BSFC celebrates World Book Day 20 with 'shelfies'

2 March 2017

Take part in the HUB's Big Book Quiz and you could win a £20 Amazon voucher!

Click here to download The Big Book Quiz questions

Competition closes on Friday 24th March.

As you may have spotted on social media (especially if your friends & family have primary school-aged kids!), it’s the 20^th World Book Day today, and we didn’t want to miss out on the festivities!

Sadly, we couldn’t cajole the staff into dressing up as their favourite book characters, but our support staff, led by the HUB team, have submitted their ‘Shelfies’ – pictures of their bookshelves that they feel best describe them. You can see some of these below and read why they chose the tomes they did.

In celebration of #worldbookday20, every student is entitled to a £1 off World Book Token which they can collect from the HUB, and the team will be running a book-themed quiz next week, with the winner receiving a £20 Amazon voucher.

For the next month, there will be a Book of the Week promotion too, all available for loan from HUB 1, with this week’s favourite being Neil Gaiman’s fantastic ‘American Gods’, which is also soon to become an Amazon TV series.

#AmericanGods hits Amazon #PrimeVideo on May 1. Here’s @neilhimself, @BryanFuller & @andmichaelgreen on why they're excited. pic.twitter.com/8IxXtBOMo5
— American Gods Amazon (@GodsOnAmazon) 27 February 2017

SHELFIES

Helen Bullock, HUB Manager:

Helen said: "Not many people know this but my MA is actually in Renaissance and 18^th Century Literature. I ADORE Shakespeare and I hope to pursue my PhD in the field in the future. 'taH pagh taHbe!' (To be or not to be for those who don’t speak Klingon). I’m a self-confessed Trekkie and one of my favourite films (for the obvious Shakespeare references) is Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country where this line is first uttered. The LoTR Trilogy was the first series of books I ever read on my own. I remember feeling, for the first time, the complete overwhelming sensation of finishing a series – both ecstatic to see how the characters you had become so fond of developed and finished their adventure, but sad at the fact that you have completed it and there will be no new quips or developments."

Tom Masheder, Science Lab Technician & partner, Sarah

Tom said: "Sarah’s is part of her historical fiction shelf. She enjoys finding a corner of the house and imagining how people lived, and chivalry and knights, so she put this shelf forward as her pick. My pick is our map shelf, I love a good map and all the walking books are there too so it reminds me of walking. The pics in front of the books\maps are of when we did our biggest walks to Kilimanjaro and Everest Base Camp, which just makes me smile when I see them and want to go walking more. Also it’s got a robot on it and robots rule!"

Jon Shanks, Digital Learning Advisor

Jon said: "The Ladybird Leaders & Willard Price Adventure are beloved series from childhood and a fascination I had with dinosaurs (what little boy didn’t?) & the natural world, further exemplified by David Attenborough. I also love fantasy worlds of mythology (+ pretty much anything Neil Gaiman writes) folk/fairy tales (Grimm, etc.) superheroes/comic books (Watchmen) and majorly nerdy pop culture (Ready Player One). Banksy is a reminder of the years I lived in Bristol (+ his art is awesome anyway!). Music is important with me, Queen being the greatest example of that & Pip showing the modern side of my tastes. The Invisible Library was an appropriate Christmas Present which I am looking forward to reading, and Terry Gilliam always reminds me of how much I was into Monty Python when I was younger."

Sarah Crosbie, Director of Marketing

Sarah said: "I didn’t choose these books, they were chosen for me! I have been lent them by family and friends as I will apparently like them – but given it goes from Chick Lit to Murder, I’m not sure what this says about me!"

Olivia Bengey, Digital Learning Advisor

Olivia said: "Communist States in the 20^th Century is the textbook for the AS History students that I work with for the Academic Mentoring Program. Neurotribes by Steve Silberman was a birthday present. It’s a really detailed exploration on the history of autism. I read Homer’s Illiad in the 6^th form – this book is my nice copy without any essay notes. I own most of his books but Night Watch by Terry Pratchett is my favourite book, as you can tell by how battered it is! Finally, Game of Thrones by G. R. R. Martin is the book I am currently reading (again!)."

Alison Leach, Academic Writing Support Tutor

Alison said: "One shows my 'books 'on the go' - titles that I am reading at the moment, or which are on my list to read soon. The other photo shows some of my old favourites. I love the wit and liveliness of Dickens' characters. He isn't perfect, but he's such an entertainer - going back to him every so often is like settling into a big, cosy armchair. I also treat myself to re-reading Jane Austen at regular intervals, for her delicious social observation and elegant prose. Jane Eyre has been a favourite of mine since I first read it when I was at school. The copy in the photo, together with the Boethius, are particularly precious to me as they were presents from my dad, and are signed by him."

Jack Milington, Digital Learning Advisor