Between the Pages by The Book Jacket

Reading a piece I wrote few years ago. On Eid and missing the one person I love most. #stayhomespecial

Reading a poem by Ammar Alshukry, titled ‘The Pen’. #stayhomespecial

Reading an excerpt from Alain de Botton’s book The Art of Travel. Needless to say, I miss traveling. I guess bedroom traveling is the next best option. #stayhomespecial

Reading a poem by Jane Hirshfield, titled ‘Optimism’. Something we need a dose off in these days. #stayhomespecial

Reading my poem ‘The Kindest Love’. A reminder that we are all truly loved. #stayhomespecial

Reading a poem I was inspired to write this morning which I titled ‘The Morning After’. #stayhomespecial

Reading an excerpt from Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Francesc Miraelles. On the importance of keeping our minds active. #stayhomespecial

Reading a few excerpts from Notes After Terawih written by Ziks. An honest observation on the nightly congregational prayers during Ramadan. Since we’re deprived of that opportunity this year, I thought I’d read this to remind us of the quirks and the sentiments that bring us together. #stayhomespecial

Reading another one of Rafey Habib’s poems titled ‘For You (Yes You). #stayhomespecial

Reading my short story published in Soulful Stories, a compilation album of short stories by Maria Mahat. May we always remember to wake up every day, grateful. #stayhomespecial

Reading ‘Muslim Manifesto’, a poem by Rafey Habib, from his poetry book ‘Shades of Islam’. #stayhomespecial

Reading Maya Angelou’s ‘A Brave & Startling Truth’. A poem the world now needs to hear. #stayhomespecial

Reading an excerpt from Tariq Ramadan’s ‘A Quest for Meaning’. What we seek is already seeking us. #stayhomespecial

Reading ‘Just Like Mama’ by Amal Lina & ‘Midnight’ by Asyraf Mustaffa, from Untuk Mama, an anthology of poems & prose for our mothers. These works are written by my talented friends. A Mother’s Day special. Here’s to our queens. #stayhomespecial

Reading a short essay from ‘Essential Essays’ by The Minimalists (Joshua Fields Milburn & Ryan Nicodemus). On how we should approach technology. #stayhomespecial

Reading a poem by Elizabeth Bishop titled ‘One Art’. Let life teach us how to lose. #stayhomespecial

Reading an excerpt from Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. For the writers, creatives, alike. #stayhomespecial

In this episode, I share the story behind my debut book of poems Homebound, read some poems from the book and reveal the inspiration behind it, and answer some questions about my writing process.

Disconnect. De-tech. Detach. How do I break my social media addiction? I share 3 principles and practical ways to lose the habit in order to gain a better focus in my work and time - 1) Out of Sight, Out of Mind, 2) 80-20 Rule, 3) Strolling over Scrolling. I also talk about replacing FOMO with JOMO, because what could we possibly be missing out on if we are happier adding value in the moment than being trapped in an endless scroll of fear and anxiety online?

How many of us have been a victim of microaggressions before? What exactly is a microaggression and how can we create the awareness for those amongst us who unknowingly dishes out offensive comments to their friends or colleagues? Find out as I chat and share experiences being on the receiving end with my good friend, Sindhu Achudan, about microaggressions and how uncool they are, in this episode of Between the Pages.

What’s wrong with being alone? Reading Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City sparked this conversation in my head as I speak about how we can embrace solitude, how being alone is as necessary as being in company, and how solitude can be an absolute, necessary bliss. In the end, we are all experiencing this collective feeling of human loneliness together.

How do I motivate myself to read more books? Find out as I read an excerpt from I’d Rather be Reading by Guinevere de la Mare & share some tips on picking up that book instead of your phone. (ps. the title of the book is supposed to be ‘I’d Rather be Reading’ and not ‘The Art of Reading’. apologies for the error!)

A short introduction on what Between the Pages is all about. You can listen to this podcast on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Pocketcasts, Radioplus, Overcast and Anchor.