I wanted to introduce you to some of my all time favourite books. As an author, it goes without saying that I love to read. Even as a youngster, I would devour each one page by page – and I didn’t just read books for kids, I loved all kinds of genres like horrors, chick lit, thrillers and romance. I just couldn’t get enough of them. Perhaps it was because we moved to Portugal when I was ten years old and English books weren’t the easiest thing to come by at that time.
And now, with the advent of audio books, I can listen to my favourite books whilst doing the ironing, lying in bed or even while swimming in the pool! Here are some of my all time favourite books from over the years.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Authur Golden
In Arthur Golden’s poised and beautifully written debut novel, Sayuri tells the extraordinary tale of her life, evoking a quarter of a century of Japan’s dramatic history, 1929 through to the post-war years.
Her story encompasses her childhood in a poor fishing village, before taking us, as she was taken at the tender age of nine, into the formal but intimate world of the geisha, a world supposedly of eroticism and enchantment, but also one of exploitation and degradation. Later, when the war has forced the closure of the geisha houses, Sayuri tells of her redemptive struggle, penniless and hungry, finally to forge her own freedom, on her own terms.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
In a remarkably prescient account of a dystopian society, this is Margaret Atwood’s chilling tale of one woman’s experience of an oppressive regime and the claustrophobic niche it insists she occupy.
The Republic of Gilead offers Offred only one function: to breed . If she deviates, she will, like dissenters, be hanged at the wall or sent out to die slowly of radiation sickness. But even a repressive state cannot obliterate desire – neither Offred’s nor that of the two men on which her future hangs….
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Patricia Gallimore and Miriam Margolyes star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the classic comic novel.
Strong of will and slender of ankle, 20-year-old orphan Flora Poste is blessed with every virtue save that of being able to earn her own living. Casting around for suitable relatives with whom she can make her home, Flora alights on the mysterious Starkadders and heads down to darkest Sussex.
There she is confronted by an exceptionally odd cast of characters. Grief-stricken Judith, fervently religious Amos, the lusty, smouldering Seth, wild and mysterious Elfine and the invisible tyrant Great Aunt Ada Doom, who saw something nasty in the woodshed. Many would be overcome by the simmering passions of the Starkadder family, but not Flora. All they need is a little organising.
Emily by Jilly Cooper
I think I read all of Jilly’s books in the late 1980s and boy did I learn a lot about life (ahem… and sex). She is one of the best chick lit writers of her generation – hilariously funny and brilliant. I’d highly recommend you start with her shorter books like Emily, Imogen or Bella. I loved every one of them!
If Emily hadn’t gone to Annie Richmond’s party, she would never have met the impossibly irresistible Rory Balniel. She would never have married him and been carried off to the wild Scottish island of Irasa to live in his ancestral home. She’d never have met the wild and mysterious Marina, a wraith from Rory’s past. Nor her brother, the disagreeable Finn Maclean. And she would never have been caught stealing roses in a see-through nightie….
Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
The Pillars of the Earth tells the story of a monk driven to build the greatest Gothic cathedral. Tom, the mason who becomes his architect – a man divided in his soul. The beautiful Lady Aliena, haunted by a secret shame. And of a struggle between good and evil that will turn church against state, and brother against brother.
For some other interesting reads, check out my very own chick lit and YA books!
Come and check out my brand new WEEKLY TOP PICKS! Some of the things that have caught my eye whilst doing a little online shopping. I’ll be sharing exciting new things each and every week so do keep coming back for more!
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