What sorts of books inspired you as a child?

I spent a lot of time in the public libraries of various cities in the Los Angeles area as a child, so I think of reading in those days as mapped on to the physical space of the library. I remember being inspired by biographies of US presidents, especially romantic stories of Abraham Lincoln growing up in a log cabin that he used to sweep himself. I couldn¡¯t believe that such a humble figure could become president. I read any biography of Lincoln that I could get my hands on. I also loved mysteries and fantasy fiction along the lines of Madeleine L¡¯Engle¡¯s children¡¯s books.

Your new book, ¡®¡¯, analyses the ¡®Islamic revolution¡¯ in Northern Nigeria. Which books spurred you to become an expert on the Muslim world?

I grew up in a Muslim family characterised by what I now think of as a gentle Islam: fluid with both the transformational 1960s Egyptian culture my parents came of age in, and with the American culture I was born and raised in. The Koran was a mysterious, thick book in our family¡¯s library that had a very distinctive scent, in Arabic accompanied by a particularly turgid English translation. I read it myself at a young age with no prompting. I would ask my parents to clarify frightening verses or verses that I felt were unfair to women. At a loss in the face of my endless questions, they said, ¡°Just read more and more until you figure it out.¡± I continue to take their advice.

Which do you regard as the most illuminating accounts of recent Islamic revolutions?

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A model of how to think about Islamic revolutions is Roy Mottahedeh¡¯s Mantle of the Prophet, a classic on the Iranian revolution. On the recent Egyptian revolution, I am fascinated by the insights in Hazem Kandil¡¯s Inside the Brotherhood. On Syria, although the book does not deal explicitly with Islamic revolutions, I¡¯m excited about Wendy Pearlman¡¯s We?Crossed a?Bridge and It ?Trembled.

Which are the best overviews of Nigeria¡¯s recent history?

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I feel that it is important to read as many accounts of Nigeria by Nigerians as possible. In English, Ibraheem Sulaiman¡¯s work on Usman dan Fodio, one of the most influential figures of West African modernity, is important. I also very much appreciate Muhammad Sani Umar¡¯s academic work on Northern Nigeria.

What is the last book that you gave as a gift, and to whom?

Matthieu Ricard¡¯s A Plea for ?the Animals: The Moral, Philosophical and Evolutionary Imperative to Treat All Beings with Compassion, to a good friend who is working on animal sacrifice in the Islamic tradition.

Which books do you have on your desk waiting to be read?

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I have dozens of books on Egyptian history on my desk that I would like to read, or acquaint myself with, this summer, in the service of my next book project. What I see before me now are two that I bought in Cairo: a biography of Muhammad Ali Pashi by Agnieszka Dobrowolska and Khaled Fahmy, and a massive book called Defining Islam for the Egyptian State by Jakob Skovgaard-Petersen.

Sarah Eltantawi is assistant professor of comparative religion at Evergreen State College and the author of (University of California Press).