**No time to read, or sleep**

Malala Yousafzai doesnt get a lot of time to read.

Or sleep.

At an open forum _An Insight, An Idea with Malala Yousafzai_ \(part of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January\), Nobel laureate Malala was asked if she slept much.

_These days, no. At university I try to, sometimes I just cant do it,_ she revealed.

Now 21, Malala became the world's youngest ever Nobel Prize winner at 17. Her autobiography _I am Malala_ sets out her, and her fathers, sustained fight for girls' rights to be educated, and her recovery from an assassination attempt in Pakistan at the hands of the Taliban.

Between writing three essays a week for her Oxford studies in Politics, Philosophy and Economics \(PPE\), half hour walks to lectures, and socialising with friends, the human rights activist and scholar admits to being sleep deprived.

_Im not a morning person, I would happily get up at 12 or 1 p.m. Morning is not part of my life,_ she told the forum participants.

**A common theme links her favourite books**

So, time-poor Malalas favourite books dont include recently published works. But, perhaps not surprisingly, all have a theme of overcoming obstacles to live your dream. All feature a protagonist on a heros journey of empowerment, learning lessons of leadership and self-determination on the way.

_**The Alchemist**_  Paul Coelho

Malala says _The Alchemist_ is always her favourite.

_Its about staying true to your goals and trying to keep on moving even though you may face difficulties on the way. Keep moving. Thats what Im doing. Im keeping moving,_ she told the forum.

_The Alchemist_ tells the story of an Andalusian shepherd boy who starts a journey in search of a worldly treasure at the Egyptian pyramids after having a recurring dream  a prophecy, as a Romani fortune-teller interprets it. The young shepherds adventure ends with him finding more riches than he ever hoped for. _The Alchemists_ main theme is finding ones destiny. The whole journey teaches us to follow our hearts and dreams; we should always seize the opportunities life offers in the pursuit of whatever makes us happy.

_Dont give in to your fears. If you do, you wont be able to talk to your heart._  The Alchemist

_The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times._  The Alchemist

_**The Breadwinner**_ , and _**Parvanas Journey**_ , both by Deborah Ellis

_I really like reading stories of women and girls,_ explained Malala to the open forum.

_The Breadwinner_ is a childrens book that tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Parvana and her family, who are struggling to survive in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. She must pretend to be a boy so she can work to support her family. In the sequel _Parvana's Journey_ her father dies, so, accompanied by other children on the run, Parvana must find a way to locate her remaining family inside war-torn Afghanistan.

For her research, Canadian author Deborah Ellis spent several months interviewing women and girls in refugee camps in Pakistan, and used these interviews as the basis of her depiction of life in Afghanistan. Most of the royalties from her 30 books, including more than one million dollars from the Parvana series, are donated to worthy causes, including UNICEF and Street Kids International.

_**Meena comics**_ by UNICEF

Every year UNICEF releases new comic book stories about a nine year old girl called Meena. Meena has a huge following amongst children and adults alike throughout South Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.

Each comic deals with a social issue, as spirited Meena braves the odds  whether in her efforts to go to school, or in fighting discrimination against children. As well as Meena, the stories feature her brother Raju, her pet parrot Mithu, and members of her family and community.

Titles include: **Dividing The Mango** \(brother Raju finds out what its like to be Meena for a day\); **Say No To Dowry** \(Meena and her family question the practice of dowry\); **The girls came back** \(Trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls\); **Count Your Chickens** \(Meenas dreams of going to school come true\); **Too Young to Marry** \(Can Meena help her cousin whos being married off at 15? Spoiler alert, the happy ending has the engagement taking place, but not the wedding\) and **We Love Books** \(the need for quality learning materials in education\).

_Tickets are almost sold out for An Evening with Malala Yousafzai, in Sydney on December 10 and Melbourne December 11. To secure the limited places available,[click here](https://www.thegrowthfaculty.com/event.php?eventId=a1JD000000A8e9z&promoCode=ContentSyd&utm_source=Blog&utm_medium=Content). _

Keep informedStay Inspired

Keep informed
Stay Inspired