Editor's Note: The 7 books that have changed my life

I haven’t written an Editor’s Letter for a while. There is nothing quite like writing about your personal life but with so much going on recently, I couldn’t find the time to think about my most recent happenings, let alone comment on them. Today though is one of my favourite days, World Book Day. It is a celebration of literature and the arts and I am so thrilled to be sharing how the books below have changed my life and to what capacity.

The Book of Joy: Lasting happiness in a changing world

It comes as no surprise that this book is the first to read in our #smartgirlbookclub. Last year, I saw my business go from a magazine to a multi-dimensional organisation. Everyday I was either in Starbucks planning our office build or writing its book. I was surrounded by the self-employed and hugely successful. As I would sip coffee and type, I would hear how business isn’t emotional or personal, how figures are everything and it’s about the next great thing and overriding your competition. How did this book change my life? For the first time, I could relate to kindness and joy being the two key elements to lasting happiness and success. Full of significant anecdotes and heartbreaking realisations, I urge everyone to pick it up.

Matilda

Friends wanted to become ballerinas or rockstars, I was destined to be Matilda. My parents even bought me a red wheelbarrow to take my books everywhere with me. Matilda was the first character I could relate to, she is an avid reader and spends most days with her nose in a book. Along with Miss Honey, she promoted education. At 7, I can hand on heart say Matilda pushed me to be more academic and taught me that being educated isn’t only cool, but pivotal.

The Great Gatsby

I first hated Fitzgerald’s classic novel. I found the characters unrelatable and annoying. The second time I read it though, it completely changed my outlook. I honestly believe that The Great Gatsby is a timeless classic and will be relevant no matter what decade you are reading it in. It is ultra-modernist and follows the jazz-age in America, it goes beyond capturing the American spirit and is more than a rags to riches story. I read my first copy so many times that the spine was ruined and the pages, fragile. It was then that my journey began, wherever I go now I pick up an edition of The Great Gatsby, one I haven’t purchased previously. From Rome, to New York to New Zealand I have a shelf full of copies that no doubt will be passed onto future generations.

L’Étranger

I joined the French literature club to help my French. I didn’t realise how much more I would be leaving with. L’Étranger is a 1942 novel by French author Albert Camus. It was the first novel I read which really explored existentialism. Not only was it the first French novel I had read but the first with such a startling beginning and end. I won’t spoil it for you though.

Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on their unshakeable love for New York

When I moved to New York, I would be out the door at 5 every morning. Most would struggle but I was buzzing, I would catch the 5.17 bus into the city every morning and use that time to catch up on Never Can Say Goodbye. If I ever move to a new place I like to scope out its bookstore and that is the first thing I did when I reached Manhattan. This collection of essays celebrates New York and is a joyful reminder of the eternal truths about the city and explores the promise that New Yorkers make themselves. As a 21-year-old wide eyed journalist it was a read I wanted then, and one I have needed since.

Jane Eyre

Pride and Prejudice for a long time was my favourite classic novel. While friends and peers were reading Harry Potter, I was indulging in Charlotte Lucas and Bingley. It wasn’t the first classic I had been exposed to though, Jane Eyre was. I had received a pocket-size edition from Santa when I was little and insisted my mum read it to me before bed. I loved the wording, the tale and the relationship between the characters. I have read most of the classics now but Jane Eyre will always hold a soft spot in my heart.

L’Infinito

I grew up in a rural Italian village, San. Ginesio, only 40 minutes away from Recanati, where the Giacomo Leopardi grew up. In middle school, we were given the opportunity to visit his house. I loved exploring his philosophical and classical world. More than that though, the greatest thing Leopardi taught me through his collections of poems was how important our art is. He didn’t think about how the reader would interpret his writing or how it would be perceived but instead wrote for himself. I began writing poetry when I was really young but it was only in my teenage years that I shared it with others. I won two national poetry competitions in high school, and I like to think that Leopardi was there spurring me on.

Let me know in the comments below what your favourite books are.