We thought we’d honour World Book Day by taking a look at some of our most treasured reads… but really it was just an excuse to bulk out our reading lists with our colleagues’ recommendations (sssh don’t tell anyone!).
Amongst the romantics in the office there was a unanimous appreciation for Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice, whilst we had a few people reminiscing about their childhood with Eric Carle’s The Hungry Caterpillar – a classic for many very different reasons. Lauren even recalled how she dressed up as the little critter for the first ever World Book Day eighteen years ago!
Other memorable quotes and books included:
– Animal Farm, George Orwell – I read it every year on my birthday to remind me that “all animals are equal, but that some are more equal than others” – Dave
– “Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” – Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
– Blackout by Marc Elsberg. A modern thriller in which hackers target energy companies and put Europe back into the dark ages. It’s quite scary because you realise how dependent our society is on technology – Marc
– “How strange that the world should change because of words, and words change because of the world” – Bird Without Wings, Louis de Bernieres
– I’ve really been enjoying Sophie Hannah’s crime fiction series. I’m currently reading “The Carrier” which is a brilliant psychological thriller and is making me wish my train journey to work was that little bit longer! – Melissa
– “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” – Paulo Coelho, Alchemist
– “Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life.” – Marilynne Robinson, Gilead
– New Dad Lee probably knows this feeling well: “Get those nappies ready, get the talc on, apply the lotion and get stuck in, it’s a white knuckle ride.” – Twins: A Survival Guide for Dads
And, if you want a recommendation, our very own Martin Bostock’s favourite book of the moment is H is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald – “we carry the lives we’ve imagined as we carry the lives we have, and sometimes a reckoning comes of all the lives we have lost.”
What’s your most loved book?