Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This author is known and loved for her deeply moving and profound works of fiction (for me, particularly, Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun). This time it’s the story of four Nigerian women, and as such spans a wide geography from Africa to America with a great insight into their friendships, loves, regrets and world views. It’s very elegant and insightful storytelling – their lives were as authentic to me as those of women I actually know, and I loved it.

One Hundred Years of Betty by Debra Oswald. This is the fictional memoir of a woman who, on the eve of her 100th birthday looks back over her life, reflecting on the changes she’s seen throughout her century and the many unexpected opportunities that came her way. This was the evolution of a naïve young immigrant to Australia who ended up living a life she could never have imagined – with all its struggle, grief, success, loves, disappointments and surprises. Betty is a very ordinary character who somehow lived an extraordinary life and it’s a joy to read. 

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