One Minute With: Tahmima Anam, novelist

Anam says: 'When I really need to concentrate, I forsake the more public areas of the British Library for the Asian & African studies reading room'

Where are you now and what can you see?

I'm at the British Library, where I arrive at 9.30am every morning. I'm looking at a row of people hard at work, except for one man who watches movies all day.

What are you currently reading?

Colum McCann's brilliant 'Let the Great World Spin'.

Choose a favourite author, and say why you admire her/him

Toni Morrison. I re-read 'Beloved' every few years and weep through the whole thing.

Describe the room where you usually write

When I really need to concentrate, I forsake the more public areas of the British Library for the Asian & African studies reading room.

What distracts you from writing?

My husband runs a start-up company. He returns from work with stories about what he's done that day.

Which fictional character most resembles you?

I want to say Jane Eyre, but it would probably be Marianne Dashwood.

What are your readers like when you meet them?

Mostly very nice.

Who is your hero/heroine from outside literature?

Muhammad Yunus. He has changed the conversation about poverty.

Tahmima Anam's 'The Good Muslim' is published by Canongate