I read every day – these are my top four books of the year | Books | Entertainment

Books are subjective and can be a very personal topic for some. They can leave an impression on a young mind or offer guidance in a time of need, as well as provide pure escapism from reality.

Whether that be a look into a different culture or career, a jaunt into another world or a novel teaching you different ways to look at the world, all of these books have something valuable to learn from.

Having read these books at all different stages in my life, these are the four that I have felt that everyone could gain something from reading.

I read this book during Covid, and it had been on my list for quite some time before I got to it. It was recommended to me by my mum, and she felt I’d enjoy it because I had studied history at university. The book follows the lives of two Afghan women whose lives have become connected in tumultuous modern Afghanistan. Mariam is an illegitimate child who has been married off at a young age and later finds an unexpected friendship with Laila, who Mariam’s husband also takes in. But as Afghanistan descends into war, their lives and their bond are tested by hardship and tragedy. I think this book really opened my eyes and allowed me to have more insight and appreciation of different cultures. Hosseini, who is also the author of The Kite Runner, writes so eloquently in this beautiful yet poignant story.

What better book to read than one written by world-class chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain? He delves into his life and career, touching on travel and specifically when not to order the fish. I highly recommend that everyone read this book in their lifetime.

The book’s synopsis reads: “Over two decades ago, the New Yorker published a now-infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” by then little-known chef Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain spared no one’s appetite as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door. The article was a sensation, and the book it spawned, the now iconic Kitchen Confidential, became an even bigger sensation and megabestseller. Frankly confessional, addictively acerbic, and utterly unsparing, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.

“Fans will love to return to this deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade, laying out Bourdain’s more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine. Including a handwritten introduction and annotations done by Bourdain about a decade after the book was originally published, this edition also features previously unpublished photos to accompany the now-classic text.”

If non-fiction isn’t your thing, then perhaps a bout of fantasy could be in order. Any of the Hunger Games books will suffice, but the latest release, Sunrise on the Reaping, is offering a chance to delve back into that world. The Hunger Games world will provide you with that perfect feeling of escapism if that is what you need sometimes, while also having grit and giving you something to think about.

The book’s synopsis reads: “When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

“As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honour of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

“Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

“When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.”

I recently read this while on holiday and at somewhat of a crossroads. A friend recommended it to me and said it had offered her some guidance at a time when she most needed it, and that was enough to convince me. The Midnight Library follows a woman who is struggling with unhappiness and discontentment. When she finds herself in a magical library between life and death, she is forced to explore all of the “what could have beens” in her lifetime. Here she learns a huge lesson about what it is she truly wants from life, and it’s a very relatable read. The book details some home truths about life that we all know but sometimes need to be reminded of, realising that you have to choose the path you want to go down and it’s not all up to fate. I would recommend this book to anyone; as much as it is about a dark time in life, it’s told in a light and humorous way.