Let me guess. Every one of your seconds is precious and your routine is a mess, making you feel like you have no time or energy to do anything from your to-do list. Believe me, I know what it feels like. However, there is a way out. Escaping from your reality and its stress may be a good option, and there is nothing that can help you more to do so than a book.Â
According to research done by Itau and Instituto PrĂł Livro, from 2015 to 2019, Brazil lost 4.6 million readers. Are you one of them? Or were you never even in the statistics? Regardless of what your relationship with reading is, from now on, you have the opportunity to change it. I am pushing you to the edge. I am your sign. And, if you want to open your arms and fly, here is a list of five books written by Brazilian women you should read to guide where to start! Â
- “Um Dia Ainda Vamos Rir De Tudo Isso” – Ruth Manus
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“One day we’re going to laugh about this“. Could there be a better title for a book? On this, Ruth shares with the readers her thoughts as if you were with her on a couch laughing about how strange life can be â and crying a little bit too.
If you are looking for a book to keep on your bedside table, this is the one! The chronicles cover a huge variety of topics: from the importance of true friendship to how the word “gourmet” makes everything worse. The book is amazing and, as the story is not linear, you may read it at the rate your heart tells you to. Oh! And while you are reading it, donât forget to follow its writer on Instagram: her stories are the best!
- “Olhos D’Ăgua” – Conceição Evaristo
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Reading theories about racism and understanding how it works in our society is great. However, it may shock you. Reading about it in short stories can be very moving. For this purpose, “Olhos dâĂgua“ (Water Eyes) is perfect. The book, which has only a hundred pages, and, therefore, can be read pretty quickly, tells many short stories and throws the reality of black people in Brazil at your face, all embraced by powerful and almost poetic writing.
This book may not be easy or pleasing to read, due to the subject and the sadness and anger that may come with it, but it is surely really necessary â and very well written.Â
- “As FĂ©rias Da Minha Vida” – Clara Savelli
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Looking for another fictional character to fall in love with, raising your standards higher than it would be healthy? Then you just found the one! This is the story of Ăsis, a teenager who is celebrating her late fifteenth birthday with her friend Vivian, her sister Brenda and her aunt in the Dominic Republic. It seems awesome, right?
However, her plans change when Vivi falls in love with the Zumba instructor that works for the resort, and Ăsis has to spend her time there with Brenda and her annoying friends. You know where this is going⊠The enemies-to-lovers plot is developed cutely and lightly, turning your heart into butter as you flip through the pages, without ignoring important topics such as misogyny and homophobia.Â
But be careful! It may lead you to pack your things and buying the first ticket to a Caribbean island!Â
- “Quarto De Despejo” – Carolina Maria De Jesus
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The reality of Carolina is in no way pleasant: she picks up recyclable and reusable materials from trash, sells them, and uses the little money she gets from it every day to buy food for her children. Also, her neighbors hate her because she is intelligent, and people who have more opportunities than her hate her because they see her as a parasite. The trash she lives around makes her ill. And thereâs almost nothing she can do to change this situation.
Carolina talks about this in her diary, trying to escape it all, which was the way she found to make things easier. Her diary turned into a book â the one I am now recommending to you. It was translated to more than 13 languages and sold in more than 40 countries: will you miss it?Â
- “Os 12 Signos De Valentina” – Ray Tavares
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Do you believe in zodiac signs? Isadora, the main character of this book certainly does not. However, when our heart gets broken, we tend to do things we wouldnât do in our natural condition. Some people, for instance, watch movies all day and eat an unhealthy amount of vanilla ice cream. Others believe that there is no better treatment than listening to sad music and crying all the water on their body.
For Isa, it was creating a blog where she tells her experience of going out with one man of each zodiac sign, using the name Valentina so that none of her classmates would know who she is. Ordinary, donât you think? The book is amazing from cover (which is absolutely gorgeous) to end. I simply love it when authors use different elements and formats to tell a story, so the beautiful and detailed pages of her blog hooked me up! So, whether you believe it or not in Capricorns and Geminis, this book will certainly change the way you see them.
Remember that âto-do listâ of yours? It now has another item: making time for yourself, and it includes reading some incredible book you are interested in and spending some time away from your phone screen. After all, we all know your âlack of timeâ has something to do with the three hours you spent on Instagram and Tiktok yesterdayâŠÂ
I hope this list can help you and, with that, make you fall in love with some of our wonderful Brazilian writers, like Ruth, Conceição, Clara, Carolina, and Ray.Â
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The article above was edited by Giulia Gianolla.
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