The Chesterton House Team

Feb 13, 20194 min

It's World Book Day!

World Book Day is a registered charity on a mission to give every child and young person a book of their own. It’s also a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest event of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world. 1️⃣

Parents... you may already know far too much about this from assembling costumes for your children to wear to school!

In some of our previous blog articles and newsletters we have recommended books that have inspired the topic of conversation, such as:

World Book Day is fundamentally geared towards children and young people. As we understand it, there aren't many children coming to Chesterton House about our financial, accountancy or legal services (although plenty of their parents and grandparents do!), therefore, over the course of the day we decided to unearth some of our staff's favourite books and recommendations that you may consider adding to your reading list.

We can already see a few books that could definitely be enjoyed by the younger generations!

Jenny recommends:

  • Daring Greatly
         Written by Brene Brown
     
         Brene is a shame researcher and has spent many years interviewing people to understand why some people live wholeheartedly and others don't. Daring Greatly discusses vulnerability and how to embrace it to improve our own lives.
     

  • The Beach
         Written by Alex Garland
     
         Made into a film but the book is heaps better. About a guy who goes travelling to Thailand and inadvertently is told about a secret beach that's like heaven on earth, unspoiled. He sets out to find the beach and the community of backpackers that have set themselves up there and the story is about how it unravels.
     

  • Rivers of London
         Written by Ben Aaronovitch
     
         Policemen for the magic underground scene in London!
     

  • The Hangman's Daughter
         Written by Oliver Potzsch
     
         Set in medieval times about a hangman who solves crimes and his feisty daughter sidekick!
     

  • The Colour of Magic
         Written by Terry Pratchett
     
         Magic again - very crazy and whimsical story - keeps your brain whirring!

Annabel recommends:

  • Private Peaceful
         Written by Michael Morpurgo
     
         Following the lives of two brothers from England as they fight in WW1 and remember the pressures from their childhood.
     

  • The Secret Life of Bees
         Written by Sue Monk Kidd
     
         A young girl escapes her abusive father and finds refuge with beekeepers in 1964, South Carolina. A coming of age book that deals with classic themes of love, racism, feminism and abuse.
     

  • Sharp Objects
         Written by Gillian Flynn
     
         A troubled reporter returns to her hometown to investigate the deaths of two preteen girls.
     

  • The Lovely Bones
         Written by Alice Sebold
     
         After being viciously killed, 14-year-old Susie cannot ‘pass on’ and instead watches over her family, trying to aid them in catching her killer.
     

  • The Hidden Life of Trees
         Written by Peter Wohlleben
     
         A book that explores how trees interact with one another, exploring the concept that trees are social beings.

Andy recommends:

  • The Power of Now
         Written by: Eckhart Tolle
     
         This has been on my bedside table for over 15 years, and it's not because I'm a slow reader! Tolle's exploration of how the mind works and how to live in the moment is truly life-changing.
     

  • Mastery
         Written by George Leonard
     
         Originally written as an article about martial arts practice, this book explains how the highs and lows of repetitive practice are essential elements of mastery in any field.
     

  • Narrow Dog To Carcassonne
         Written by Terry Darlington
     
         Terry and Monica Darlington took their canal narrowboat across the Channel to France, and this quirky and irreverent tale of their journey is scary and laugh out loud funny in equal measure.

Richard recommends:

  • Touching the Void
         Written by Joe Simpson
     
         A heart-stopping account of Joe Simpson's terrifying adventure in the Peruvian Andes. He and his climbing partner, Simon, reached the the summit of the remote Siula Grande in June 1995. A few days later, Simon staggered into Base Camp, exhausted and frost-bitten, with news that that Joe was dead.
     

  • The Road Less Travelled
         Written by Morgan Scott Peck
     
         Leading psychiatrist Dr M. Scott Peck suggests ways in which facing our difficulties - and suffering through the changes - can enable us to reach a higher level of self-understanding.

John recommends:

  • Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
         Written by: Yuval Noah Harari
     
         100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
     

  • Brief Answers to the Big Questions
         Written by: Stephen Hawking
     
         The world-famous cosmologist leaves us with his final thoughts on the universe's biggest questions in this brilliant posthumous work.

Anna recommends:

  • Advice that Sticks
         Written by: Dr Moira Somers
     
         Advice that Sticks takes aim at the problem of financial non-adherence. Written by a neuropsychologist and financial change expert, this book examines the five main factors that determine whether a client will follow through with financial advice.

Sam recommends:

  • Jamie Vardy: From Nowhere, My Story
         Written by: Jamie Vardy
     
         An ordinary lad from Sheffield, Jamie Vardy has become known as an against-the-odds footballing hero the world over. Yet a few years ago, things couldn’t have been any more different.

Ross recommends:

  • Rich Dad Poor Dad
         Written by: Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
     
         Rich Dad Poor Dad tells the story of Robert Kiyosaki and his two dads—his real father and the father of his best friend, his rich dad—and the ways in which both men shaped his thoughts about money and investing. The book explodes the myth that you need to earn a high income to be rich and explains the difference between working for money and having your money work for you.
     

Sources: https://www.worldbookday.com/about/

Some book descriptions were sourced from Amazon.com.