Throughout the final week of term, students have been taking part in Reading Week. To celebrate, we asked some of our staff members and Head Girl Maayan about their favourite books.
These include ‘Jane Eyre’, which was recommended to Mrs Sonnenschein by her mother, who had read it in secret during the Cultural Revolution and ‘Ballet Shoes’, which is Dr Sherwood’s favourite book because of it’s underlying message of forging your own path.
Read below to find out more.
‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ by Oscar Wilde
Asking an English teacher what their favourite book is?
Sophie’s Choice immediately comes to mind, as how can you possibly choose when your job and passion are about the diversity and breadth of stories, experiences and contexts provided by world literature?
Do I choose something new, fresh, unique? Something nostalgic from my childhood? A niche, obscure translation from an unheard voice? Or is it less about what you choose and more about what you can’t let go.
Someone and something that has always been and will always be close to my heart is Oscar Wilde and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. If I could invite anyone into my classroom, offer them a seat at my dinner table, it would be him. He’d turn up ‘a little over-dressed’ and ‘make up for it by being always immensely over-educated’. The epitome of satire, style and wordplay, I pick up a copy whenever I see one. It’s certainly one of the loves of my life.
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ by Alexandre Dumas
If I had to choose a book in which to live, it might well be this one. There's not a dull moment. Everybody in this story is absolutely committed to something or to someone. There are no half-hearted feelings or half-baked opinions. The characters have excellent names, terrible flaws, and the most improbable life stories ever.
Much of the plot takes place on or around the Mediterranean, someone is constantly in disguise, practically nobody knows what's going on, and the ending is not what one might expect.
‘The Name of the Rose’ by Umberto Eco
I first read this book as a teenager and have loved it ever since. I like a good detective novel, and this book is an unusual and thought provoking take on that genre.
It centres around a Franciscan monk who is sent to discover why a group of Benedictine Monks have been murdered in bizarre ways in a medieval castle. It’s about a sleuth’s pursuit of the truth but also about the pursuit of the meaning – in words, symbols & ideas - contained within our universe, so it really appeals to the TOK teacher in me!
‘What We Owe The Future’ by William MacAskill
Future people count…. We can make their lives go better”. This book caught my imagination from the first pages… we are the cave men, for of humanity, 99.5 percent of humanity is ahead of us!
I found the book a refreshing mix of hope and practicality at a time when the future can feel bleak with constant change, high speed information and polarisation in society. Instead of simply warning about disaster or insisting on self-sacrifice, ‘What We Owe the Future’ encouraged me to think bigger, to see myself as part of a vast, unfolding story in which our actions genuinely matter and things can be positive for our futures.
The best quality of life today would have been unthinkable, even for kings or queens in centuries past, so what if we are in a similar position with respect to future prosperity? It gave me clear ideas on the purpose and agency of humanity, and how we have a real impact on the world through thoughtful choices, not just personal virtue-signalling.
The book covered ideas on longtermism, civilisation, action and happiness with ranging philosophical ideas grounded in real-world action. MacAskill’s work covered complex moral questions and helped me view through clear thought processes. The author gave compelling arguments for how to live ethically and effectively.
‘Ulysses’ by James Joyce
My all-time favourite book is still James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’. I think I love it so much because I read it at the right time: in my late teens when freshly inspired by early C20th Modernism in music as well as literature.
It’s a famously “difficult” book, but in my view Joyce’s genius-level intuition for language – its musical and poetic beauty - holds everything together despite pushing it to its communicative limits.
The novel takes place on a single day, Thursday 16th June 1904, and has four main characters: married couple Leopold and Molly Bloom, young intellectual Stephen Dedalus (a Joyce self-portrait) and the city of Dublin. The everyday lives of these, and dozens of other Dubliners on that day, are given symbolic, almost mythic resonance by being narrated within a structure which parallels Homer’s Odyssey, with Mr Bloom cast as the “hero”, Ulysses/Odysseus.
There are many experiments with style and form throughout the book, which is all part of the challenge/fun – but a great deal of advice available, online and elsewhere, for anyone who begins to find the going tough. A good idea might be to try the earlier ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ first, which acts as a sort of “Hobbit” to Ulysses’ “Lord of the Rings”.
It’s a masterpiece in its own right and will resonate with any young person struggling to free themselves from oppressive influences such as overbearing parents or stifling institutions.
'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' by Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë's 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' has a wonderful rich and lean writing style that feels timeless in its resonance and reverberation.
It provides a compelling combination of the yearning, jeopardy, courage, grace and cadence that rewards the “long read”.
‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë
I first read ‘Jane Eyre’ when I was about 14 years old, in Chinese. The book was recommended by my mother, who had read it in secret during the Cultural Revolution. Through the character of Jane, I learnt that true strength for a woman lies not in appearance, but in growing in confidence, independence, and dignity, qualities that matter far more than outward beauty.
When I later read the novel in English, the richness of Charlotte Brontë’s language deepened my love for literature. I came to appreciate the power of words across different languages, and I find great joy in drawing connections between the original text and my mother tongue.
‘Jane Eyre’ is a book that has been lovingly shared across three generations in my family - by my mother, by me, and now by my daughter. It continues to speak to us all in different ways, and I treasure it all the more because of that.
‘Throne of Glass’ by Sarah J. Maas
I found it so hard to choose a single favourite book of all time, so instead I’ve gone with the series that has completely captivated me this year—’Throne of Glass’ by Sarah J. Maas.
It’s been the perfect escape into a beautifully imagined, intricately detailed world that I’ve loved getting lost in. I’ve especially loved the strong, complex female main characters and the depth of their development throughout the books. With just one book left in the series to read, I’m still guessing at every twist and turn - and I know I’ll be genuinely sad to leave this world behind.
‘Surrounded by Idiots’ by Thomas Erikson
‘Surrounded by Idiots’ by Thomas Erikson is surely one of the most arresting book titles on the shelves! It was probably this that initially drew me to this book, alongside its location in the behavioural science section, an area something that has always fascinated me.
Erikson discusses four types of human behaviour and colour codes them for ease of understanding. He then explores how to get the best out of your interactions with each behaviour type. It is invaluable reading when building new relationships; something I am about to do a lot of at CLC! I wonder, are you red, blue, yellow or green?
'The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance' by Edmund de Waal
I find this book to be a remarkable piece of storytelling that weaves together intimate biographies with momentous events by tracing the journey of an inherited collection of 264 tiny carved netsuke.
Articulating human history through the life of objects fascinates me, and it’s how I aspire to write.
‘Dream Count’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In the decade since Adichie’s last book, I have been eagerly awaiting her most recent novel, ‘Dream Count’ and it didn’t disappoint!
In ‘Dream Count’, Adichie explores the lives of four women and their relationships - her prose captures the experience of lockdown, hope, love and female friendship beautifully. As one of my UC5 students left St Austin’s today, I gave her my copy of the book so that I could share my love of Adichie with the next generation!
‘Tao Te Ching’ by Laozi
The 'Tao Te Ching' is a foundational text of Taoist philosophy, which offers poetic wisdom on how to live in harmony with the universe, emphasising non-resistance and trusting the natural flow of things as paths to true power and peace.
Growing up, my mum would read a verse to me every night, and so the book holds sentimental value and feels comforting in some sense, but I also feel the philosophical guidance it offers has deeply affected me, shaping the way I view the world today. The concepts of harmony, balance, humility, and overcoming resistance through quiet strength rather than force are ones which I really resonate with, and which I feel are important to follow to live a life which is not only good for yourself, but for others, and the world at large as well.
Since the book is written as poetry, it is highly accessible and easy to read at a surface level (although the meaning of the verses can be hard to grasp at times) - I would wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone!
‘Elon Musk’ by Walter Isaacson
Elon Musk is such a public figure and I was interested to learn what his formative years were like and how one individual is capable of achieving so much.
Having watched the creation of PayPal, then Tesla, the early failures and ultimate success of SpaceX transforming space travel, and looked up into the sky and seen Starlink satellites, this is someone who has and will continue to impact the lives of millions.
The insights that the book gives about what was really happening behind the scenes makes for a fascinating read and one I read from cover to cover over a long weekend - it really is a page turner.
'Ballet Shoes' by Noel Streatfeild
I have loved this book since I was a little girl dreaming of being a ballerina. Whilst the book is now old-fashioned and my dancing dreams clearly did not come to fruition, the over-riding message of forging your own path in life and working for what you believe in are probably even more critical for today's young people.
The Fossil sisters vowed to "try and put our names in history books because it's our very own and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers". Petrova's happy ending, working as a mechanic, is particularly poignant and important; the message is don't be held back by stereotypes, tradition and other people's views, but dream your own dreams and forge your own path.
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