Books have been an essential part of my life ever since I can remember. As a child, I spent a lot of time living in the worlds that they took me to (and trying to find portals into Narnia!). Encouraging me to read was the best gift my parents could have given me.

This blog grew out of the many conversations I’ve had with other bookworms. Sharing thoughts about the books I read with a wider community seemed like a logical progression to those conversations. I’ve invited others to join me here, so you will find reviews by other contributors. I tend to write about books I’ve enjoyed, so there aren’t many negative reviews here.

I read a wide range of books, making an effort to find writers from countries that I am less familiar with. So much so that in 2014 a group of reading friends even set ourselves the challenge of collectively reading a book from every country in the world!

Some of those books have been reviewed here (see the category The Reading Challenge). The category Books in translation can also give you ideas for books originally published in languages other than English. There is also a list of books categorized by country, where I’ve listed books with a strong sense of place.

I also review travel books by or about women for Women on the Road, a website for women travellers.

I have contributed some blog pieces for the Hyderabad Literary Festival. You can read my pieces on poets Nadine Aisha Jassat, Gillian Clarke, Claire Pollard and Imtiaz Dharker on the HLF blog page.

You can follow me on Twitter @surooralikhan, Instagram @booktalksuroor and Facebook www.facebook.com/booktalksuroor.

Suroor Alikhan

Note: The publication dates mentioned in the reviews are dates of first publication.