5 books that everyone must read! 

Amidst the myriad works of fiction, non-fiction and other genres thrown at us (quite constantly I might add), it can become frustrating when you visit a bookshop or library. When you have to sift through badly written, uninspiring works, you can be struck with a sense of disillusionment.

If reading for revelation, inspiration and just general happiness is your thing, here’s a list of five books you must read.. They are guaranteed to leave you googling their making, authors’ histories and more!

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

It’s been said and said some more that this book is life-changing. I’m going to hit the nail in the coffin by saying that it is. Narrated by a little girl - Jean Louise Finch – more fondly known as ‘Scout’, the book is renowned for its warmth and humour, despite dealing with serious issues of rape and racial inequality. Six-year-old Jean Louise, who lives with her older brother, Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer, takes us on a journey of self-revelation, growth and wisdom in this beloved book that has become a classic of modern American literature.

2. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Although there was widespread praise for Hosseini’s debut novel ‘The Kite Runner’, his second novel ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’, in my opinion, was more refined, well put together and just all round gripping. The story centres on the friendship between Mariam - an illegitimate child who suffers from both the stigma surrounding her birth and the abuse she faces throughout her marriage, and Laila - a comparatively privileged woman during her youth who is forced to accept a marriage proposal from Rasheed, Mariam's husband. The relationship between these two women spans a generation and the story is both heart-warming and sad at the same time.

3. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Ethiopian-born medical doctor Abraham Verghese’s book relates a saga of twin brothers, orphaned by their mother's death at their births and forsaken by their father. The story is told by one twin – Marion Stone, and starts off at Mission Hospital (called "Missing" in accordance with the local pronunciation), in Addis Ababa. We are taken from the humble beginnings and conflicts in ‘Missing’ and follow Marion to America, seasoned by doctors, patients, exile and home. Apart from a highly riveting story that captures the readers in an instant, the book is also educational in its medical terms and practices, a welcome byproduct of the author’s profession.

4. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

This is not a book you’d be able to decide if you like or not, but you’d read it just the same, mainly for its unique narration and deep psychological disclosures which may fill you with both dread and sympathy. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a confused and dissolutioned youth searching for truth and escape from the ‘phoniness’ of the adult world. He winds up exhausted and emotionally ill, in a psychiatrist's office. The story begins after his recovery from a breakdown.

5. Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Set in South Carolina in the 1960s, the book tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. The book is beautifully penned, filled with humour and heart-warming innocence. Lily is engaging and charming and takes us on her journey with her ‘stand-in mother’ Rosaleen from the town of her birth to Tiburon, where they are both taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters. There, she is introduced to the mesmerising world of bees and honey.

By Jennifer Rodrigo