Let’s Talk About Books!

Hi lovely people of the internet! Today I thought I would do a wee list of some of my favourite books!

Harry Potter

Now my favourite books ever are the Harry Potter series. However, since everyone already knows the brilliant writing goddess that is J. K. Rowling (and if you don’t you are dead to me) I thought I tell you a little story about the last book.

When the last book came out I was in New York with my parents on holiday. I was around 12/13 and street vendors were preparing to sell the books at midnight. I was pretty young and I was in a strange city so I couldn’t go out and buy the book in the middle of the night so I literally begged this street vendor to sell me one a couple of hours before they were due to go on sale. He wouldn’t/couldn’t budge but he promised to save me one.

Knowing that there would be an insane amount of demand for the last book, and that he probably had rent to pay, I went home defeated and went to bed. In the morning when we were walking to breakfast I heard someone shout and I looked around and it was the street vendor; he’d saved me one.

And that’s the story of how I got to read the last Harry Potter book the day it came out.

My Life on the Road

This is one of those books that are so hyped up that it is almost impossible for them to live up to their reputation, and yet it does.

Gloria Steinem is a truly remarkable person and her writing matches. She tells stories about big events seen by millions of people, and tiny stories from on the road; stories about her family, her friends, hers career. From talking to a biker women to watching Martin Luther King’s I have a dream speech every story she tells seems impossibly important. This book details so much bigotry and anger and pain for women of every walk of life, and yet it is impossible to put down without feeling magnificently empowered.

With every word Steinem breathes life into a movement I’ve only ever read about. If you only read one book from this list, I recommend this one.

This book is the reason I want a tattoo of a purple motorcycle.

Malcolm X Biography

Malcolm X is certainly one of the more controversial figures of the Civil Rights Movement, and an immensely interesting and important man.

As you read you feel his anger, his joy, the injustice that plagued his life. You gain an understanding of his ideas about the world and why they changed. Instead of starting at the beginning of his life as a civil rights figure, he begins at the beginning, giving insight into why he chose the path he did. But my favourite thing about this biography is despite it chronicling a life surrounded by prejudice it is hilarious. Malcolm X was a funny man, with a rich life, which isn’t something usually said about him.

His brilliance and intelligence shine through in this book. And despite the tremendous injustice of his life and his death, this makes you smile a lot more than you would expect.

Pride and Prejudice

I went through a phase of reading all of the classic novels I could get my hands on, because I want to be that dickhead at the party who has read everything… or at least be able to have a decent argument with one of them. What I found during this phase was that a lot of classic books are complete crap.

Many of them are classics because they did something first, but after centuries of these genres/tropes existing people have expanded on them and often improved upon them. This book is not one of those.

Once you get past the language of the book, as it is written in a way that isn’t typical to the 21st Century, you get a slow burning romance story. Even though you know how the book will end, because everyone knows at least a little of this story, how the author gets there is the most enjoyable read. It’s dramatic and romantic, and it makes you want to go into the book and shake Elizabeth for being so blind.

It is the original romantic comedy, go and read it immediately. Elizabeth is also such a badass throughout this book. It’s surprising that during a time when women were often seen and not heard that such a realistic and flawed character could be written so remarkably well.

Well that’s all from me folks! Please let me know if you enjoyed this; I really want to write more about books this year, so if you have any recommendations please leave me a comment.

Happy Old Rock Day! Remember, diamonds count for this!