I face an awkward moment whenever someone asks me what book I recently read or just wants a recommendation. It’s not that I don’t have one; rather, it’s that I can’t remember the book name or the writer’s name because I read them on a kindle and all I ever saw was the text inside.

The other day, someone spoke of Abdur Razzak Gurnah coming to Dhaka – and I was surprised that there is a good writer coming over – and I couldn’t even recognize his name!

I only realized today that I have read Paradise – but I only remember Yusuf’s journey with Aziz’s Caravan, but not the writer’s name.

It’s not an isolated issue.

For instance, I have read The Midnight Library before – but anybody mentioning it has to tell me about Nora and the library itself before I remember which book it was. Hell, I had to google the book to figure out the writer’s name.

Similarly, I loved Man’s Search for Meaning – but I only remember it as the memoir of a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp that I read a long time ago.

It gives rise to somewhat awkward conversations. So I just end up pretending that I don’t have a favorite book to recommend or talk about 😅