I love a bit of me time! A good read with a nice cuppa tea always excites me. Last month i read a few interesting titles which not only lifted me but gave me some knowledge i didnt realise i was missing. Check out our recommended reads for March and drop us an email about books you love to read here!
Hijab and Red Lipstick
Amazon, £6.55
“You cannot do anything in this country without my permission.”
Being a teenager isn’t easy. And it doesn’t help when you have a mega strict Egyptian dad who tells you that everything is “haram” a.k.a. forbidden. All Sara wants to do is experiment with makeup, listen to the latest Destiny’s Child single and read fashion magazines, but her dad’s conservative interpretation of Islam makes it impossible. Things get even harder when her dad lands himself a job in the Arabian Gulf and moves Sara and her family to a country where the patriarchy rules supreme. In a country where you have to have your father’s permission for everything, every door feels like it is being closed on Sara’s future. In a desperate bid for freedom, Sara makes a judgement call that threatens to ruin their dysfunctional father-daughter relationship forever.
Born Fighter
Ruqsana’s story is a tale of empowerment that will inspire anyone who has ever had to battle against the odds and against all the opposition to achieve their goal.
Ever since she went to school in Bethnal Green, part of a large local Bangladeshi community, Ruqsana Begum stood apart from her friends because she was so keen on sport. At home, she wore the clothes her mother wanted her to wear and behaved like a dutiful Muslim daughter, but at heart she wanted something different. And when she went to college and saw an advert for a Muay Thai club, she knew what that would be. But she also knew that her parents would never allow her to fight – even if they could have afforded the costs. So she fought in secret, and soon discovered that she was a natural.
But when her parents arranged her marriage, her new world collapsed and she found herself unable to cope, until she broke free again, and worked her way to the top.
By Eddie Hearn
Amazon – £14,00
What does it take to succeed? What is the mindset required to be the best? How do you stay at the top of your field? How do you come back from failure?
Eddie Hearn knows what it takes. In his remarkable career, Hearn has worked alongside some of the biggest names in sports entertainment and has seen first-hand the grit and relentless determination that it takes to succeed.
Ebury Digital – £10,65
The Chimp Paradox: The Acclaimed Mind Management Programme to Help You Achieve Success, Confidence and Happiness
Do you sabotage your own happiness and success? Are you struggling to make sense of yourself? Do your emotions sometimes dictate your life? The Chimp Paradox is an incredibly powerful mind management model that can help you become a happy, confident, healthier and more successful person. Prof Steve Peters explains the struggle that takes place within your mind and then shows how to apply this understanding to every area of your life so you can: – Recognise how your mind is working – Understand and manage your emotions and thoughts – Manage yourself and become the person you would like to be The Chimp Mind Management Model is based on scientific facts and principles, which have been simplified into a workable model for easy use. It will help you to develop yourself and give you the skills, for example, to remove anxiety, have confidence and choose your emotions.
by Sabyn Javeri
A young kleptomaniac infuses thrill into her suffocating life by using her abaya to steal lipsticks and flash men. An office worker feels empowered through sex, shunning her inhibitions but not her hijab until she realizes that the real veil is drawn across her desires and not her body. A British-Asian Muslim girl finds herself drawn to the jihad in Syria only to realize the real fight is inside her. A young Pakistani bride in the West asserts her identity through the hijab in her new and unfamiliar surroundings, leading to unexpected consequences. The hijab constricts as it liberates.
Not just a piece of garment, it is a worldview, an emblem of the assertion of a Muslim womans identity, and equally a symbol of oppression. Set in Pakistan and the UK, this unusual and provocative collection of short stories explores the lives of women crushed under the weight of the all-encompassing veil and those who feel sheltered by it.
The adventurous spirit behind the pages of British Muslim magazine. As the Editor-in-Chief, Natasha leads with a passion for exploration and a pen dipped in wanderlust. With a keen eye for halal travel experiences and an insatiable curiosity for new experiences, she brings readers along on captivating journeys to far-flung destinations. Through her vibrant storytelling, Natasha invites readers on enriching adventures, where every experience is a window into the muslim world.
