Books To Read If You’re An Impulsive, Courageous Aries Who Lives To Lead

Aries, you’re the pioneer of the zodiac. As a courageous and determined fire sign, you’re a natural leader: energetic, honest and fiercely loyal. But your fiery nature can tip over into an impulsiveness and restlessness that makes you uber-competitive. Just like the ram that symbolises your sign, you’ll batter down any door on the path to greatness. So it takes an impressive read to capture your attention.

We’ve made sure all the books on this list are charged with classic Aries energy: driven, impulsive protagonists who will stop at nothing to get what they want; courageous manifestos that confront issues of race and class head on; luminous artistic memoirs that burn with creativity – and one read that may just curb your competitive streak. Each will feed your appetite for risk-taking and a momentum that never stops.

Could there be any character more Aries than Alex in The Guest? Cut adrift after her older boyfriend ends their fling, Alex refuses to accept it as finality. Believing he just needs some time to cool off, and with another shadowy ex on her tail, she bounces around affluent Long Island-esque neighbourhoods, blagging her way into members’ clubs and slipping into the homes of the privileged. Just like an Aries, she is restless, impulsive and energised by danger. The novel pulsates with tension as Alex’s self-destructive bravado sees her throw herself headlong into every nail-biting scenario. The Guest is a race against the clock, with a thriller of an ending that has divided readers since its release. Want to know more? Listen to Dua’s interview with Emma Cline about the novel here.

Bernardine Evaristo’s Booker Prize-winning masterpiece, Girl, Woman, Other traces the lives of 12 characters, mostly women, all Black and British. As the polyphonic novel unfolds, the stories begin to intertwine in subtle, nuanced ways, revealing unexpected links between the tales and the characters. It’s the perfect puzzle for the forward-thinking Aries, a stark look at race and class in Britain, and a beautiful exploration of contemporary womanhood. The themes of self-discovery, autonomy, artistic risk and rebellion perfectly mirror that Aries energy: of courage, initiation and the unrelenting drive to move forward.

Taking the form of a long letter to his adolescent son, this non-fiction read sees Ta-Nehisi Coates unpick the minutiae of growing up Black and American. Through a searing and emotive analysis of race, class and systemic violence in America, it details how the Black body has historically been – and continues to be – under constant threat. It’s earnest and, at times, bleak, refusing comfort in place of deep, visceral honesty. Required reading for any determined Aries with a leadership streak: a call to awareness, courage and morality that doesn’t shy away from hard truths.

Musician Patti Smith’s account of ’70s New York is part all-encompassing love story, part artistic origin memoir. She beautifully describes the electric cauldron of creativity that was the Hotel Chelsea in its heyday, and her deep connection with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. To make art, to be seen and to matter are all driving forces of a restless, ambitious Aries who refuses to stall and is always driven forward by instinct and self-belief. Need any more convincing? Watch Dua’s conversation with Patti about her memoir here.

We’ve found the perfect reset for your competitive nature, Aries, and it’s this next pick. Rutger Bregman presents a bold re-examination of history that challenges the assumption that humans are inherently selfish and self-serving. Instead, he argues that it is cooperation – rather than competition – that powers progress. It’s a hopeful manifesto that’s positive, pioneering and determined in its refusal to accept a given narrative – something that will remind you to take your foot off the gas every now and then.