For World Book Day this year, the Grimsby Creates team have decided to share their favourite books and are eager to hear what yours’ are.
Sarah Smith, Programme Manager, revealed that her favourite book is ‘The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾’ by Sue Townsend. When asked about it, she stated that it is a coming-of-age story, and a product of its time. She remembers the book as humorous, fun, and easy to read, and that in a world without the internet this book is how she found out about the teenage years. Though, she admits to wondering what today’s young people would think of it!
Dean Evison, Programme Support Officer, reported that his favourite book was ‘Frankenstein’ by Mary Shelley. Of it, he had to say that he studied it during A Level and was originally sceptical about whether he’d enjoy the genre of gothic literature, but soon found himself fascinated instead. He notes that Mary Shelley was a female author in a time where that was not as common, and she was very young when she wrote it, being just 18. He called the novel ‘forward-thinking’.
Dean also considered the nature versus nurture debate common in society today – would Frankenstein’s monster still be a monster if not for the way it was treated for its appearance? He also noted that with the shifting perspectives of the chapters, the reader is forced to empathise with the creature, and that this raises many questions about the long-term consequences of society’s neglect, and the statement of the importance of parental responsibility in the upbringing of young people.
Carmen Farfalla, Grimsby Creates Assistant, disclosed that her favourite book is ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. She says she has always enjoyed a detective story, with the satisfaction of seeing how everything ties together, and that Sherlock Holmes is one of the classics of the genre. Carmen considers Sherlock an easy read, with fun, well-developed characters. She believes it is a good introduction into British classic literature. ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ is a particular favourite of Carmen’s as it includes ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, one of her favourite short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.