World Book Day 2016 - our favourite books

As part of World Book Day 2016, three of our Life at Southampton bloggers are sharing their favourite books and stories.

Alexandra - 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' by Khaled Hosseini

I’ve read so many good books over the years which I have enjoyed and  have left me inspired and touched. However, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini was something different. I think I re-read the last page about three or four times, because I didn’t want it to end and because I didn’t want it to end the way it did. I have not met one person who has read this book and didn’t thoroughly enjoy it, and if I have any friends who need a book to read over a holiday I always recommend this one.

Although it is fiction, it touches upon so many real issues as it is based on a true event. For those who have not heard about it at all, it takes place in Afghanistan and it portrays a beautiful friendship between two ladies, who both have their different stories. The turning point is when the Taliban takes over and the book does such an incredible job at telling a story which easily could have been a true one. The feelings, fears and emotions described are so real and that is what really captured me.

I had the pleasure of driving with an Afghan taxi driver a couple of months ago, and when he told me he was from Afghanistan I immediately had to mention the book. I can guarantee you that’s not the first time he has heard someone mention that book, because all I had to say was “I read this amazing book by an Afghan author” and he asked “Was it The Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns?”. I’ve read both of them, and I’ll say the same as the Washington Post did; ‘In case you’re wondering whether A Thousand Splendid Suns is as good as The Kite Runner, here is the answer: No. It’s better’.

Happy reading!

Alexandra

Ben - 'Completely Unexpected Tales' by Roald Dahl

Narrowing down my favourite novel is hard-work - especially since a lot of the time I play them out as little films in my head. One author that I’ve constantly gone back to time and time again though, ever since childhood, is oddly enough Roald Dahl.

His silly names and inventive set-ups certainly excited my tiny mind as a young boy, but even after I had grown out of all the ‘frobscottles’ and ‘whizzpopping’, his short story collection, Completely Unexpected Tales, always had me hooked every single time I picked it up. It still remains a staple of any travel kit I ever put together, and even now, nearly eight years after first delving between its pages, I still haven’t managed to conquer every story (although I have recently narrowed it down to the final two!).

The stories themselves, as fantastically twisted (and often adult-themed) as they are, are still always written so elegantly, and crafted with that classic world-building vision that Dahl mastered so many times over his expansive career.

Ever since cracking open the book’s spine for the first time, I’ve always promised myself that if one day I get to the position where I can confidently make films, I’d love to adapt at least one of these stories. Or maybe all of them. Don’t make me choose.

Ben

Emma - 'Anything by Neil Gaiman'

Choosing my favourite book is not an easy thing to do – there are around 200 books in my flat and those are just the ones that made it with me to university, not counting the extra 80 or so I have on my iPad. What criteria are we supposed to use to choose our ‘favourite’ book?

There are books that I have picked up time and time again and I consider the characters old friends, books that I have had for so long that the characters have changed as I’ve grown older. Books that have generated huge TV shows (The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones) that I adore because I can see the characters that I imagined come to life in a whole new way. There are books that have influenced me in a great way – like Watchmen, the first graphic novel I ever read and that sparked an obsession that’s cost me in excess of £400. There are countless stories and adventures that all became part of my life – how am I supposed to choose just one?

Just one of the seven bookcases in my flat I have thought about it for a while and decided that I can at least settle on a favourite author – Neil Gaiman (who only just beat Scott Lynch, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams and Stephen King for top spot). Neil Gaiman writes beautiful and beguiling stories that are impossible to put down, and his collections of short stories are never far from reach.

However, my favourite character from any book is Locke Lamora from The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I can’t quite explain what attracts me so much to the world Lynch has created, and the characters that exist within it, but it is one of the few books that’s made me laugh and swear and cry in equal measure. If anyone asks me to recommend a book, then that’s the one I suggest. Everyone has heard of Pratchett and Gaiman, but Lynch gives them a run for their money while remaining unfortunately relatively unknown.

I would also like to add a small postscript to this piece, a fond remembrance of a wonderful man named Brian, who ran a second hand bookstore in Portswood. He created a place where people came to relax and enjoy great books and friendship. Sadly, Brian passed away unexpectedly from lung cancer last year, and the shop that he ran had to close.

Peter Rhodes Bookshop

Since this piece is in celebration of World Book Day, I would like to use it to celebrate the life of a man for whom books were his obsession and livelihood and who is missed sorely by those who knew him.

Emma

Do you share a favourite book with Alexandra, Ben or Emma, or do you have one of your own? Let us know in the comments below.