Today is World Book Day. It is an annual event that celebrates authors, readers, illustrators, copyrighters, and books. This day was established by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1995.
But why was the date chosen? Originally, the idea was suggested in 1923, by the writer Vicente Clavel Andres from Valencia, Spain, to honour the Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes since April 23rd, was the day of his death. However, later it was chosen because it was also the date that William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso died.
There are many book genres: horror, crime, sci-fiction, fantasy, romance, adventure, art, history, cooking etc., but regardless of the kind of books you like to read, there’s no doubt that hundreds of pages of a book can educate, inspire, let us create another world, get lost in time, and even make us travel.
I would like to share with you 3 of my favourite books written by great female authors:
1-We should all be Feminist, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, is an adaption to short essays from her speech given on TEDx talk by the same name. Throughout 52 pages, she offers her readers a definition of feminist based on her unique experiences in life. In the twenty-first century, she considers that it should be rooted in inclusion and awareness.
One of my favourite phrases of the book is: ” So I decided I would now be a happy African feminist who does not hate men. At some point I was a happy African feminist who does not hate men and who likes to wear lip gloss and high heels for herself and not for men”.
2-The Bluest Eye, is Toni Morrison’s first novel and continues to be one of her most powerful ones. Toni uses the four seasons of the year to narrate the story of Pecola Breedlove, an eleven-year-old black girl, who desires that her eyes turn blue so she can be beautiful and be loved like other girls because she is often called “by names”. Toni, on several occasions mentioned that she wanted to point out “how hurtful racism is”.
3-Sister Outsider, is a collection of 15 essays and speeches by Audre Lorde, which develops topics like sexism, racism, homophobia, and class that were spoken during her trips, interviews, and letters. One of the elements that I like the most of this book is that she spoke about racism among the black community which is a silent topic.
So after knowing my favourite books, can you mention yours? I invite you to list them below.
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