How BookToker Nour Shaban Flipped the Page From Reviews to Book Fairs

CairoScene

a day ago

How BookToker Nour Shaban Flipped the Page From Reviews to Book Fairs
I met Nour Shaban during an internship that lasted all of two weeks, but one moment stuck with me. One morning, she spotted a book on my desk, leaned over and asked, 'Hey, hey—what are you reading?' When I told her, she smiled, and said, 'Tell me the review and I'll read it.' We talked about books the way old friends talk about music or movies. Later, I followed her online and realised, she was already something of a star. A book reviewer with a growing audience on TikTok. A translator with work in print. I knew then I had to speak with her properly, not just in passing, but for real.
Nour grew up in a house where books were just… everywhere. On the floor, under the beds, piled on chairs, stuffed into shelves that were always slightly too full. 'We had this little library at home,' she says, 'and we'd go to the book fair every year, like it was a family tradition.' No one told her to read. Books were just part of the house, like the TV or the kettle. You reached for them without thinking.
The reading bug bit properly after a question about the Bermuda Triangle. Nour asked her dad if he had a book on it. Instead of handing her one, he took her to a bookstore and said: choose whatever you want. She left with seven books and read them all in three days. That was it. She was in.
Fast forward to 2021, she's scrolling on TikTok and lands on a BookTok video from outside the region. It clicked. 'I wanted to find someone doing the same thing in Arabic,' she says, 'but I couldn't.' So she posted a video. Just her shelf, no fancy edits, no ring light. 'Someone asked about the books in it. I replied.' And then she kept replying. And posting. And suddenly, people were listening.
It worked because it didn't feel like a strategy. It felt like a person who liked books just talking about them. 'At the time, TikTok was full of dancing teens,' she laughs. 'Books weren't really a thing. But the people who were into it? They really got into it.'
Not all moments happened online. At one book fair, a young girl showed up with her dad just to meet her. 'She told me she started reading because of my videos,' Nour says, still a little stunned. 'Her dad thanked me. That one really stayed with me.' Now, reading is part joy, part job. 'I can't wait for the right mood anymore,' she says. 'I read regularly, even when I'm not in the mood. Especially when I'm not in the mood.' And with more followers came more responsibility.
'If I say I loved something, people go buy it. I have to mean it.' Then came the message from her favourite author, Mohamed Essmat. He let her know she'd been nominated as one of the top three Arabic book creators in the region for the 'TikTok Book Awards', based entirely on public votes. 'He told me he was proud of me,' she says. 'That he'd been following from the start.' Then we spoke about her translation era, which, like most things with Nour, started by chance. 'A friend needed help on a project. I took a test. Next thing I knew, I was working on my first translation.'
That book, 'Gherfa Zat Etlala' ('A Room with a View'), had her typing late into the night and juggling full-time work. She finished it in a month. 'When I held it in my hands at the Cairo Book Fair, it felt unreal. Like, oh wow, I actually did that.' However, not every book is easy to bring over. One translation set in the early 20th century nearly broke her brain. 'So much cultural stuff that didn't quite fit into modern Arabic. I had to write footnotes, figure out how to explain without over-explaining.' Readers wrote to thank her for those notes. That made it worth it. When it comes to choosing what to read, she keeps it simple. 'I don't follow trends. If I only read what's popular, I get bored. I have to like it for real.' Most of her favourites aren't viral hits. And that's fine. 'Good books find you when you're ready.'
After a long chat, I had to her for recommendations and she lit up. 'Depends what you're into,' she says. For historical fiction: 'Al-Qata'a' or 'Haider Ibn Zare' El Neel'. Romance? Try the 'Rayat El Shawq' trilogy. For horror: 'Aqsa Men El Mawt'. Mystery? 'Agatha Christie never fails, especially 'El Mawt Ye'ty Fel Nehaya' ('Death Comes as the End'). 'For something fun and fast: 'Tahqiqat Noah El Alfy'. For fantasy? 'Brandon Sanderson. 'Waleedo El Dabab' ('Mistborn') is a good start.' But her favourite of all time? 'Al-Qata'a' by Dr. Reem Bassiouney. 'It's about the Tulunid era in Egypt, something we rarely talk about. Ahmad Ibn Tulun created a place where people lived with dignity. Where no one slept hungry.' She pauses. 'And the writing? It's just beautiful.'
For new readers, her advice is chill. 'Start with something you're curious about. That's it. Don't overthink it. Just follow what pulls you in.' And for anyone thinking about posting online: 'Don't wait till it's perfect. Talk the way you talk to your friends. Say what you liked. That's enough.' These days, Nour's still reading, still posting, still figuring it out as she goes. 'I'm just glad people care,' she says. 'Half the time I'm recommending books I finished on the way to lunch.' And thanks to her, those books are starting to show up in other people's homes too.