The Literary Ladies Who Built Me

Iman Azman @iman_azman is an entrepreneur and “massive bookworm” who hosts a weekly podcast, Weird and Wonderful, with her sister, Amal.

There has never been a time where I wasn’t immersed in a book. I’d read in the car, upside down on my grandmother’s couch, under my table during lessons at school, and even during visits to the bathroom. These portals into other realms, or windows to different places and times in our own world, have constantly been a part of my life ever since I could understand words.

My siblings and I were gifted with an extensive library of books which filled our minds as children, and now as I’ve grown up and moved into my own house, my husband and I have started building our own. Our shelves are a mishmash of his and mine – a random selection of his favourite Stephen King hits, my collection of Robin Sharma self-development mantras, my much-treasured Ken Follet sagas, our shared love for Harry Potter classics, with a sprinkle of timeless novels, biographies, murder-mysteries, investment handbooks (definitely his), and health cookbooks (most definitely mine).

Though I credit my grandparents and parents for allowing me to fall in love with reading and gifting me with books, I will never forget the ‘others’ who have built me, shaped my imagination and crafted my way of thinking – the characters who live in the pages I visit.