

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 but with a preference for fiction. She also dabbles in creative writing, and has a penchant for Scrabble.

Annabelle Corton is part of the team that puts together the programme of events for the EmiratesLitFest each year. 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.