The People Development team (of which Knowledge and Library Services are part) spent a happy half hour this morning recommending music and books and films and TV shows to one another. The task was to pick ONE example of a book, TV show, movie, piece of music or any other work of art or media that has had an impact on you and to explain why.
Various films, music and TV shows were recommended and we all went away with a new watch list, but as librarians always are, we were really interested in the book recommendations! Especially as tonight sees the annual #ReadingHour as part of the World Book Night celebrations. Join in at https://worldbooknight.org/ from 7-8pm tonight.
The lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C. S. Lewis was recommended by someone who didn’t read a huge amount as a child but is now a voracious reader. A fantasy tale for children and adults alike, the book is a classic. They explained that they couldn’t forgive the book (or the film) for giving them the impression that Turkish Delight was the most delicious thing to eat ever, and then having to cope with the disappointment when they actually tried it…
The little girl in the radiator by Martin Slevin is the story of a man’s struggle to care for his mother after she’s diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. The book eventually answers the question that Martin is puzzled by- who is the little girl in the radiator that his mum speaks to every day? Our colleague recommended it as quite funny but sad, a book that helped them to understand more about dementia and cope with a family member’s diagnosis.
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Another reader explained how much the Bible meant to them, it was something they read every day and had taken much comfort and inspiration from the work. They felt it enhanced their faith and by reading it daily they had probably read it all the way through several times.
We were told about another scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, a Hinda scripture which our reader noted as being uplifting and full of good advice on many topics. There’s an English translation available online at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Bhagavad_Gita_(Arnold_translation)
Our next recommendation was Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a bicycle by Dervla Murphy. This is the true story of the author’s cycling trip as a woman in her 30s in the 1960s from Ireland to India, detailing all the countries she visited in between. We were told that it gave our reader a sense of wanderlust that has stuck with them, and whilst they’ve not yet visited India, they fully intend to get there one day.
Finally we heard from a fan of Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott. They explained how this was the first book they’d really engaged with, and was one that they returned to often such was the impact it had on them. Several others echoed their delight in this classic, with one person commenting “Childhood memory unlocked for me there!”
Is there a nicer way to end a blog post than with Jo, Meg, Amy and Beth? Happy reading and click here if you want to know more about our reading groups.
Image: Mehmet_Egril (2021) turkish-delight-5912005_1280. Available at: (Accessed: 23 April 2024)