I love reading, and this World Book Day I have been thinking about this quotation from publisher Helen Exley, about how books can change your life. In truth, everything I’ve ever read has woven itself somewhere into the fabric of “me,” shaping my understanding of the world and its people. But a few stand out as having certainly changed my life.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman
When I was studying for a Masters in Children’s Literature at Nottingham University, these books blew my mind. The story of Lyra and Will, young people from two different worlds, brought together to save the universe, is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Passionate, clever, gripping, exciting and thrilling, this is a trilogy I could return to again and again and never get bored. It’s the book that reminds me that children and young people are the hope for us all.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I first read The Bell Jar when I was in the Sixth Form, and it changed everything for me. Sylvia Plath’s astonishing semi-autobiographical tale of her struggles with her mental health, her breakdown and subsequent recovery, was a revelation. Not only was the subject matter revolutionary – not least the barbaric treatment of mental health difficulties in the 1950s – but Plath’s writing fizzes off the page in images and phrases that has stuck with me forever.
Mindset by Carol Dweck
This book changed the path of my teaching career. Dr Carol Dweck outlines the research that is her life’s work, into how what we think about our own abilities determines the outcomes that we achieve. It has informed my teaching and leadership ever since, and continues to resonate with me today.
Emma by Jane Austen
“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” So begins Jane Austen’s tale of a spoilt girl who learns that she is not quite as brilliant as she thinks she is – and is so much the better for it. I love Jane Austen’s writing so much: she works with infinite delicacy on “the little bit (two inches wide) of Ivory on which I work with so fine a Brush, as produces little effect after much Labour.” My favourite novel of hers is actually Mansfield Park, but even I must admit that Emma shows her at the height of her powers.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel pushed the boundaries of what a novel could be, and could do. Told in fragments, apparently “discovered” after the collapse of a dystopian civilisation, it pieces together the story of Offred, a “handmaid” in the land of Gilead, where patriarchal ideology has run to extremes. It is an absolutely gripping and terrifying book, and a valuable lesson in how fragile our society is – and how vulnerable to those who seek to divide and rule.
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
The tales of Christopher Robin and his collection of stuffed animals were favourites of mine as a small child, and have stayed with me throughout my life. Sweet, funny, and occasionally profound, I enjoyed reading them to my own children just as much as I enjoyed them myself as a child.
No matter what books you enjoy, reading is a rare and exciting pleasure. And a good book will stay with you for the rest of your life.
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