Dear Tania, regardless of my understanding that you have a full diary, I would like to recommend you a few books, which I personally can’t put down.

1. 

        One of my all-time favourite books is Atonement, by the highly acclaimed British novelist, Ian McEvan. It is quite a complex novel, which is divided into three parts and told from different characters’ perspectives, but it is not heavy going and I am sure, you would easily get into it.

    The story begins in England in the summer of 1935, when a precocious, upper-class thirteen-year-old girl, Bigony, witnesses a scene in the garden involving her older sister, Cecilia and a childhood friend, Robbie. Her naivety and overactive imagination lead her to misinterpret what she sees and accuse Robbie of a crime he didn’t commit, an accusation which has dramatic and pitiful consequences for Cecilia and Robbie and which Briony must spend the rest of her life having to atone for.

    The book’s strengths lie in its exceptionally well-observed depiction of characters and events, particularly the poignant chronicle of war scenes in the second section of the novel, where Robbie, now a soldier in World War II, resigns himself to accept his fate and is desperately trying to reach Dunkirk. The author’s ability to build up tension is absolutely superb and the book is a real page-turner at times. As well as being well-crafted, it is also thought-provoking in exploration of topics such as quilt and forgiveness, and the futility of war. Author endowed his heroes with resilience and determination.

    Atonement is not a book for those who love fast-moving plots, as far as I know, you are a lover of detailed and well-observed prose, so I would thoroughly recommend it to you.

2. 

   The next book I would like to recommend you would be not a bedtime reading, but still it’s a compulsive reading, which will help you to write and speak naturally in English. It’s called Idioms and Phrasal Verbs (Oxford word Skills series, Advanced). This book presents and gives you an opportunity to practice over 1000 Idioms and Phrasal Verbs in everyday contexts. Review units provide further opportunity for you to revise and test yourself. Besides, there is a wide range of online activities and information on the history of idioms. Ideal for self-study or in the classroom. The only thing you need is to open the book and find the topics that interest you. Of course, you may think, that it’s time-consuming, but, believe me, it’s worth it. What is more, this book was rewarded ESU English Language Book Award 2009 and received positive commentaries from readers and professors. So, my advice is clear: take note and do not lose sight of this book!

3.  

    And the last book I would recommend you is Kahlil Gibran’s masterpiece, The Prophet,  one of the most beloved classics of our time. This beautiful work makes an incredible gift for anyone seeking enlightenment and inspiration. Published in 1923, it has been translated into more than fifty languages, and it  is a staple on international best-seller lists. The book is made up of 26 prose poems that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational; they are delivered as sermons by a protagonist – a wise man called Al Mustapha. He is about to set sail for his homeland after 12 years in exile on a fictional island when the people of the island ask him to share his wisdom on the big questions of life: love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death. Corresponding to each chapter are evocative drawings by Gibran himself.

    Its popularity peaked in the 1930s and again in the 1960s when it became the bible of the counter culture. Lines from the book have inspired song lyrics, political speeches and have been read out at weddings and funerals all around the world. "It serves various occasions or big moments in one's life so it tends to be a book that is often gifted to a lover, or for a birth, or death. That is why it has spread so widely, and by word of mouth," says Dr Mohamed Salah Omri, lecturer in Modern Arabic literature at Oxford University. The Beatles, John F Kennedy and Indira Gandhi are among those who have been influenced by its words. "This book has a way of speaking to people at different stages in their lives. It has this magical quality, the more you read it the more you come to understand the words," says Reverend Laurie Sue, an interfaith minister in New York who has conducted hundreds of weddings with readings from The Prophet.

   When I started reading this work, I felt incredible compelled by the depth and messages contained within the book. Each essay reveals deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind.This masterpiece made such an impression on me that I felt that some of the insight could stick with me throughout the rest of my life and would evolve with my thoughts as I continue on the journey that is life.