It’s summer, and in between work and your next vacation, you might want a little bit of escape! Reading is the best way to do that. And yes, it’s better than binging Love Island or whatever reality t.v. show that’s hot. Books activate our imagination like no other form of art or entertainment. Reading or listening to audio books helps us engage with the world in a unique way. I personally love reading books and want to spread the joy of reading to everyone. Because finding a good book can sometimes be difficult, I’ve come up with a short list of great picks for you to check out for your summer reading list. 

1. Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaladin (Fiction)

Here’s a book about a very outspoken Muslim woman who navigates her pursuit of a career as an entrepreneur and her feelings about an old love. It’s set in Toronto and highlights the difficulties of being a thirty-something who still lives at home and is figuring out her life. Although I found the main character’s personality and choices to be a little juvenile at times, I felt that the story was interesting and had a very shocking twist in the middle. It kept me engaged the whole time and the social commentary about Muslim and South Asian identity was relatable. I love reading Muslim characters and many aspects of the book felt familiar and real. This author has written several books now and this is just one of many that you should check out.

2. Far Away From Here by Ambata Kazi (Fiction)

This book doesn’t come out until August, but I got my hands on an advanced copy and am so glad I did! This novel by Ambata Kazi is set in New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina. It follows the lives of three young Black Muslim friends as they come together after years of being apart. The book opens with Fatima, who returned to New Orleans to help her deceased fiance’s mother as she battles cancer. Then, we are introduced to Tahani, who rebelled against a strict Muslim upbringing and eventually Saif, the cousin of Fatima’s fiance whose actions led to his cousin’s death. The novel is a coming-of-age novel threaded with themes of community, tradition, religion and the journey to write one’s own story. You can pre-order it here. While I haven’t finished it yet, I am enjoying the author’s beautiful prose and attention to detail. She knows how to paint a scene and allow the reader to really live in it. Can’t wait to finish the book!

3. James by Percival Everett (Fiction)

If you’re looking for quality literature, look no further than James by Percival Everrett. This is a retelling of the acclaimed Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. If you’ve ever read that series as a child (companion book to Adventures of Tom Sawyer), then you might recall the side character, Jim, a slave who escapes on the Mississippi River with Huckleberry Finn. In this new retelling, the author focuses on the character of Jim by telling his story from a first person account. This is still very much an adventure story, as Jim and Huckleberry are constantly on the run, but it incorporates a lot of deep, intellectually stimulating conversation about what it means to be free. The author’s vivid imagery and exquisite storytelling take us to another dark time in American history in a way that doesn’t bring despair, but rather reflection and curiosity. Highly recommend it!

4. Between the World and Me by Ta-nehisi Coates (Non-fiction)

This book was AMAZING. Ta-nehisi Coates has another hit. Not only does he talk about the importance of being a writer and the necessity of good journalism, he talks about Palestine. Coates is unabashed about his concern for what he witnessed and named as apartheid practices in the West Bank. During a trip with a group of writers in the summer of 2023, Coates was awakened to the blatant segregationist policies that Israel enacts to belittle, degrade and dehumanize Palestinians. He talked about how disappointed he is in American journalists for trying to downplay the plight of Palestinians for so many decades. 

I highly recommend you reading this. It will bring you some level of peace to know that good people, outside the Muslim community, are trying to bring awareness about Palestine.