By Joanne Norris Their Eyes Were Watching God could so easily have never reached us. Falling into obscurity, forgotten a little more each day as its original readership drops off and its pages are left unturned. But what would we do without stories like this? How would our lives be different by not having access to this work? Each time …

“Sometimes, I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” – Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston was a writer that had long fascinated the Books That Matter team. We were endlessly curious about her story, her life, and her much …

It was just an off-hand conversation that sparked the idea for the ‘Forgotten Women’ box. “When did you first realise that most of what you read and learned about was by white men?” For me, it was studying English Literature at university. Before then, I hadn’t really given a second thought to who was writing the books that I loved. …

This week, we celebrated International Women’s Day, an awareness day recognised annually on March 8th. It is a day to celebrate the achievements, contributions and acceleration of women across social, cultural, economical and political fields. But it wasn’t always hashtags, special offers, and selfies. Whilst the recognised celebration is a beautiful one, International Women’s Day came as a result of …