5 Books That Everyone Should Read

The greatest books are defined as classics for a reason. Written by the greatest literary minds of their time, they have universal themes, experiences, characters, perspectives, and emotions that are still relevant in today’s society. Some of them are the very inspiration from which entire modern genres of literary fiction have sprung up from. If you love reading, then this is the article for you. 

The Diary of a Young Girl

The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank is an unforgettable and deeply influential novel. It is a raw account of a young girl’s life as she hides from the Nazis. Despite her circumstances, Anne believes that people are still good at heart and that the world is full of beauty; she will change your life. 

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte is one of the most influential fictional heroines of all time. Jane Eyre is a strong, unbroken women despite her troubled childhood and repressed Victorian society. 

The Color Puprle

The Color Purple, by Alice Walker. Winner of multiple awards, this novel is a devastating tale that tackles the lives of coloured women in 1930s United States of America. Censored and challenged, the harsh reality displayed in The Color Purple will leave you shaken. 

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood. This novel is set in the near future and tells a horrifying story of a government takeover by an ultra-extreme religious group dominated by men and supported by their passive wives. Women in the country of Gilead are subjugated to the role of wife-breeder, housekeeper, sex worker, or disposable commodity. This timely read begs the question, is this a warning of our own future or simply an artfully written innovative fantasy? 

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldie

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah. It’s a story so painful you’d prefer to think it is fiction. However, this novel is an entirely true recounting of the authors years as a child soldier in Sierra Leone, West Africa. With this book, you get a first-hand look at what life is like for the world’s 300,000 child soldiers, many of whom are stolen from their homes and forced into a world of drugs, guns and murder. It’s heartbreaking in its revelations, but it manages to also be uplifting in Beah’s hope for the future. This book helps you feel connected to the world. 

Have you read any of these books? Comment below what is your favourite!