5 books that inspired Canada Reads winner Samra Habib
Samra Habib is a journalist and photographer based in Toronto whose work has been featured in publications like the New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post and Vanity Fair.
Her debut book, We Have Always Been Here, is a memoir about her childhood in Pakistan, arriving in Canada as a refugee and coming out as a proud queer Muslim woman. The book won Canada Reads 2020, defended by actor Amanda Brugel.
Habib told CBC Books that, because she came to Canada from Pakistan at a young age, she can't recall many of the books she read at the time.
She added: "But there are children's books that I read later on in Canada that I wish that I had read as a kid."
Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss
"This is one of the books that I read probably in my late teens that I wish I had read when I was younger. I was actually reading that book pretty recently and I wondered if my book is a queer Muslim version of this book!
"It's a lot about anticipation of exciting places — where your life will lead you — but it also warns you that things won't always be rosy. The book tells us that we have everything that we need to conquer life's challenges which I think is a really great message.
It's a lot about anticipation of exciting places — where your life will lead you — but it also warns you that things won't always be rosy.- Samra Habib
"One line that really stuck to me in the book was, 'you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.' I just thought it was like a really lovely message.
"It encourages you to take chances, have adventures, learn from your mistakes and know that all you need is within you. This is something that I tried to do with my book."
Paris Was a Woman by Andrea Weiss
"The first time I read this book I thought about the TV show The L Word. This felt like that show but set in 1920s Paris. In fact, I wondered if this book sort of served as an inspiration for their show. They're like these beautiful brilliant women.
It's amazingly researched and it's really dishy about socialites and literary stars of that era.- Samra Habib
"A lot of them were American and they had these openly lesbian affairs in Paris. They fought and they congregated in Gertrude Stein's house.
"It's amazingly researched and it's really dishy about socialites and literary stars of that era."
Too Much and Not the Mood by Durga Chew-Bose
"I read this book a lot when I was writing my book. I come from a journalism background so the way I write usually — or the way I used to write — was very factual, as in, 'It's 9 a.m. and this is what happened.' It was a lot of work for me to actually learn to write about detail.
I read this book a lot when I was writing my book.- Samra Habib
"This book was a really great lesson in how to just sort of pause and write about details and talk about how things smell, how things feel, things like that.
"She just writes in such a beautiful way. It's just so engaging. It almost seems meditative."
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
"So much of this book is about gay shame. At the time I was reading the book, I was dating women who were either not available or married. This book made me think about the reason I was dating people or women who were unavailable. I wondered if part of that had to do with gay shame that I had.
So much of this book is about gay shame. At the time I was reading the book, I was dating women who were either not available or married.- Samra Habib
"This book really resonated with me. It reminded me that hiding doesn't save you. The character in the book is obviously trying to hide but it turns out that it doesn't really help them at all.
"And it's also set in Paris. I feel like gay people in Paris is what I'm drawn to!"
French Exit by Patrick deWitt
"It's about a widow named Frances who runs off to Paris — there's that city again — with her son Malcolm after her husband dies.
I'm fascinated by why rich people do what they do and how they think because it's so much not my world.- Samra Habib
"Frances is so eccentric. I love her wit and her dry sense of humour. I'm also just so fascinated by how she chooses to spend her last moments.
"I'm fascinated by why rich people do what they do and how they think because it's so much not my world. I'm fascinated by the choices that she was making.
"I was surprised that I liked this book as much as I did because most of the books I read feature queer people or people of colour. This book is nothing like my experience and I could not put it down."
Samra Habib's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
The Canada Reads 2020 contenders
- Alayna Fender defending Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Gail Coles
- Akil Augustine defending Radicalized by Cory Doctorow
- Amanda Brugel defending We Have Always Been Here by Samra Habib
- Kaniehtiio Horn defending Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
- George Canyon defending From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
