My year in books: 2021
Thankful for another year. I can’t believe that we are still in this pandemic; but grateful for vaccines, all the selfless healthcare professionals, and keyworkers. May God bless you all!
This year I have tried to be productive and focus on the positives, as well as raising awareness of those suffering across the world.
I have also dived into my love of books again, interviewed several high-profile authors which has been a real blessing, written articles and blogs about shared histories of the world, and delivered a month-long series for Islamophobia Awareness Month, including a successful work event ‘Understanding the experience of Muslim staff in the workplace’.
On top of all this, I am proud to be part of a team that delivered a hugely successful Brent Climate Festival, raising awareness of one of the most important issues of our time. We brought to together grass roots communities and raised the profile of climate change, and encouraged residents to take pledges to make small changes to save our planet.
This has been my reading list for 2021; a diverse collection of books which have helped to expand my mind and taken me on the most amazing journeys.
1. Athena’s Child by Hannah Lynn
This book tells the story of Medusa who is depicted in the Greek myths as a monster (Gorgon) with snakes for hair, who turns people to stone. However, this story shows her human side, and how she was unfairly cursed by Athena and turned from her Priestess into an immortal monster, doomed to a live a life of misery.
Perseus, the son of Zeus and a Demi-God, heads off on a quest to kill Medusa and bring her head as a wedding gift on the behest of his soon to be Step Father. On his journey, he meets the Graeae, the three witches who have one eye and tooth between them, and hold the secret weapon that will help him defeat Medusa.
I enjoyed this book because it delved into the humanity and inner feelings of the main characters, and showed how they were both manipulated for the enjoyment of the Gods.
2. The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence and the Pillage of an Empire by William Dalrymple
3. The Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela
4. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
In ‘Born a Crime’, Trevor Noah the South African host of The Daily Show tells all about his life growing up in South Africa, before and after the end of Apartheid.
It’s largely a humorous retelling of his family life, brought up by his single mum, a strong black South African woman. She is a dedicated Christian and as a result Noah has to regularly attend Church and hear his mum’s religious lectures and anecdotes. She believes in tough love and teaching her son life lessons to prepare him for the future.
Noah’s dad is white and Swiss, and isn’t always in his life through circumstances out of his control.
The story is an interesting recount of living as a mixed-race person in South Africa, the racism of the white people and the divisions in society.
5. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The protagonist of the novel, Holden Caufield is sixteen-years old and seems to have no interest in life, he is failing at his Prep school and eventually gets kicked out. To avoid going home, he wonders the streets of New York for three days aimlessly. The novel is about Holden’s angst and musings on life as an adolescent, and it almost seems like he has some sort of personality disorder.
6. Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics by Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick
7. Hidden Heritage by Fatima Manji
8. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
Another great novel by my one of my favourite Turkish writers, Elif Shafak.
She tells the story of Defne and Kostas, a young couple - a Turkish Cypriot (Muslim) and a Greek Cypriot (Christian) who fall in love, defying their families and community.
It’s set over a few time zones and places – including post colonial Cyprus and London in 2010s.
Kostas and Defne leave Cyprus and start a new life in London. They have a daughter Ada, But she is shielded from their former life, including their culture and their heritage. This leaves Ada in this state of unhappiness as she does not know who she is.
The conflict between the Turks and Greeks in Cyprus creates a lot of trauma across both communities which Elif Shafaq portrays very sensitively.
The book has themes of identity, intergenerational trauma, family and belonging. Elif Shafak believes that people need to know their history, however painful.
Elif Shafak uses a talking fig tree as one of the narrators, it has lived through the lives of Kostas, Defne and Ada - being a witness to the human pain, suffering but also joy. This concept intrigues me, as trees are living organisms and the idea that they hear, see and empathise is fascinating.
9. Inglorious Empire: What the British did to India by Shashi Tharoor
10. Iqbal by Mustansir Mir
This book is an insight into the life of Muhammad Iqbal was the great poet/philosopher of India & Pakistan.
Iqbal was a unique thinker who explored these issues in depth, giving us a lot of food for thought about who we are, and what our purpose is.
Iqbal’s poetry was filled with messages for the Muslim community, and these poems are intended to awaken them from what he perceived as a deep slumber.
11. The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah: The Autobiography by Benjamin Zephaniah
12. Lord of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire by Jason Goodwin
A history book about the Ottoman Empire
13. Minarets in the Mountains: A journey into Muslim Europe by Tharik Hussain
14. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
The novel is about Toru, a quiet and sensible young college student in Tokyo who is in love with Naoko, a young woman who suffers from mental illness. Both Toru and Naoko are affected deeply by the death of their childhood friend.
15. The Other Bennett Sister by Janice Hadlow
An entertaining novel that tells the story of Mary Bennett, the quiet and least talked about Bennett sister from the famous story of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
16. The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars and Caliphs by Marc Baer
A history book about the Ottoman Empire with an interesting perspective depicting that the Ottoman Empire is a part and parcel of European history.
Baer shows that the Ottomans cannot be excluded from European history as they played a role in shaping it. The Ottomans played a part in the Renaissance, the age of discovery, the Reformation, the enlightenment and the scientific revolution
17. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles is a novel based on the Greek epic poem, the Iliad by Homer.
I love Greek mythology and especially the Iliad - and enjoyed this new take on the story by Madeline Miller.
If you aren’t familiar with the Iliad, this is a good entree and way to engage with the story of the 10-year Trojan war.
It is narrated by Patroclus, and focuses on the relationship between him and Achilles.
18. Travels with Nasrudin by Tahir Shah
19. The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
A little escapism through beautiful Venice. This story is set between two time periods, just before WWII and beginning of the twentieth-first century. A young woman takes a trip to Venice to scatter her great-aunt’s ashes and uncovers a whole new part of the old lady’s life.
