Jumping on the 'Prison Book Ban' Bandwagon!

Landed in London for the next two weeks and my long anticipated visit has coincided with glorious weather. And if there's one thing that should be on everybody's bucket list, it's to experience London on a sunny day. It's also Mother's Day here, Spring, and the hour is brought forward and everyone is happy!

Well, not everyone apparently. Reading yesterday's papers (another of my London joys) I became enlightened to the fact that there's been a ban on books for prisoners. On the face of it all, I am consumed with rage. It is a wrong and senseless decision and yet I did deliberate with my devilish self which I don't do when it comes to the subject matter of reading. So, Chris Grayling you are good, very good!

Me: It's mad! Totally and utterly a rubbish decision. We've sunk to a new low.

The Devil In Me (TDIM): um, does make sense though, all those people in prison aren't there on holiday. They are bad people who've done bad things and are being punished for it. Privileges are kept from children for far less misdemeanours.

Me: But reading is not a privilege, it is a basic human right. From the first hour we teach our children to talk and walk, and once they've mastered that what do we do? we tell them to sit down and shut up. If they don't read, how else will they keep busy?

TDIM: You've strayed (again!). We're talking about prisoners here, not children!

Me: Actually, it's very relevant. We've told prisoners to shut up, behave and get on with the rehabilitation program. There are a lot of hours in between all of that which reading could fill; An undertaking proven to support prison rehabilitation programs, teaching things like empathy, compassion, redemption.

TDIM: Oh redemption. Hold on! 'Shawshank Redemption' that's the film Grayling was watching the night before he came up with his new law. Soon, he'll be banning spoons. Just you wait. Jokes aside, though, what could possibly be the harm of a book ban on prisoners? Most have the reading ability of 11-year-olds anyway. I don't think they'll particularly miss them.

Me: Exactly my point. Prisoners have a lot of time on their hands with nowhere to go. Wouldn't that be the best time to skill them in the art of reading? It doesn't have to be some literary masterpiece but many a life has been 'saved' by a book. Reading widens the horizons, presents options, and enlightens the mind. We are better people when we read. Also, this book ban is an opportunity missed for Grayling.

TDIM: How So?

Me: Why, some prisoners might consider having a book shoved into their hands and then being forced to actually read it a form of torture. So it's a win-win situation; he lifts the ban and does the complete opposite by assigning a reading list obligatory for each prisoner to complete before they are to be released back into society.

TDIM: Regardless your views on Grayling, he is quite clever and one step ahead of the entire prison system. He has foreseen a problem and nipped it in the bud. Chris Grayling is one step ahead of everybody.

Me: How so?

TDIM: Well, didn't someone once say 'Reading set me free'? - not really material you want prisoners getting their hands on. Funny ideas and all that.

Me: Oh, so we're doing quotes now? Here's one then: 'You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them'.

Location Relocation: London & Abu Dhabi!

Once upon a time before children I worked in the publishing industry in a land far away from where this blog was conceived. I had been good at my job enjoying it tremendously. In the midst of it all, love came a knocking and I unhesitatingly followed to where my better half said 'Let's go'. A few countries down the line, one child, still very much in love, I felt I was ready for a new challenge. Blogs were all the rage back then and naturally that's where I headed. Before 'BookFabulous' I had written an anonymous blog that has seen its humble share of success (interviewed by the BBC) and looking back now I do believe that had circumstances been different the blog would have flourished (but hey I would say that wouldn't I?). However, the love of my life cried "Let's Move!" yet again and the blog met with its early end at odds with my husband's blossoming media career.

So, we moved. But I had been bitten by the 'blogging bug' and was hooked. I craved it, pined for it and desperately wanted to get back to it. However, this time round I had no intention of 'tying myself down' to a place or time. I wanted a blog I could carry with me like a favourite teddy wherever I went and have it be relevant and unconstricted. Since I was a child I have been a voracious reader. I had read 'War and Peace' by the time I was 9 and 'Anna Karenina' and 'Brothers Karamazov' by the age of 12. Books have always been a big part of my upbringing with a father who devoured books as if his life depended on them and his published pieces are a reminder of how much he valued 'his little hobby' as he would call it. My maternal grandfather, once a headmaster of a school, was rarely seen outside his study and the family's library is awash with his writings. And so without further ado, BookFabulous just had to be born.

The aim of 'BookFabulous' is to share my thoughts on books (and more) and to bring to light the reads that I have on my radar. The ultimate wish is to interact with like-minded readers that share my passion (maybe slight obsession) with all things books. If I had to coin what I do, I'd opt for 'professional reader', a term I unabashedly 'borrow' from NetGalley. This blog, along with Twitter, has provided me with a platform from which I have met and continue to meet the most amazing people from all over the world; Creative individuals who enjoy their craft and who make the world a better place for it. This blog has taught me that creativity transcends borders and is accessible to anyone, anywhere.

And my gut feeling was right: 'BookFabulous' had to be a versatile blog open to change because guess what? yup! the love of my life has blown the whistle signalling it's time to move again thanks to his now SKY- rocketing media career. So, 'BookFabulous' will divide its writing time between London and Abu Dhabi. The move -which I am very excited about- will take place in August.

The Middle East is undergoing various political changes that is having an impact on every aspect of people's lives particularly that of culture. The region is a hotpot for new and established writers that are producing relevant avant-garde work that I can't wait to tap into and ultimately document on this blog. As far as challenges go, I couldn't have asked for a bigger one.