(Profilenachricht) Profilbeschreibung

* Es ist ein bisschen komisch, einen Satz mit "Ja," zu beginnen - man kann das in einem umgangssprachlichen Gespräch machen, aber hier wäre einfach "Hallo" besser.

** "mal" wird sehr häufig in umgangssprachlichen Gesprächen verwendet, aber in einem schriftlichen Text passt es nicht gut.

Dein Deutsch ist schon super!

This (quite expensive) test centre tests Arabic (Fusha and Arabic) and certifies your level (I haven't done it, but I believe it is a serious insititute):

http://www.test-arabic.com/en/home

I second the suggestions for Yousef Ziedan (I read Azazel and The Nabatean and enjoyed both)!

I'dd also add Bahaa Taher (I read Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery and just started East of the Palms, which I find very interesting so far.)

Another (short ;) ) classic is "Season of Migration to the North" by the Sudanese author at-Tayyib Saleh. He has also written many excellent short stories, which might be a good starting point for reading "real" literature in Arabic.

A more recent work that I can recommend is "The Bamboo Stalk" by the Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi, which narrrates the story of the son of a wealthy Kuwaiti and his housemaid from the Philippines. I believe it's also been turned into a TV series.

Generally, the winners and nominees for the International Price for Arabic fiction might be a good (although mainstream) starting point for contemporary reading suggestions, as the winning work is always translated to English.

Though you have been clear about wanting to read translations at this point, I would nevertheless like to encourage you not to wait too long with reading in Arabic (I made this mistake and regretted it - I could have probably started reading in Arabic one or two years before I actually did). There is no harm in taking out a novel every few months and see how far you can get and whether you are already able to enjoy the work itself. Many modern Egyptian authors such as Alaa al-Aswani or Ahmad Murad use relatively simple language and straightforward storytelling which, I think, make them good choices for the beginning.