My reading adventure: How Humayun Ahmed Inspired Me to Explore Different Genres of Books

Humayun Ahmed is one of my favorite writers. He is a master storyteller and who creates a world with his words. He has written in different kinds of genres and formats, like: romance, biography, auto-biography, fiction, horror, mystery, comedy etc. He has a lot of popular books, such as: Himu series,  Misir Ali series,  Jochna o Jononir Golpo, Badshah Namdar, Opekkha, Moddhanho etc. He is not only a writer but  also a film-maker and songwriter who has won many awards. You can get to know him and his amazing works from here.

I admire Humayun Ahmed not only for his talent and creativity but also his passion for books. He was an enthusiastic reader who loved to explore different genres of literature. There is a story I'd like to share:- One day before an event I was sitting with his younger brother Jafar Iqbal. In our conversation about writing he told me that “ You know if you want to write you will need a paper and pen also you will have to read a lot. I have never seen anyone read a lot like Humayn Ahmed.”

Before I discovered Humayuun Ahmed, I mostly read detective novels, fictions from Rokib Hasan. I always thought that Rabindranath, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay are for the elderly people, and it must be boring. So, one day when I was in class Six, my sister brought me a book named ‘Holud Himu Kalo Rab’. That is the book that told me that the books for the elders are also interesting. That book was extremely funny.

After reading ‘Holud Himu Kalo Rab’, I was totally into Himu. Then I found a book named “Kobi” which was also on another level. After that I finished the Himu and Misir Ali series and got into his novels. His novel’s have this power from which you can relate yourself with the character. He pictured a perfect middle class family and their struggles in most of his novels and I guarantee that  you will  relate yourself with his novels. The thing from his novel is, what you imagine like what will be the scenario if it happens, you will be able to find that in his plots.

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Thanks to Humayun Ahmed, I became more adventurous in my reading choice. I started to read Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra, Bivvuti Bushan. I read novels from Kisan Chandra,Alexandre Dumas, Charles Dickens, and other writers. I read detective novels from Sir Arthur Donan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and I read fiction from Narayan Gangopadhyay. 

The thing is, I am not afraid to read different kinds of books and I'm grateful to Humayun Ahmed that he had broken my fear of books. He made me curious about books. One thing I learned from his novels and others is that you never know what's coming at you, you don't know whether it's great or not, you have to try it first. That's the fear I told you and  I became more and more interested to read more.

I know, if i started to suggest books by Humayun Ahmed it would be a long article. But if you are a new reader of him I’d suggest you the Himu and Misir Ali series. For the best book on liberation war its “jochna o jononir golpo”, for biography - “Badshah Namdar”, for autobiography- “Amar chelebela”, “Cinema bananor golpo” e.t.c. And for novels you can start anywhere but suggesting the "Shuvro" series and  you can also watch his movies and dramas.

Thank you all for reading my blog. I hope you all enjoyed it. Happy reading!