“Some people go to priests, others to poetry; I to my friends”- Virginia Woolf.

It’s World Friendship Day again, and as always we are busy looking for quotes to tag our friends and finding something for our most favourite people. This can be a very tedious task. Scrolling through endless options on Amazon or Flipkart, getting confused between two very good offers or probably having no clue on what to get your friends, we have all been through that.

So this Friendship Day, let us not go through that torture, and aim for something simpler but more thoughtful. Let us make our friends realise they are worth more than a tag or a tweet. Gift them a book that you can read together — or apart, a book does not mind, does it? Most people will argue that they can save themselves the hassle and can just buy something off Amazon but if you are hoping to be friends forever, should you not gift something that is going to be there forever? A book, like a friend is for ever.

So, five books that are an absolute must for this Friendship Day are:

1. The Three Musketeers

“One for all and all for One”

Is this not what friendship is all about? Alexandre Dumas’ stunning novel follows the story of four friends, as they navigate through France, saving the Queen’s honour and maintaining France’s reputation. They group together to save themselves from the Cardinal and his plots. The entire novel is full of mystery and thrill but at the end it is an extremely simple story of friendship and four friends each of who is willing to put the other one before himself.

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2. The Kite Runner

“For you, a thousand times over”

There is no one person who has not heard of Khaled Hosseini’s stunning debut novel, The Kite runner. The story is about Amir, a well to do boy, and Hassan who is the son of Amir’s father servant. They spend their days flying kites in Kabul. The story follows them as they navigate through life and war torn Kabul. Both of them go their separate ways and have their own tragedies but are ultimately reunited by a very strong bond. Hosseini has weaved together a tale of betrayal, jealousy, redemption and above all friendship that is sure to make every heart weep.

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3. Winnie-the-Pooh

“We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see”

Although most of us remember Winnie-the-Pooh as a lovable bear who was our favourite cartoon character growing up, there are a lot of lessons on friendship that can be learnt from him. Almost all of us remember being glued to the screen, watching Winnie-the- Pooh with our friends. So, it will be most joyful walking through the memory lane and rediscovering Winnie, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Rabbit and Christopher Robin. Their idyllic life as the inhabitants of the Hundred Acres Wood was what we wished for growing up and secretly hope so for even now. Winnie-the-Pooh has become associated with everlasting innocence and childhood and who would not want to revisit the days filled with innocence with their friends.

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4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“There is nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard”

All of us have struggled with confidence issues growing up. Not knowing if we are good enough, struggling to speak up our mind, over thinking about everything, these things were the bane of our existence. Charlie is a true loner who is happy watching things from afar rather than experiencing them. He then meets Sam and her friends and realizes that life is more than just being a spectator. This book is a must read for anybody who has ever felt that he has found friends who understand him.

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5. Little Women

“Rich or poor, we will be happy with one another”

Friendship does not have to be always about the people you meet along the way. It could also be about the people who have always been in your life. You can celebrate Friendship Day with your sister or your brother. Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth are poor and have nobody when their father goes off to war. It is Christmas and they do not have enough to buy presents for each other. But they stay together amid fights, sickness, arguments and all sorts of problems. The book depicts that sometimes your family are the only friends you need.

Enjoy these books with your friends and explore friendships through ages and times. Celebrate this World Friendship Day with books and surround yourself with hundreds of memories while making new ones.