The 10 Day Challenge: {Four Books}

DAY SEVEN: Four Books

1. When my fiance and I moved to Cape Town from Joburg last year, I had to downscale in a BIG way. This meant that I had to go through my book collection (I studied English Literature, so my collection is vast) and decide which to give away or sell, and those I couldn't possibly bear to part with were packed up and bought along to Cape Town. Two such treasures are my William Shakespeare Complete Works (after I decided to part with the individual copies of each play that I also had). I'm obsessed with Shakespeare. No, possessing two massive copies of the entire collection is not too much. In fact, if I were to find another collection, I'd probably snap that one up, too. Ok, so this has just upped my list to '440 plus books', but since it's all bound together into one book, I'm counting it as one.

2. I first read F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby when I was in my first year at varsity, and I've read it countless times ever since. I simply cannot get enough of this book - it is by far my favourite piece of literature to date. (And, being the Leonardo DiCaprio fan that I am, I couldn't think of a better actor to portray Jay Gatsby in the film adaptation. I am so looking forward to watching the film version!)

3. The only way to describe Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient? Beautiful. Sublime. Magical. I remember being completely mesmerised by the beautiful imagery used throughout this book - just thinking about it makes me want to reread this novel. I loved the book so much that I still haven't been able to watch the movie, just in case it ruins all my expectations. If you haven't read this book, I'd recommend you get hold of it as soon as possible.

4. Ok, so it's not technically a book, but Allure is the beauty expert's bible after all. I am obsessed with this magazine from the States, which is dedicated to all things beauty-related. I'm lucky enough to receive it at work and I devour it from cover to cover while soaking in the tub each and every month. I then photocopy all my favourite articles (ie. the entire magazine, usually) and highlight and scribble all over the (photocopied) pages.

 

image credits: Shakespeare, The Great Gatsby, The English Patient, Allure