How to Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran

I’ve read this book countless times and gifted it more than any other. Effortlessly cool and genuinely very funny, “How To Be a Woman” is packed with tender life advice and sage observations. Caitlin signs off with this, which I think sums the message of the book up perfectly: “I want more CHOICE. I want VARIETY. I want MORE. I want WOMEN. I want women to have more of the world, not just because it would be fairer, but because it would be better.”

Rachel’s Holiday by Marian Keyes

Marian Keyes is one of my absolute all-star writers, and if pushed I’d choose “Rachel’s Holiday” as my most beloved of her books. Rachel Walsh’s journey through addiction and recovery is told with Marian’s trademark warmth and wit; we see her go from complete denial of her problems to facing them head on. It’s life affirming and emotional, a cracking good read.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I first read Pride and Prejudice as a prescribed school text, and I fell hard for Jane Austen’s knowing wit and social irony. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ Every time I read that opening line, I sigh; it’s a masterclass.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Nora Ephron is one of my all time writing heroes. “Heartburn” is her searingly honest autobiographical novel about the break up of her own marriage and divorce told through the eyes of narrator Rachel, a well known food writer from New York. An intimate study on how love fractures after the discovery of an affair, it’s heartful and funny and sorrowful all at the same time.

Roar by Cecilia Ahern

I’ve loved Cecilia’s magical way with words forever, and this collection of thirty short stories about thirty extraordinary women is no exception. It shines a light on every day situations and difficulties experienced similarly by women across the world and encourages us all to stand up and roar. Soul nourishing—one to look out for spring 2019.