The Diverse Bookshelf

On this week's show I spoke to the lovely and hugely talented Hiba, who is also a dear friend of mine. On 6th July, Hiba's first children's novel, Safiyyah's War, hit bookshelves in the UK, and in this episode we talk about the beautiful book.  Hiba's book is about a part of history that we know so little about - the resistance movement against the Holocaust that was run f...

On the show this week, I spoke to the lovely Sara Nisha Adams about her two books, The Reading List and The Twilight Garden. This was such a wholesome, uplifting conversation where we talked about the importance of uplifting stories, hope, grief, community, libraries, gardening and so much more. We talked about our names, and the thought, experience and conscious choices that go into choosing name...

What happens when two people are deeply in love, but they want different things for their future? Can a relationship, or a marriage, work its way around fundamental things like having kids, career goals and what family should look like? Is love enough, and do we really listen when women tell us what they want from life? This week, I spoke to Krystle Zara Appiah about her debut novel, Rootless. In...

On this week's episode, I spoke to Eleanor Shearer about her debut novel, River Sing Me Home. River Sing Me Home is the story of Rachel, who escapes the plantation where she was enslaved and later forced to work for years, unpaid. She runs in search of her five children who had been taken from her over the years, hoping to reconnect with them and reunite her family. It is a moving novel about...

This week, I spoke to the incredibly warm and super inspiring author, Marjan Kamali. Marian's latest novel, The Stationery Shop of Tehran has been adored by readers all over the world, and praised for its epic and beautiful love story. The book is set amidst massive political upheaval in Iran in 1953. We follow two young lovers, Roya and Bahman, who become estranged for decades, until they ar...

This week, I spoke to Mai Al-Nakib about her stunning novel, An Unlasting Home. It is an epic inter-generational saga that spans time and place, exploring the idea of home, belonging and identity. With themes of birds and water running throughout, the book explores what happens when we leave our homes, or are made to leave, and how sometimes places let us go themselves. We follow Sara, a universit...

On this week's episode, I spoke to Mona Hajjar Halaby about her memoir, In My Mother's Footsteps. Mona's mother was a Palestinian refugee, who fled Palestine in 1948 at the time of the Nakba and the creation of the state of Israel. She lived in Egypt with her husband and two daughters until 1961, when the family became refugees once more, and moved to Switzerland. In her book, Mona...

William Shakespeare is upheld as one of the greatest writers of all time. He is the most quoted person in the English-speaking language, coming only second after those who wrote down the Bible. But is Shakespeare still relevant today? Should we still be teaching Shakespeare in school, or do young people find themselves unable to relate to his work and characters? Is the anti-black racism, anti-sem...

Today’s episodes is about one of my most favourite cities in the world – Sarajevo. Bosnian history is really fascinating, heartbreaking and complex, but gives us so much to learn from, reflect on and truly understand about the world and communities. In this episode, I’m talking to Priscilla Morris about her debut novel, Black Butterflies, which is set in 1992 in Sarajevo, at the beginning of the S...

Today’s guest is one the Gulf’s most noteworthy authors, Layla AlAmmar. Layla has published two internationally acclaimed novels The Pact We Made and Silence Is A Sense, in 2019 and 2021, respectively. On this episode, we talk about SO much, and Layla shares such insight from a psychological perspective, discussing theories around trauma, memory and the versions of ourselves that we lose. We talk...

I am so excited about this week's episode. I spoke with the incredible Fatima Manji, award-winning broadcaster and journalist, about her book, Hidden Heritage. Hidden Heritage is a myth-busting journey through Britain’s history through heritage sites and British historical sources, rediscovering Britain’s relationship with the Orient. I absolutely loved this book, and found it fascinating and...

On this episode, I spoke to the lovely Cecile Pin about her debut novel, Wandering Souls.  Wandering Souls is such a strong debut, and has been long-listed for the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2023! In this episode, we talk about Cecile's own family, her drive for telling the story of Vietnamese refugees, and why it is so important we understand the challenges faced by refugees everywher...

In this episode, I spoke to the highly talented and inspiring poet, Taher Adel. We talk about how and why poetry is such a great creative outlet and a way to explore one's identity and engage with the world. We also talked about his upcoming book, The Divine Names, which is a collection of short poems which each speak to each of Allah's 99 names.  This episode is part of a mini-series fo...

In this episode, I spoke to the insightful and inspiring, Suma Din, about her book Turning the Tide. We talk about the challenges women face today, the importance of making duaa, the soul, gratitude, aging, and so much more. This episode is part of a mini-series for the month of Ramadan. Millions of Muslims are fasting from dawn to dusk for 30 days as part of a month of heightened spirituality and...

On this episode, I talked to the inspiring, Aliyah Umm Raiyaan. Aliyah's debut book, Ramadan Reflections has been flying off bookshop shelves around the world, totally selling out in the UK, and  becoming a Sunday Times best-seller! In this episode, we talk about her writing journey, and important topics around healing from trauma, forgiveness, truly understanding Allah (swt), being present,...

On this episode, I spoke to the wonderful Sofia Rehman, whose book reviews and recommendations on Instagram (@sofia_reading) have bought an immense amount of goodness in my life! Sofia's first book, A Treasury of Aisha bint Abu Bakr - Guidance from the Beloved of the Beloved was recently published by Kube Publishing. We talk about so much in this episode, including why we need more literature...

Today's episode is part of a little mini-series for the month of Ramadan, focusing on spirituality and Islam. During Ramadan, millions of Muslims around the world fast, abstaining from food and drink from dawn to dusk for 30 days, as part of a month of heightened spirituality and God-consciousness. In today's episode, I chat to the lovely Ruzina Ahad, about her book, Dream, Dua, Do. Drea...

On this episode, I chat to the incredible poet, spoken word artist and writer, Sophia Thakur. I’m really honoured to be hosting a poet and spoken word artist on the show for the first time today. Sophia Thakur is an inspirational young woman, delivering poetry that is beautiful, packs a punch and much-needed today. Her words appeal to our deepest sense of selves, as she explores love, family, iden...

Leila Aboulela is one of my go-to authors. I know her words are always full of wisdom and inspiration, telling fascinating and insightful stories. I've read quite a few of her books over the last few years, and so I'm so thrilled that she was my guest on the show. In this episode, we talk about her new novel, River Spirit which is out in March 2023, published by Saqi Books in the UK. We...

On this episode, I spoke to the delightful Aiwanose Odafen about her debut novel, Tomorrow I Become a Woman. We talk about love, complicated relationships, the societal pressures on women and finding hope. We also talk about female friendships, love in absence and writing. This was such a fun and lively conversation, despite the difficult topics we discuss! I hope you enjoy it :) Aiwanose was born...

On this episode, I chat to the highly intelligent and super inspiring Mikki Kendall. We talk about her book, Hood Feminism, which calls for an intersectional approach to feminism, understanding that until we address fundamental issues affecting black women, we will never have a true, thriving feminist movement. I loved this conversation, touching base on so many important issues including poverty,...

In this episode, I chatted to the wonderful Abi Daré about her incredible novel, The Girl with the Louding Voice. We talk about character development, female empowerment, the role of education and what it really means to have a louding voice. Abi Daré is the author of The Girl with the Louding Voice , which was a New York Times bestseller, a #ReadWithJenna Today Show book club pick, and an Indie N...

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s Debut novel, Stay With Me was published in 2017, and is one of those books that I haven't been able to stop thinking about. Her second novel, A Spell of Good Things  is releasing in February 2023, and I can say with full certainty that it was worth the wait. In this episode we talk about love amid political turmoil, class, power, womanhood, the complexity of relations...

Today, my guest is Sukh Ojla, one of the funniest, warmest and most inspirational women I know. We talk about her novel, Sunny, which I loved. In its pages, I found a character that was SO much like me, but flawed, struggling with life and her mental health, and hilarious, kind and warm.  In this interview, we talk about the pressure around turning 30, the expectations upon women, difficult relati...

On this episode, I spoke with Louise Hare about her two novels, This Lovely City, and Miss Aldridge Regrets. We had such a great conversation about London, writing, the Windrush generation, black history, passing and murder mysteries.  Louise Hare is the London-based author of Miss Aldridge Regrets. Her debut novel, This Lovely City, was published in the UK to wide acclaim, and was a Between the C...