World Book Day 2021
Date published
Thursday 4 March 2021 is World Book Day. It's a day that celebrates everything that's great about literature - and for seeing photos of people dressing up as their favourite characters from books.
Books come in all shapes and sizes. You can lose yourself in a good novel, get spiritual with a religious text, expand your mind with a piece of non-fiction or even learn more about your favourite celeb or sporting hero with an autobiography. With the forever growing use of digital devices, it can be easy to go years without picking up a book for leisure and recreation, but they are an important part of our culture.
To celebrate World Book Day, we've gone round the members of the editorial team and asked them to name their favourite book and why...
Sharna
The Fantastic Mr. Fox - Roald Dahl
My favourite book is Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. This was the first book I read as a child that really got me excited about reading. Roald Dahl books always managed to capture my imagination, along with the great illustrations from Quentin Blake. It will always remain a classic!
James
Moonraker - Ian Fleming
My favourite book is Ian Fleming's Moonraker, the third book in the James Bond series. It's completely different to the movie. It's just a great story about James Bond investigating a strange entrepreneur with a shadowy past and a devious plan and it's all set - not in Venice or the Bahamas, but in Devon. Moonraker was written before any of the films were made so it's a very different animal in terms of tone. There's no exotic locations or one-liners but there is still some good espionage and Bond is brutal. There is a Bond Girl, Gala Brand who is a superb character. There are some things from this book that are used in other movies in the film franchise, so it's fun to spot those as you go through.
Fun note: Fleming wrote this novel on a golden typewriter at his Jamaican home, called... Goldeneye.
Daniel
Inferno - Dan Brown
I do love a Dan Brown book and I particularly loved reading Inferno (the film version wasn’t as good, sadly). When I finally got the chance to go to Istanbul, I made sure I made time to visit the locations from the book. Very smitten that day.
Penny
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
I was brought up a few miles away from where the Brontes lived in Haworth, Yorkshire, and the farm, Wuthering Heights, was based on a house called Top Withens, situated on the moorland near the Bronte parsonage where Emily, Charlotte and Anne lived with their father and brother. The 3 sisters used to stride across the moor for miles and it was obviously the inspiration for "Wuthering Heights". The book is wild and exciting - a love story, ghost story and tragedy all in one novel.
Azhar:
The Qur'an
I’ve been reading the English translation since the age of 14 and discover more every time I open it. I particularly enjoy the prophetic stories especially Joseph (Yusuf) and descriptions about the universe.
Rachel
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
This book is unbelievably witty. I laughed out loud so often.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is the first of six books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction "trilogy" by Douglas Adams. The novel is an adaptation of the first four parts of Adams's radio series of the same name. The novel was first published in London on 12 October 1979.
Atika
The Kite Runner - Khald Hosseini
Hosseini has written a truly fascinating novel taking us through his life and the events that occur along the way. We feel connected to the character of Amir and feel his struggles and inner conflicts. The descriptive nature of the text makes it a very interesting read for everyone. I would definitely recommend this!
So there's an overview of some of our favourite books. What's yours? Let us know and tell us why via our social media channels using #WorldBookDayCovUni and we'll share some of our favourites.
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