Broadway (favorite show = Phantom), travel (favorite place = 4-way tie between NYC, Seoul, Paris, and Melbourne), and Taylor Swift (favorite album = folklore) He's also a self-professed Chocolate Chip Cookie Connoisseur and has crowned New York's Culture Espresso’s as the best in the world.
Ramin Abbas has MAJOR Questions is his debut novel and is based in part on his own lived experience, exploring the inherent challenges of being queer and Muslim, and the struggle to reconcile faith with sexuality.
Saber is also a medical doctor specializing in rheumatology.
Recently I asked the author about what he was reading. Saber's reply:
I must admit I am a relatively new reader, and I know this is not typical for many writers. After all, we know that in order to be a writer, you have to be a readerVisit Ahmad Saber's website.first. However growing up, I never had the chance to explore the reader within me, so now I have a huge backlog of classics to catch up on! I am overjoyed to have discovered the world of books (and not so overjoyed that I’m a “slow” reader.)
Nevertheless, as I gradually form my reading tastes, I already know I like YA literature (Hello, John Green!) and horror (hello, Stephen King!) the best, so I will give examples from each for my recent/current reads.
For YA, I recently read Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Ever After and as a lover of all things Japan, I loved this book. It hit the spot between a feel-good coming-of-agewith romance, and a fun exploration of Japanese culture from an “outsider’s” point of view.
I also read Crystal Maldonado’s The Fall of Whit Rivera and had simply picked it up for wanting fall vibes in book form. I really enjoyed the sweet romance in the book, and Whit’s battle with self-acceptance including her polycystic ovary syndrome. And then there’s Crystal’s beautiful writing, which I’ve been a fan of since Fat Chance, Charlie Vega.
Lastly, I just knocked off a classic on my YA TBR: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. And my gosh, what a read! Definitely pulled on all the heart strings,and I felt this was the YA equivalent of Call Me By Your Name. I could clearly see why the book is such a powerhouse in queer literature.
For horror, I’m about 30 to 40% of the way into Ascension by Nicholas Binge, and truly creeped out. The book is about a tall mountain that has appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and no one knows why. Throw in people developing schizophrenia-like syndromes by climbing it, and discovering RNA-based life forms, and you’re in for a thrilling read! I’m thoroughly enjoying it and can’t wait to finish reading it.And that is just a snapshot from my TBR!
And if I can add a book to your TBR–not only because I’m the author and thus very biased–but because I truly believe this is a fun book that’ll also leave you thinking: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.
The Page 69 Test: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.
My Book, The Movie: Ramin Abbas Has MAJOR Questions.
--Marshal Zeringue
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