World Book Day – Swiftclean favourites
As it’s World Book Day we thought we’d celebrate by sharing a few of our team’s favourite reads, their favourite childhood stories or what they are reading right now, by sharing our favourite books we hope it will inspire others to pick up a book and read.
World Book Day is celebrated on the 7th of March each year, turning the page to a global celebration of reading, books, and the enduring power of storytelling. This day is dedicated to authors, illustrators, books, and most importantly, readers of all ages, encouraging a lifelong love of reading.
Jackie, Marketing Manager: Still Life by Sarah Winman
“Most of the books I read are on my Kindle, my favourite recently read book is Still Life by Sarah Winman – I still miss the characters. But I did enjoy Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent too! ( Swiftclean Book Club’s latest read).”
Martin, Commercial Director: The Secrets of Crestwell Hall by Alexandra Walsh,
“99% of my books are on my Kindle, my current read is Baltic Black Ops, like Jackie I did enjoy Strange Sally Diamond (which was one of our Swiftclean Book Club Reads). I have just purchased today ‘The Secrets of Crestwell Hall’ by Alexandra Walsh, which I am looking forward to reading next.”
Julie, HR Assistant: It’s a Wonderful Night by Jaimie Admans
“Like Martin and Jackie, I do read a lot of Kindle Books, but a friend brought me ‘It’s a Wonderful Night’ by Jaimie Admans, which is not my normal genre of book to read (I usually like a detective novel), and I found this book was both heart-warming and emotional.
Abbey, Head of Shared Services: Forth Wing/ Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
“I am currently reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, the sequel to Fourth Wing which I found unputdownable. It’s a fantasy novel, which isn’t what I usually read, but I found it so gripping and it reminded me why I love reading; how it can ignite your imagination. The plot had some ‘unguessable’ twists, and just before I finished the first, I had to rush out to buy the second so I could find out what happened next. I am yet to get into the second book, but I am looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.”
Nicola, Executive Assistant: The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark – by Jill Tomlinson
“The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark is my absolute favourite book from childhood, I remember loving the illustrations alongside the storyline, as you can see it’s very well-read! I am looking forward to reading this to my little boy Harley, and eventually passing my copy down to him.”
Carly, Key Account Manager: Road Dahl
“Like Nicola, my favourite books are from my childhood, I loved anything by Roald Dahl, particularly, ‘The Twits’ he was my favourite author.” His books have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. Dahl has been called ‘one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century’.
Victoria, HR Business Partner: The Time Travellers Wife by Audry Niffenegger
“I love ‘The Time Travellers Wife’, it’s so well written, I have read it three times, and I just felt it was a really original story – including time travelling, but not Sci-Fi. Unfortunately, the film didn’t live up to the book, but the recent series adaptation was much better.”
Nikki, Planning Assistant: Britney Spears – The Woman in Me
“Britney Speas Memoir is my current read, I am about four chapters in so far, it’s good if you are a fan of Britney, she’s led a very unusual life and it’s interesting to read about.” The singer’s memoir chronicles her rise to fame, from a young performer in Louisiana to one of the world’s most famous pop stars.
Anna, Key Account Coordinator: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
“Growing up in a foreign country, and then coming back into the UK in my early teens, I felt a bit disconnected. Reading Alice in Wonderland as a child led me to reading ‘Through the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carroll as a teenager, and by reading this I felt more connected, it made me feel that it was ok to be different and to be unique, you don’t have to fit into a particular box. A second favourite I’d recommend is Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes, it’s set before/during the First World War, and it’s a love story based on the start of the First World War, and you can visualise the horrors of war, but there’s a beautiful story behind it.”
Alison, Kitchen & Air Services Manager: The Muse by Jessie Burton.
“I like novels set in different time periods and different countries, so the historical novel ‘The Muse’ by Jessie Burton, my last read, was a great book – set in two different times and different countries including Trinidad and Spain.”
Debbie, Accounts Assistant: Anything by Cecelia Ahearn
“ I would have to say that Cecelia Ahern, author of PS I Love You, is my favourite author, anything by her is great – books that you can easily pick up and put down, and are easy to get into, to read in your lunch break or on holiday, which is mainly when I get time to read.”
Mark, Service Delivery Coordinator: Sacred and Terrible Air by Robert Kurvitz, art is by Alexander Rostov
“I have recently read Sacred and Terrible Air, recommended by a friend, this novel has finally been translated into English following its original publication in Estonian, I would highly recommend this book, because of its well-developed world-building, nuanced characters.”
