Tag: Nafisa Hussain

Project Bookshelf: Nafisa Hussain

I have the smallest room in my house, meaning that I hardly have any storage. Last summer, I ordered a £50 bookshelf from IKEA and practically forced it into the little box that is my bedroom. I moved things around, sacrificed clothing space, and somehow it worked. Organising the books was a mess of its own. It took me a few days since I was so overwhelmed. Do I organise them by genre or by how often I reach for them? Even now, when I look at the bookshelf on my right, I get a tad confused, and it takes me a while to find the book I want to read.

The only link I can make out from my top shelf is that those stories revolve around people, from Sally Rooney to confessions of a forty-something f##k up. I also have books that were either recommended to me or given as a gift. Think Like an Anthropologist was provided to me on my very first day of lectures as a first-year university student. Everyday Sexism was gifted to my entire class by my drama teacher on my last day of sixth form. The Full Diet was recommended to me by my doctor. How to Job Search in Book Publishing was recommended to me during ‘Publishing Week’, where I was desperate to find insights on how to get a role in the Publishing Industry.

My second shelf contains the classics – and the Bridgerton series. I binged season 1 when it was released and immediately bought the series. Jane Eyre, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, The Great Gatsby, Anna Karenina, The Picture of Dorian Gray… All stories that I had zero interest in during English class, but immediately sought out during my early 20s.

It is no secret that my favourite genre is fantasy. To be able to escape to something so different, where there are different worlds, magics and powers, is my favourite pastime. I have two shelves dedicated to this genre – with a splash of dystopian worlds. From ACOTAR to the Shadow and Bone series, Hafsah Faizal and the Shatter Me series. And of course, the classic Hunger Games series. My fourth shelf also contains books that just truly hurt. Although I know what happens in A Thousand Splendid Suns, As the Lemon Trees Grow, and Alchemised – I cannot bring myself forward to read them just yet, for fear of just breaking my heart.

My final shelf contains classic YA and mystery books. I have not read many mystery stories (I know myself well enough that, although I would enjoy the plot, I would also get incredibly frustrated with myself for not figuring it out sooner). But Twilight is the book that I probably reach out for the most on this shelf, simply because one of my friends is obsessed with it and is a vehement team-Jacob supporter.

Looking at my bookshelf, I am aware that I have not read the majority of my books. I used to feel embarrassed about it – about being so eager to buy new stories yet constantly only reaching for my comfort reads. But a few months ago, when I was in Waterstones, I had a discussion with this lovely bookseller. He confided in me that he had not read most of the books in his collection, but he also told me that it didn’t matter. His collection reflects what he wants to read, what he would like to explore and open his mind and heart to. He told me that life can easily get in the way of getting into a good book, and that it was completely okay; that one day, when I was less stressed and busy, I would find the time to sit down with a nice cup of tea and a fresh read.

Nafisa Hussain (she/her) holds a BSc in Anthropology and Sociology from Brunel University, where she primarily focused her work on race issues in the UK. She has published book reviews in the Hillingdon Herald Newspaper and volunteers for the Books2Africa charity.

Meet Our New Intern: Nafisa Hussain

Despite being a voracious reader as a child, I cannot pinpoint the exact moment in my teenage years when I began to view reading as a chore rather than a delight. My memories from my earlier years are a bit blurred, but I vividly remember my father taking me out to the local library every week after school. At our run-down library, I would pick as many books as I wanted and vow to myself that I would finish them before our next trip (I would go into tunnel vision as soon as I arrived home, and finish most books within a day or two).

A smiling graduate in a navy cap and gown over a long, red dress. She is holding a diploma folder and is walking along a university campus pathway.

When I entered secondary school, although I stopped visiting my town’s local library, I would almost religiously visit my school’s library after school and during lunchtime. In English class, we would start every lesson by sitting in silence and reading our own books for approximately 10 minutes; when I tell you that everyone hated these reading sessions, I mean that everyone hated it. However, while my peers were gladly shoving their books into their bags after our ‘silent reading time’, I was once scolded by my teacher for not putting my book down after the designated 10 minutes! Looking back, I can’t fault 12-year-old Nafisa. 10 minutes is an unreasonably short amount of time to read, especially when we are being encouraged to do so in the first place.

I do not know how old I was when I stopped reading for enjoyment, but I can say that years later, when I was 17 years old, I decided to finally pick up a book again. At first, I just downloaded the Kindle app on my phone and decided to read a couple of books to pass the time. However, within weeks, I had ordered so many books to my house, as if I was trying to catch up to the words that I had missed in those handful of years. My parents would (and still do) constantly tease me, saying that if I was going to spend all my money on something, it might as well be books rather than anything else. Soon, I left for university. Every year that I moved back to London to study after spending the summer with my family, there would be no less than three bags that were jam-packed with books following me to my flat, alongside the other bits and bobs necessary to live independently, of course. It was definitely an enormous struggle to fit everything into one small car, but somehow we made it work.

During my final year at university, I had zero clue regarding what I wanted to pursue as a career. My friends around me had solid goals and careers in mind. Yet, whenever I was asked what I planned to do with my degree, I would try to steer the conversation away from myself. During a careers consultation with my university, I vented all my frustrations. I recall the career advisor simply smiling at me and asking me what I enjoyed. And then the realisation hit me. I enjoy getting lost in a good book; I enjoy losing myself in the plot and connecting with the characters and their struggles; I enjoy getting into passionate discussions with my friends about the books we’re reading, almost as much as I enjoy recommending them books and vice versa. This was my light bulb moment.

I realised I wanted to contribute to the stories and words that were to be shared with the world. My books had provided me with so much, both as a child and as an adult: they provided joy and laughter, as well as escapism. Books teach us morals and lessons; they encourage us to open our minds to differing perspectives. I will forever be glad that I was so dreadfully bored at 17, that I finally picked up a book again.

Stories have given me plenty, and I would like to help other readers feel as I have. After my careers consultation, I wanted to support writers in any way I could, so they could share their works and ideas with the world. I cannot conjure a number to reflect how many stories have genuinely touched me, but I am sure the number is in the hundreds. I’m eager to support writers with their works, with the hope that readers will feel the same connection to the words on the page that I have felt time and again, and will undoubtedly continue to feel.

Nafisa Hussain holds a BSc in Anthropology and Sociology from Brunel University London, where she primarily focused her work on race issues in the UK. She has published articles, including a book review, for the Hillingdon Herald Newspaper, and volunteers for the Books2Africa charity.