Books for her

What better gift can you give your significant other than words that have influenced your thoughts and inspired you in some way or the other? Love is best felt when you share your inspirations. Reya Shreya Rai talked to some reading enthusiasts to find out which books they would gift to their special ones. Read on for their varied reasons and logic.

Into the Wild

Jon Krakauer

I’d love to gift ‘Into the Wild’ to my girlfriend, as it’s a great book for the traveling soul. I feel this book will do her good because traveling makes people wiser and gives them a better understanding of life. The book revolves around Chris McCandless, a young boy swept away by wanderlust into the Alaskan wilderness with a desire to conquer the wild. It’s a true story that Jon Krakauer has spent a significant amount of time, research and, probably, money on, and the end result is a comprehensible and beautiful narrative. This poignant, compelling narrative about an intelligent, intense, and idealistic young man, who cuts off all ties with his upper middle class family to reinvent himself as Alexander Supertramp, a drifter living out of his backpack, is thrilling and will bring out the traveler in you. I look up to Supertramp as an avid traveler and would love to share how I feel.

Swapnil Singh Bhandari

Once

Morris Gleitzman

‘Once’ depicts the story of a young Jewish boy who is determined to escape the orphanage he stays in to save his Jewish parents from the Nazis in the occupied Poland of the Second World War. The words are really simple and not at all difficult to understand. I actually finished the small book in a single sitting and was overjoyed with sentiments at the end of the book. I’d like to gift this book to the girl in my life as it’s a rather compelling read and makes you ponder upon the easy life that we lead. The boy’s bravery and good humor are inspiring. His difficulties multiply, and in some instances his future seems bleak, still he manages to not give up hope and maintain a positive outlook. Reading this book will leave you aspiring to be a bit like this little boy and never let the child in you leave you completely. For this reason alone, I would recommend it to her.

Ayush Narayan Manandhar

The Art of Happiness

Dalai Lama

I would select ‘The Art of Happiness’ because it’s a book that choses to discuss the positive aspects of life. It teaches us what life is about and how we can focus on the positive aspects and make every second worth living and happy. Through conversations, stories, and meditations, the Dalai Lama shows us how to defeat day-to-day anxiety, insecurity, anger, and discouragement. I think this is a book that would help her in her day-to-day life because she can be aware of the basic do’s and don’ts to lead a happy and positive life. “I believe that happiness can be achieved through training the mind. Generally speaking, one begins by identifying those factors that lead to happiness and those factors that lead to suffering. Having done this, one then sets about gradually eliminating those factors which lead to suffering and cultivating those which lead to happiness.” These words contain the essence of the entire work.

Ankit Shrestha

The Sense of an Ending

Julian Barnes

To be honest, I don’t really read much but there are some books that got me really engrossed. I’d gift my love ‘The Sense of an Ending’ as it revolves around friendship and the love, regrets and resentments that might cast a dark cloud over a relationship because of thoughtless actions. For me, it defines the limits of responsibility and reflects the struggle that men and women face in relationships in the latter part of their years together. This book is a mystery of memory and missed opportunity that tells us the tale of Tony Webster, a cautious, divorced man in his 60s, who suddenly receives an unexpected bequest from a woman he had met only once, 40 years earlier. The mother of his college girlfriend, Veronica, has bequeathed him £500 — a legacy that unsettles Tony, pushing him to get in touch with Veronica and seek answers to certain unresolved questions.

Akshit Karki

The Winner Stands Alone

Paulo Coelho

I really admire Paulo Coelho’s works so I’d gift her ‘The Winner Stands Alone’. This book contains ideas that explain how the system works, be it politics or industry. It’s a good read of course and honestly speaking, Coelho’s works connects with me on a different level. I’ve learnt a lot through his books and I hope that she will too. Coelho's works show me different ways of understanding the same thing and I want to share this experience with the one I love. The Winner Stands Alone examines moral and spiritual questions in a way that only Coelho is capable of doing. In this one, the Cannes Film Festival serves as a platform for an exploration of a world obsessed with celebrity and the negative consequences of an insatiable desire for fame and power. Those who love Coelho’s other books for their moral and spiritual content will also enjoy this book.

Philip Dhoj Joshi