Musing Mondays (Apr.9)

This week’s Musing Mondays from Should Be Reading asks…

“This week’s musing asks…

What do you think are the top 5 books every woman should read? “

Oh this is a tough one! Most of my life, save for my body which is more Seyfried than Knightley, I have felt quite ‘unwomanly’.  Especially when it comes to things like social behaviour, relation with the opposite sex and fashion; etc. When I read a book this attitude remains. So, picking books that every woman should read is a bit difficult for me. Anyway, I have tried and have come up with the following ones,

 Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier – A lot of heartache could have been saved if Maxim and his new bride had been open and honest with each other. In a relationship, keeping everything bottled up and assuming the worst can only lead to trouble.

 Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie – In this play (*spoiler*), a woman incriminates herself to save her husband (*end spoiler*). No one should become so blinded by love that they forget what is right and what is wrong. In the end, needless to say, it turns out badly for all concerned.

 The Art of War by Sun Tzu – The most important lesson The Art of War gives is that it is important for everyone to be really conscious of their surroundings and of other people’s intentions. Having experienced first hand how traumatizing something like stalking can be, I am more than aware of the need to be alert all the time. Every woman should take this lesson to heart.

 Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë – This is one of the most well known fictional love stories so picking this one for female readers was obvious.  Some say that the people in Wuthering Heights are unpleasant. Some are destructive, some are stubborn and some are weak. In my opinion the characters are close to our  real world, Emily Brontë just upped the melodrama a bit. None of us in the real world are perfect. Just like many of us, the characters of this book make bad choices and suffer the consequences.

 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – No, not for the romance, not even for Mr. Darcy (blasphemy, I know) but read it for Elizabeth Bennet. Elizabeth is one of the very few literary characters I aspire to be like, strong, assertive but also loving and tender.