Seeking literary gems: Share your favourite books! 📚

[Sophia]

Today, we're celebrating the joy of reading and the power of books to transport us to different worlds and inspire our imagination 🌟✨

As hosts, you have the opportunity to connect with guests from all over the globe, each with their own unique stories and experiences. So, in the spirit of World Book Day, we'd love to hear from you! 🫶🏽

As a child I loved reading books by Roald Dahl and Jacqueline Wilson. Sometimes my parents would hide my books as I’d spend more time reading than sleeping 😴 My all-time favourite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. My current read is The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali 😊

Is there a book that had a meaningful impact on you? A self-help book that inspired personal growth or even a memoir that touched your heart? 💖

Let's create a virtual library of recommendations. Join the conversation by commenting below and let us know the title and author of the book, as well as a brief description of why you recommend it. Feel free to share any personal anecdotes or experiences related to the book 👇🏽

[Jean174]

Very fun topic! As a technical writer, I gravitate toward non-fiction, so I'd recommend:

"Nuts & Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way" by Roma Agrawal
"How Innovation Works" by Matt Ridley

"Nuts & Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way" by Roma Agrawal is a fascinating history of seven seemingly ordinary inventions that have had significant effects on our world.

Agrawal, a structural engineer, delves into the stories behind inventions such as screws, clocks, springs, nuts, bolts, and more, revealing their profound influence on human civilization.

Throughout the book, Agrawal uncovers the ingenuity, engineering, and cultural significance of each invention. She explains how these seemingly simple devices revolutionized industries, enabled technological advancements, and shaped the way we live today. Agrawal also highlights the often-overlooked individuals behind these inventions, emphasizing their creativity and perseverance in overcoming challenges to bring their ideas to life.

Overall, "Nuts & Bolts" offers readers a thought-provoking exploration of the interconnectedness of seemingly minor inventions and their profound impact on society, technology, and human progress.

In Matt Ridley's "How Innovation Works" he purports that our ability to harness steam power, for example, or the electric lightbulb, is not due to one lonely genius but is gradually built on the works of many over time who experiment, fail, try again, and learn from each other in collaborative fashion. 

[Sophia]

This sounds like a fascinating read @Jean174, I've never actually read a non-fiction book in my adulthood - seems like it's time to take a leap! Thank you so much for your recommendation 😁 I love how the book contains the authors own hand-drawn illustrations 😎

[Judi52]

I try to keep a diversity of books available to our guests: travel books, cultural shares, history, inspiration, and fiction. I love any historical fiction dealing with the celts and Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote the best selling Avalon historical fiction series. For fantasy fiction with a social message Sharon Shinn who wrote the Archangel series plus several others is my favorite. Get them started reading Archangel and they will want the whole series.  The premise is the Angels protect and provide for the rest of the inhabitants by flying into the sky and singing for whatever they need.  But there is more to this than meets the eye.  And no, I won't tell you any more 😉

For inspiration my all time favorites are Brene Brown and Robin Sol Lieberman. I've read and own all of Brene's books and each one is a treasure trove of self awareness. Robin inspired me and helped me find my own version of charisma.  

A lesser known book, available on Amazon was written by a group of women I know.  Why Didn't Somebody Tell  Me this Sh*t Before.  In a series of letters they wrote to their younger self, it's full of wit and wisdom. Because of its style you don't have to commit to a long read.

I think Amazon would be the best resource for all of these.  Some are probably available as used books.  Happy reading!  Judi

[Sophia]

@Judi52 I love how you keep a variety of books for your guests, I'm sure they appreciate it! 💖 Thank you so much for your recommendations! I am particularly intrigued by the series of letters written by a group of women, what a lovely gesture to make! 

[Cheryl863]

Hello Sophia 

Hope you are fine : ) 

This is a very insightful topic indeed.

It is also hugely personal. 
Reflective of nurture and nature. 

Nurture: based on formative years of unconditional book-parenting from grandparents and parents. To include my tutors both home and abroad. 

Nature: private boarding schools were surrounded with green.  The blushed skies of the most beautiful hues you can imagine and the rain belong to India always. The lushest green belongs to Ireland and the UK countryside. Our Welsh tutor in particular used to take classes out in nature once a week. It reminded me of 🇮🇳; was homesick more often than not. 

Both of the above were reflected in the movies and the books therein. 

The themes were based on reality, overcoming insurmountable odds, the importance of honesty and integrity. Patriotism for language, culture and staying grounded. Including BBC documentaries. 

Primary school 

Lots of Enid Blyton and also the Indian illustrations Amar Chitra Katha. Rani Padmani stands out in my mind till this day. 

Formative 

1- Ben Hur

<<Judah Ben-Hur by Lew Wallace>>

2- My Experiments with Truth 

<<Shri Mahatma K Gandhi himself>>

3- the Bible 

4- Ambedkar’s India 

<<Dr Ambedkar Saheb himself>>

5- Indian History (the heritage list) 

<<Cannot find where these books are>>

Several documentaries … 

Teenage 

6- The Great Gatsby 

<<Scott Fitzgerald>>

7- Sylvia Plath ❤️ 

<<her poems mostly>>

Marriage 

8- all the Irish books 💯

JFK

<<Fredrik Logevall>>

The Great Hunger - Ireland 1845-1849

<<Cecil Woodham-Smith>>

many more ❤️ 

Fan of 
9- Sir Ratan Tata 

<<Peter Casey>>

10- Maharaj Shivaji 

<<Vaibhav Purandare>> 

and my Irish husband 💯❤️ haha

With respect to my guests I encourage them to worship their own respective faiths and offer 9-10- along with the Mahabharata. 

Thank you once again Sophia for having given me the opportunity to write via Paula. 

And to AirBNB. 

Best wishes,

Cheryl 

[Sophia]

Wow @Cheryl863 oh my 😮 thank you so so much for this long list of recommendations, I really appreciate it! I remember reading The Great Gatsby at high school, I loved it! We then had a trip to the cinema to watch the movie starring Leonardo Dicaprio 😂

[Cheryl863]

 

@Sophia You made me LOL 🤣when I read the cinema bit … did you also have it for your English A level ? 

With these nature breaks our tutor them took us to the Oxfordshire ballet to watch Cinderella. It was really memorable.

There is a Bollywood remake on the Great Gatsby. 

Hope you get a chance to read this JFK book. 

My grandmother absolutely adored the man. 

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to write in. 

🌱💯💭

[Sophia]

@Cheryl863 it was exactly during my English A levels 🤣

I didn't know there was a Bollywood remake, what is it called? Love Bollywood movies! 😍

Thank you so much for sharing your recommendations! 💖

[Cheryl863]

Hello @Sophia  

Have been very busy trying to move to my next destination… sorry for the delay 🌱

https://www.hindustantimes.com/hollywood/when-leonardo-dicaprio-gushed-about-working-with-amitabh-ba....

what you watched 😄 had no idea that Sir Amitabh was starring alongside Leonardo di Caprio. Leonardo had great admiration for the man. Sir Amitabh did it for free. 

and this is the Bollywood remake 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/bollywood-movie-mimics-great-gatsby-695014/

Bollywood art movies are a force to reckon with. Particularly the patriotic ones are really super. Incredibly realistic. 

However, tbh the ones I was glued to were the Tamil and South Indian art movies. They are very realistic pretty much like British movies… they show everything as is. 

What are your favorite movie types? 

is it freezing there now. 

It’s so hot here even with 3 showers haha 

ok bye for the moment 

💭🍀🏡

[Andrea6532]

Sophia, I recommend "Passion to Purpose - a seven-step journey to shed self-doubt, find inspiration, and change your life (and the world) for the better" by my friend Amy McClaren, the founder of Village Impact. Village Impact is a non-profit that builds schools in Kenya and they have done a lot of amazing work in those communities. Amy also inspired me to become an Airbnb host—she is also a host herself! 

[Sophia]

@Andrea6532 just did a little Google search, wow she sounds like a remarkable and inspirational person 😮. I've actually heard of Village Impact but haven't looked into too deeply. Very cool to learn that Amy is a dear friend of yours 😊. Thank you so much for your recommendation 💖

[Andrea6532]

You're welcome! She has a trip spring 2025 trip planned for a group of women to visit the schools. I think there are still spots open.

[Barbara90]

Life can be difficult and the News upsetting so, to maintain equilibrium, books that make you laugh are a must.

Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are always a delight as the quirks of human nature are explored in a multi-specied world.

Gerald Durrell - 'My Family and Other Animals' is much more light-hearted than the drama series. Betty McDonald - 'The Egg and I', personal memoire of her feisty life as a chicken farmer's wife and unusually, 'The Plague and I', her account of recovering from TB in a State Sanatorium. 

More inclined to make you smile gently,  Alexander McCall Smith - 'The No1 Ladies Detective Agency' and series, following the career of Precious Ramotswe as she unravels the mysteries and tribulations of her fellow Batswana and enjoys the things that make life worth living.

For me, reading them, not only provides escapism but makes it easier to  look at my own day and find the good or quirky or funny in it.  

[Sophia]

Wow thank you so much for sharing these @Barbara90 ‌🙌🏽‌ 
Your perspective on life is so refreshing, I really admire it 😊. Yes, indeed life can really be tough but it's the little things that make it enjoyable. Books are one of life's greatest treasures 💖 

Have you come across the book Farenheit 451? It's set in a society where books are outlawed and all books are burnt in an attempt to control the thoughts of its citizens 👀

[Caroline2213]

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

The Space Between us by Thrity Umrigar

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Sklott

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstory

Some of my favorites.   Also 90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper 

Love all the book suggestions.