Books that have stuck with me after I put them down. They've changed my perspective on life or helped me get through my own troubles <3
One of the best written depictions of trauma and how it distorts your sense of time, worth and space.
Reading this book was one of the most random, therapeutic moments of my life as it had been assigned to me for a university module. At the time, I ...
Slaughterhouse-Five
Every night, when I read this book, it was like going on night shift with Dr Kay. I didn't know if we were going to navigate the highs or lows of life and death within NHS hospitals.
A book about divorcing yourself from a career you thought you'd lo...
This is Going to Hurt
Inherited this book from my grandma and decided to read as I was bored, not thinking much of it. This was when I was introduced to the brilliance and humour of Maya Angelou, who is now one of my favourite authors.
I read this during my shifts at a ...
Gather Together In My Name
When I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to fall down a rabbit hole and explore a different world where everything defied my expectations and everything, instead of myself, felt out of place.
The genre of nonsense writing and the aesthetics of A...
Alice in Wonderland
Just such a beautifully written autobiography. Her family, especially how she describes her mother as a ‘straight down the line realist’ is soo reminiscent of how my own family operates.
My roman empire is the story she gives her flatmate in university. I won't spoil it, but the wisdom and tragedy hit me like a brick wall and has made an imprint on how I view life alongside how I view other people.
Also just really interesting to see the former President Barack Obama written from a domestic, romantic and casual perspective.
Becoming
No one has had a life like Maya Angelou and I want to know every bit of it. I want to know how her mind, writing and knowledge evolves with age. I want to grow up with her. I feel like I become a better, more resilient person with each book I consume...
Her stories of travel are particulary interesting in this book alongside her career on stage. The way she navigates tough conversations, discomfort and her ‘blackness’ in a white, ‘elite’ and nepotistic environment is the type of emotional intellgien...
Singin' & Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
I don't think there's a 14 year old that wasn't fundamentally changed as a person after reading the hunger games.
As a young teen, I found a role model in the female, combative protagonist of Katniss Everdeen alongside generally enjoying the thrill ...
The Hunger Games
The book I studied in College and adored. Wrote my essay on the Sexualisation, Objectification and Dehumanisation of Women within Carter's Bloody Chamber and had a great time doing it.
It's a heavy-hitter. I remember after each short-story, I'd need to put the book down and reset myself a bit.
The contexts and wider reading linked to this book is also a brilliant rabbit hole, and the first time I'd ever had to research ‘sadist and erotic’ fiction! Definitely an eye-opener.
This re-writing of fairytales and folkstories is so fun to me, and has inspired me to do it myself one day.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
Reading The Tao of Pooh was such a calming and refreshing experience. Benjamin Hoff uses the lovable simplicity of Winnie-the-Pooh to explain Taoist philosophy in a way that feels natural and comforting. The book reminded me that it’s okay to slow do...
The Tao of Pooh
I read this book over and over and over when I was younger. It was the first instance I remember feeling ‘smarter’ after reading a book.
I fell for the telekenisis propaganda, and remember trying to lift stuff with my mind. This book started my love for reading - because, yes, I did think if I read as voraciously as Matilda, I too would start gaining superpowers.
I also remember freaking my parents out by reciting all these ‘classic’ and ‘adult’ book authors and titles like Jules Verne, Hemingway and so forth. Little did they know I was just reciting the list Matilda gives to the Mrs Phelps.
ooooo Mrs Phelps. My favourite character. Even more so than Ms Honey. She was so lovely, and a quote of hers sticks with me till this day. When Matilda says she doesn't quite understand some books she's reading, Phelps replies with “Don't worry about...
That is a piece advice I still remember to this day. I don't always have to understand to enjoy, just be present in the moment and my imagination.
Matilda
I had undiagnosed OCD as a child and as a result gave me insane anxiety. I was plagued with nightmares and anxiety attacks in regards to fears like our house catching fire, war breaking out and being bombed - and the most impactful - the realisation ...
My parents didn't know what to do. Every few days I would break into tears because I would remember death would one day greet my parents. Then one evening, my mum said she had found a book she'd like to read to me each evening. This was that book.
I don't remember the contents of the book, nor any quotes or plot points. Reading summaries now - I'm pretty sure positive thinking wasn't the cure to my OCD intrusive thoughts haha! But I do remember feeling at peace when my mum read this with me. A...
Sam The Magic Genie
Walk with me here: The month is March and I am lying in my childhood bed. I've recently received a diagnosis for a disease I may never recover from. I sit and wallow in self-pity, angry at the world for why it had to be me.
I felt guilty because the...
I'm Glad My Mom Died
Gifted to me by my friend, this was my first introduction the modern reinterpretations of greek myth (yes, I haven't read Percy Jackson.)
I adored the language and visuals within this novel, and felt like I was witnessing depictions of "divinity" an...