5 books to add to your holiday reading list

CAIRO – 31 December 2017: This period of the year reflects a lovely holiday time. It means a short break from work or exams stress. To keep you busy during the Holidays time, Egypt Today presents an interesting reading list.

“Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea” by Jules Verne
Reading adventure stories will add action and imagination to your holiday. The attractive, entertaining style of Verne can captivate your mind until you reach the last page of the novel.
Published in 1870, the story revolves around two men who find themselves on a journey under the water. Verne continued his science fiction stories series to uncover new unrevealed worlds for the reader. Verne manages to enrich the readers’ minds through stories around the sea, world and space.

“Songs of Innocence and Experience” by William Blake
Prominent pre-romantic poet, William Blake, introduces two poetry volumes for humanity that express the suffering of man and the development of his character through the experiences he faces. "Songs of Innocence" originally was printed for the first time in 1789 as a conceptual collection of 19 poems, where Blake focuses on happiness, innocence, childhood, and nature.
While "Songs of Experience" traces the changes of the human soul as it passes through hard phases, problems, fights and complex situations.
Published for the first time in 1749, it contains 26 poems.

“Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"Crime and Punishment" is one of the most common reading list choices.
The plot of the novel is about a young man who kills a woman. The events and the conflict between the characters reflect the inner conflict human beings experience, and one’s deepest thoughts and beliefs.

The novel also talks about different social phenomena such as crime, poverty and madness. Furthermore, it sheds light on the conflicts in the Russian society.


“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
One of the major dramatic works in the 19th century; "A Doll's House" criticizes the status of women in the Irish society. Ibsen uses his main character Nora to trace the improvement of the mentality of women.
Published in 1879, the story revolves around a young middle class mother called Nora who finds herself in a conflict against her past and her society which leads to major developments in her character.

“Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro
It’s one of the most influential short stories written by Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro. Released in 1964, it narrates the story of a girl who lives with her family, and helps her father with some hard tasks in his work.
Suddenly, her mother decides to make her a housewife; she decides the girl needs to learn about cooking and other housework stuff.
Munro aims through her story to shed light on the inner feelings of a girl who is deprived of her freedom and turned to a housewife.