.jpg?ar=16%3A9&fit=crop&crop=top&auto=format&w=1440&q=80)
I’m a quintessential Pisces which means I delight in fantasy and so from a very young age would often be told off for staying up way past my bed time to read. As I’m now a time poor mother of two, I’ve become very varied about how I devour books (thank the universe for audio books) which allows me to free up some space on my bookshelf, but still feel like I’m utilising my brain outside of Paw Patrol.
I thought it would be hard to pick three of my favourite books by women but it really wasn’t. It just goes to show how much a good book can entwine its way around your life and become a part of your history and future.
Candice Brathwaite Bookshelfie - Grazia (stacked)
1 of 3What I Know For Sure - Oprah Winfrey
I mean, need I write about why this book is so important?! Number one we must accept that Miss Winfrey is a goddess and number two I have returned to this book in various forms (her time of voice on the audio book is like listening to birds sing at sunrise on what will unravel to be the best day of your life) and there is always something new to learn. Part memoir and part mentor, I use it as tool for when I'm not feeling sure about what my next steps are.
2 of 3The Coldest Winter Ever - Sistah Souljah
I distinctly remember this being zeitgeist book within the halls of the all-girl secondary school I was attending at the time. It's a novel based in Brooklyn, New York and is about a young American girl called Winter whose father is drug kingpin. The book is blistering in its brutal honesty and very explicit. So much so that I recall our headteacher banned it but we were all so taken with the storytelling that we continued to pass two very battered versions around our year. In a time before social media this book brought us all together as we would often congregate at lunchtimes to discuss characters and the plot twists. There are some books which are more about where I was at the time I was reading them more than the book itself and this was one of those.
Read more from Candice here, and follow her Make Motherhood Diverse campaign here.
The Women’s Prize for Fiction is the UK’s most prestigious annual book award celebrating & honouring women’s fiction. Head to www.womensprizeforfiction.co.uk for author features, exclusive interviews and more.