Books you'd take on a desert island with you?
To mark World Book Day, Barts Health Knowledge and Library Services have launched a new Desert Island Books series.
Each month a members of #TeamBartsHealth staff will imagine being cast away on a fictional desert island with six books of their choice. To launch our new series we spoke to our chair in common Jacqui Smith about what books she'd choose to be cast away on a desert island with. The knowledge and library services will be purchasing every book on Jacqui's list below which will be available to you to borrow.
You can also borrow these books, (some are also available as ebooks), from your local public library: Waltham Forest; Tower Hamlets; Newham; City of London. All colleagues are able to join libraries local to where you work as well as where you live.
To be in with a chance of winning a copy of your choice of book below, enter our prize draw by liking our desert island book posts on either our Twitter (@bartsNHSlibrary) or Instagram (@bartsNHSlibrary) pages. The competition will close on Thursday 10th March.
Our first cast away to share their book choices with us is Jacqui Smith, chair in common at Barts Health and Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. Jacqui was previously chair of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. In 1997, Jacqui was elected as the MP for Redditch and served for 13 years. She was one of the longest serving ministers in the Labour government and the first female Home Secretary.
Here Jacqui tells us why she has chosen these six books.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
First published in 1847, the novel tells the story of Jane Eyre, whose courage is tested when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall.
Jacqui says “A strong and independent female character who overcomes all sorts of adversity…and finds love with a very fanciable bloke”.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Roger Ackroyd knew too much. He knew that the woman he loved had poisoned her brutal first husband. He suspected also that someone had been blackmailing her. Now, tragically, came the news that she had taken her own life with a drug overdose. But the evening post brought Roger one last fatal scrap of information. Unfortunately, before he could finish the letter, he was stabbed to death…
Jacqui says “I love detective books and this is probably the best book by the best writer of whodunnits”.
Rivals by Jilly Cooper
Into the cut-throat world of Corinium television comes Declan O'Hara, a mega-star of great glamour and integrity with a radiant feckless wife, a handsome son and two ravishing teenage daughters. Declan needs only a few days at Corinium to realise that the Managing Director, Lord Baddingham, is a crook who has recruited him merely to help retain the franchise for Corinium. Baddingham has also enticed Cameron Cook to produce Declan's programme. Declan and Cameron detest each other, provoking a storm of controversy.
Jacqui says “Doesn’t everyone need a bit of escapism sometimes?”
Honourable Ladies edited by me and Iain Dale
491 women have now passed through the doors of Parliament. Each one has fought to introduce enduring reform, and in doing so has helped revolutionise Britain's political landscape, ensuring that women's contributions are not consigned to the history books. Containing profiles of every woman MP from 1918 to 1996, The Honourable Ladies is a testament to their stories and achievements.
Jacqui says “Not shameless self publicity (well ok then….) but also a fascinating book of essays about all the women elected to Parliament written by other women”.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear.
Jacqui says “A riveting and heartbreaking story about what happens when women’s rights are destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan”.
Still to read:
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Tells the story of Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, who wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be beyond conventional moral laws. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck.
Jacqui says “To remind myself of the culture and heritage of Russia and in the hope that the current terrible times are transitory”.
Luxury Item:
My luxury would be a bath and unlimited bath oil (and hot water).
Record I would take with me:
My record would be the Buzzcocks Love Bites so I could remember my youth and pogo around the island.
Find out more about the Barts Health Knowledge and Library Services desert island book series.
Want to feature as next month's desert islander? Get in touch: bartshealth.library@nhs.net