Recently, someone asked me about Book Recommendations, and I realised the kind of books I read is very different from the kind of stories I write. It's a conscious decision not to read the same genre of fiction because often your favourite writer's style and words effortlessly and subconsciously creep into your writing and ideas, and you lose your individuality. But more than that, I honestly enjoy writing the genres I write, especially Romance, more than reading them.
Perhaps because through the process I also discover their stories and journey. I never plan a story or its theme and let the words flow. Often, the story ends up being utterly different from what I intend it to be. But it's their journey, I let the characters speak to me.
This December, when the deadly combination of Writer's Block and sickness attacked me between two long-pending drafts, I found it hard to relax. It felt like the characters were waiting for their Stories to be told, and they were just staring at me like the blinking cursor on my laptop, hoping I would get back to them soon. That is when I started rereading most of my favourite fiction and non-fiction. I realise I was always more of a non-fiction reader than fiction, and "normal" stories are not my forte when it comes to me as a reader. Perhaps that is why I am attracted to the kind of stories I read, the poems that have my heart, and the non-fiction I make note of.
History has always been my favourite subject, especially medieval history, which, to a layman like me, is easiest to dig into. So it's no surprise that whenever imagination is at stake, I turn to harsh realities, wars, struggles, love and loss. History to me is a reminder that happy endings aren't really a thing, either you get what you want and it destroys you, or you chase what you dream of and let it burn you. Women in particular, their struggles through the ages serve as a reminder to be grateful for the basic things our tribe, women before us, dreamt of. I am a big criticiser self self-help books, I usually know what they say, they never impress me with new information, and lately have been inclined towards true crime and behavioural sciences.
As for fiction, which most of you want recommendations on, I would say I find joy in reading real, mundane, often tragic and taboo stories. December made me go through some of my favourites, Hungry Tide and the destructive beauty of nature that affects life daily in places most people are unaware of, Cuckold and its beautiful descriptions of Love, in its layers of complexities, Layli Majnun and Sufi Poetry that speaks of oneness with God, The Tomb of Sand and the relationship between an aging parent and a daughter, Whereabouts and a mid 30s single woman's journey through mundane bits of life. Fictional retelling of stories of rebellion and women. None of these subjects would perhaps ever find a place in my stories, I feel I am too unworthy to touch on what really matters personally to me. Yet, every story I read, every piece of the world I explore through books, somehow finds its way into the person I am and hence, the stories I tell.
