Five Golden Apples: Sissi aka @sissireads, shares her Five Favourite Virago titles
FIVE GOLDEN APPLES
As part of our fiftieth anniversary celebrations we have partnered with some ardent Virago fans – each of our six Golden Viragos has curated a list of five Virago titles they adore – five books they think every Virago should have on their shelves.
Our fourth curated reading list is from Sissi aka @sissireads.
There is nothing better than discovering your next favourite reads. Here are five of my favourite publications from Virago and five of which I always recommend to my friends. I truly believe you will fall in love with all of them.
I hope you will love them just as much as I do! Why not start with Rebecca if you haven’t yet and truly immersed yourself into this mystery. Happy reading!
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
This was one of the most memorable and inspiring books that I have ever read. In no way was this an easy book to read, iit deals with and discusses Maya’s early life which was full of trails and tribulations. To come out of these and became such an inspirational figure was truly amazing.
It was an honest exploration of coming of age and dealing with trauma. It is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time to come.
I remembered reading the title of the book and thought how intriguing! It turned out to be such an impactful read for me that I have to include this in my recommendation. Set in early 20th century at the time of Jim Crow, what did it mean to be a woman of color? What did it mean to find independence and recognition in such horrific time?
This was a book of celebration of one woman’s strength and the ability to endure and overcome hardship. It was a book to inspire and motivate us. Have I also mentioned how much I just loved the writing? Lyrical, poignant and beautiful, definitely recommended.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
I think this book needs no introduction. It was famous for its opening line and unforgivable for its mesmerising story. I read Rebecca a long time ago but have found myself going back to this masterpiece once in a while. I just wanted to read some of the sentences and paragraphs created by the one and only Daphne du Maurier.
I truly believe some stories are meant to stay with you and change lives. Rebecca was one of those books that have definitely changed the way stories were being told and have connected millions of people through its plots and twists. If you haven’t read Rebecca, definitely start with this first!
This was one of my favourite reads in 2020. I remembered clearly at the time that I struggled to write my review as it was such an unforgivable experience to read about Chinese immigrants’ hardship during gold rush in America in the 19th century; it was the part of history that I knew nothing about. This was the cry of people from the past urging us finally to tell their story, to finally listen to their story.
This was a phenomenal read. Bold and utterly remarkable. I love this with all my heart.
Linda Grant’s latest book has to be on my list of recommendations. It followed a Jewish family from 1913 to almost a century later. This was more than just a family saga, it was also a book of social and history study. The characters Linda Grant has created were captivating and the way the story was being told was truly remarkable. The narratives and writing style changed as the characters developed. Reading The Story of The Forest was truly one of the most rewarding experiences.
If you haven’t read any Linda Grant’s books yet, definitely recommend it!
Click here to shop Sissi’s reading list. Plus, get 25% off when you use the discount code:
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