Interview With Author Winston Smith
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am an Ex-Muslim who has chosen the pen name “Winston Smith” based on the character Winston Smith of George Orwell’s 1984 because I feel religion was a device used to control my thoughts so I won’t transgress and question it but I somehow still committed the thought crime and during a period of contemplation, I realized that the arguments for the existence of God were based on unvalidated premises, and an attempt to validate them unexpectedly triggered a loss of belief.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my book is “The GOD debate: And why it’s meaningless”. The usual books on the subject are often dry and complex, so I it upon himself to present the case of Ignosticism and related ideas in the form of a comic strip to make the complex concepts more accessible and engaging for a wider audience.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read a lot so a lot of authors and books have influenced me but here are a few that come to the top of my mind:
1. The Atheist Muslim: A Journey from Religion to Reason by Ali A. Rizvi
2. Why I am an Atheist by Bhagat Singh
3. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
4. God: A human history by Reza Aslan
What are you working on now?
The plan is to initiate a project where I narrate my detailed story of conversion
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I am a new author myself so i guess this is “Not applicable” in my case:)
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Question Everything
What are you reading now?
The Animal Farm by George Orwell
What’s next for you as a writer?
The plan is to initiate a project where I narrate my detailed story of conversion
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. The Alchemist for inspiration
2. The Power of Now for meditation and keeping myself in the moment
3. Some book on Calesthenics to keep myself fit
4. Some book on Survival