This reading list is a heartfelt creation, born from the collaboration of the remarkable women of the 'Book & Creative Club' at HerEdge Club. Together, we’ve curated a selection of books that have not only touched our hearts but have also profoundly transformed our lives. From light-hearted tales to deeply thought-provoking narratives, these books explore a wide spectrum of powerful themes:
• kindness toward self,• racism,• religion,• war,• loneliness,• the power of connection,• social media addiction,• collective support, and so much more.
We are thrilled to share this carefully crafted list with those seeking a meaningful read—one that invites reflection, fosters growth, and ignites change. May these books inspire you as they have inspired us, creating spaces for deeper understanding and connection.
1. Songs of Survival by Helen Colijn:
It is a memoir of a Dutch woman and her experiences as a prisoner of war for three and a half years in Sumatra. Her family was living in what was then the Dutch East Indies, and when war was declared, her parents and her three sisters were all interred. It is unimaginable, what people have to go through to survive in these circumstances. We must never forget, and history teaches us so much
2. Women on the edge of time by Marge Piercy.
A 1976 novel and is considered a classic of utopian speculative science fiction as well as a feminist classic. Piercy draws on several inspirations to write this novel such as utopian studies, technoscience, socialization, and female fantasies. One of Piercy's main inspirations for her utopian novels is Plato's Republic. Piercy describes the novel as, "if only….Piercy even compares Woman on the Edge of Time and another one of her utopian novels He, She, and It when discussing the themes and inspirations behind it.
3. 1984 Julia by Sandra Newman.
Julia is a fictional character in George Orwell's 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Her last name is not revealed in the novel, but she is called Dixon in the 1954 BBC TV production. Julia was born in 1958 in Oceania, the super-state combining North America, South America, Southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the British Isles (renamed Airstrip One). Her knowledge of events before the revolution is inaccurate as her grandfather, the only close source to her with that knowledge, disappeared when she was eight. Julia integrated herself into the daily life of Oceania early, becoming an especially zealous propagandist for the Junior Anti-Sex League, the Two Minutes Hate and Community Centre. She secretly despises the Party and wants to join the Brotherhood, purportedly an outlawed organization founded by Emmanuel Goldstein. She had her first affair with a Party member at the age of sixteen.
4. A personal librarian by Marie Benedict
The novel follows Belle da Costa Greene as she receives employment from J. P. Morgan and establishes herself in high society while disguising her true identity as a person of colour in the early twentieth century
5. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.
The story is a fictionalized account of real subjects in the history of eastern Kentucky. Cussy Mary is a "Book Woman" — one of the Packhorse Librarians who delivered books to remote areas of the Appalachian Mountains during the Great Depression, from 1935 to 1943, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. Cussy Mary is also a "Blue" — the last of a line of blue-skinned people, whose skin appears the unusual shade due to a rare genetic disorder. As a Book Woman, Cussy Mary is highly regarded, but as a Blue, she is feared and reviled, and experiences racism, discrimination and violence
6. Shantarman - a 2003 novel by Gregory David Roberts, in which a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict escapes from Pentridge Prison and flees to India. The novel is commended by many for its vivid portrayal of life in Bombay in the 1980s.
The novel is reportedly influenced by real events in the life of the author, though some claims made by Roberts are contested by others involved in the story.
7. The Art and Science of connections - Kasley Killam, MPH
A simple yet powerful framework to understand, evaluate, and bolster your social health. Discover the exact strategy or habit you need and research-backed tips to cultivate and sustain meaningful connection now and throughout your life.
8. Blue zones – lessons for living longer: The Blue Zones is a book by Dan Buettner that explores the best strategies for longevity found in the blue zones: places in the world where higher percentages of people enjoy remarkably long, full lives. In the book, Dan and his team of demographers and researchers found that all blue zones areas share nine specific lifestyle habits that they call the Power 9.
9. Babette's Feast (Danish: Babettes Gæstebud) is a 1987 Danish drama film directed by Gabriel Axel. The screenplay, written by Axel, was based on the 1958 story by Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen). In this witty classic short story Babette’s Feast, a mysterious French housekeeper, who is taken in by two Danish sisters, wins the lottery and as a gesture of gratitude prepares an extravagant and sumptuous feast for a gathering of religious, ascetic, aging villagers and, in doing so, introduces them to the true essence of charity and grace.
10. The Seven sister -Series 7 Books Collection Set By Lucinda Riley:The Seven Sisters:Maia D’Aplièse and her five sisters gather together at their childhood home – a fabulous, secluded castle situated on the shores of Lake Geneva – having been told that their beloved adoptive father, the elusive billionaire they call Pa Salt, has died.The Storm Sister:Ally D'Aplièse is about to compete in one of the world's most perilous yacht races, when she hears the news of her adoptive father's sudden, mysterious death.The Shadow Sister:Star D'Aplièse is at a crossroads in her life after the sudden death of her beloved father – the elusive billionaire, named Pa Salt by his six daughters, all adopted by him from the four corners of the world.The Pearl Sister:CeCe D’Aplièse has never felt she fitted in anywhere. Following the death of her father, the elusive billionaire Pa Salt – so-called by the six daughters he adopted from around the globe and named after the Seven Sisters star cluster.The Moon Sister:After the death of her father – Pa Salt, an elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from around the globe – Tiggy D’Aplièse , trusting her instincts, moves to the remote wilds of Scotland.The Sun Sister:Yet Electra’s already tenuous control over her state of mind has been rocked by the death of her father, Pa Salt, the elusive billionaire who adopted his six daughters from across the globe.The Missing Sister:The six D’Aplièse sisters have each been on their own incredible journey to discover their heritage, but they still have one question left unanswered: who and where is the seventh sister?
This is the story of the marriage behind some of the most famous literary works of the 20th century —and a probing consideration of what it means to be a wife and a writer in the modern worldAt the end of summer 2017, Anna Funder found herself at a moment of peak overload. Family obligations and household responsibilities were crushing her soul and taking her away from her writing deadlines. She needed help, and George Orwell came to her rescue.4 Jul 2023 ·
Using newly discovered letters from Eileen to her best friend, Funder re-creates the Orwells’ marriage, through the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War in London. As she peeks behind the curtain of Orwell’s private life
12. Round Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks
Whilst in Ireland for an International Song Competition, Tony Hawks was amazed to see a hitch-hiker, trying to thumb a lift, but with a fridge. This seemed amazingly optimistic - his Irish friends, however thought nothing of it at all. 'I had clearly arrived in a country', writes Tony, 'where the qualifications for 'eccentric' involved a great deal more than that to which I had become used'. Two years pass but the fridge incident haunts our author. Until one night, heavy with drink, he finds himself arguing about Ireland with a friend. It is, he insists, a 'magical place', so magical in fact, that a man could even get a lift with a fridge. The next morning there is a note by the bed. 'I hereby bet Tony Hawks the sum of One Hundred Pounds that he cannot hitch-hike around the circumference of Ireland with a fridge within one calendar month'. The document was signed. The bet was made. This book is the story of Tony's adventures through that incredible month. The people he meets, the difficulties, the triumphs. The fridge.
13. Thirst - Varsha Bajaj
The riveting story of a heroic girl who fights for her belief that water should be for everyone.Minni lives in the poorest part of Mumbai, where access to water is limited to a few hours a day and the communal taps have long lines. Lately, though, even that access is threatened by severe water shortages and thieves who are stealing this precious commodity—an act that Minni accidentally witnesses one night. Meanwhile, in the high-rise building where she just started to work, she discovers that water streams out of every faucet and there’s even a rooftop swimming pool. What Minni also discovers there is one of the water mafia bosses. Now she must decide whether to expose him and risk her job and maybe her life. How did something as simple as access to water get so complicated?
To be continued by HerEdge Ladies
Your brain will thank you.
Mette Theilmann Founder of HerEdge Cote d’Azur Club
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