The one downside to going to Jordan is that I can’t seem to find a whole lot of literature set there (at least not in English). Basically, there seem to be two 1950s murder mysteries, and that fake memoir about an honour killing that never happened.
Looking to learn a little something about my future new home, I read the book by the King (!) of Jordan, Abdullah. It was interesting, and gave some insight into Jordan’s role in the region over the past 100 years or so. But he disappointingly did not talk about Jordanian food, so I can’t in good conscience give it more than 3/5 stars.
Obviously, we’ll be watching Lawrence of Arabia soon.
for a food story, i recommend “the language of baklava: a memoir”. a good chunk of that story takes place in jordan.
though not set in jordan (though arabic food all over the region shares many similarities), “day of honey: a memoir of food, love and war” was pretty enjoyable too.
queen noor’s “Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life” is another interesting look at jordan and its history from a different perspective. i think i may have enjoyed that one a bit more than our last best chance, but i read them both ages ago, so i can’t say for sure. i may also have more particular interest than average since we have personal connections to people in the books. still probably an interesting/useful read for you anyway.