Louis Harry

Ikigai (2016)

ikigai - the Japanese word for ‘a reason to live’ or ‘a reason to jump out of bed in the morning’ - is a self help book written by 2 men Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles, we go on a journey with the writers who take us on a trip with them to Japan, the country with the highest life expectancy in the world. On this trip we discover the ways of japanese living and how they have come to have this title. Interviews with people over the age of 100 really make this book hit, their personal views on the best way to live your life and live it to the fullest really give this book an edge over its self-help counterparts. A short book with under 200 pages is undoubtedly one you have to pick up even now, 6 years later.

The Midnight Library (2020)

The Midnight Library is written differently from what I'm used to and I loved it. Matt Haig’s writing style Is broken into sections, he uses titles for each part, (as well as chapters) but every few pages and there is something fulfilling about it that makes you want to keep reading on. I couldn't put this book down I had to know what was going to happen next and who doesn't want that?

The main character is a 35-year-old woman who lives in Bedford, named Nora. We follow her story as she comes to the decision to end her life and it starts thick and fast. Nora has lost her way and isn't satisfied with her life, everything is going wrong... kind of refreshing, in a weird kind of way. Fantasy fiction books love to base the story around a heroic man or woman (in my experience) but this time, it's just a normal woman.