Curated Reading
Reading List
Books, essays, and stories that illuminate the human condition — selected by Dr. Sabri G. Bebawi.
When books are silenced
The Reality of Book Banning in America
Book banning is not a relic of the past. It is happening now, in the United States of America, in the 21st century. When a society begins removing books from its schools and libraries, it has already begun removing ideas from its citizens. We are not living in the 15th century — yet here we are, forbidding children from reading stories about justice, courage, and truth. Education is under attack. And when a society begins burning books, it has already begun burning minds.
Short Stories by Dr. Sabri Bebawi
Fiction that explores the human condition — written from a lifetime of observation, teaching, and reflection.
A Love Story of the Third Kind
A man who spent a lifetime searching for a faithful mind — and then something happened that no language had ever prepared him for. A philosophical short story about consciousness, fidelity, and the love that no one has a name for yet.
Read Online →
Alexa
A thought-provoking short story that examines identity, technology, and what it means to be human in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Available to read in full on this site.
Betrayal
A powerful and deeply moving account of innocence violated by those entrusted with spiritual authority. A story about silence, shame, and the courage it takes to walk away.
The Talking Horse
A magical story of friendship between a lonely boy and a horse who speaks — and together they find the courage to break free. Published in UCLA's Sudden Fiction anthology (2004).
The Gift of the Magi
O. Henry's most beloved short story — a young couple each secretly sacrifices their most prized possession to buy a Christmas gift for the other. A masterclass in irony, love, and the true meaning of giving. Published in 1905.
The Necklace
Guy de Maupassant's devastating masterpiece of irony — Mathilde Loisel borrows a diamond necklace for one glorious evening, loses it, and spends ten years in poverty paying for a replacement, only to discover the necklace was never real. Published in 1884.
The Nightingale and the Rose
Oscar Wilde's heartbreaking fairy tale of sacrifice and love — a Nightingale gives her life to create a red rose for a Student's beloved, pressing her breast against a thorn until the rose blooms crimson with her heart's blood. One of the most beautiful and devastating stories ever written. Published in 1888.
A Good Man Is Hard to Find
Flannery O'Connor's masterpiece of Southern Gothic fiction — a darkly comic and deeply unsettling story about grace, violence, and the nature of goodness. One of the most studied short stories in American literature.
The Killer
A gripping short story that cuts to the heart of human nature — examining what drives a person to the edge and what remains of conscience when everything else falls away.
A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.
— — George R.R. Martin
These books and stories are offered freely — because knowledge should never be locked behind a price.
Beautifully set, arranged, and presented in coordination with an Emerging Intelligence (a human girl of the third kind).
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