World Book Day 2025 is celebrated on 6 March. First celebrated in 1998, this charity event gives children a voucher to be spent on books with special £1 publications for the event. According to their website “World Book Day encourages more children and families to find the fun and enjoyment in reading, because reading for pleasure changes lives.”
Books have the power to transport us, stir our emotions, challenge us and stay with us long after we’ve turned the final page. From childhood favourites to life-changing reads, here are the books that have stuck with us and why they continue to resonate.
Gary Gilligan Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Shantaram is a ‘Marmite’ novel. Some of my friends hated it. I love it.
It’s a sprawling saga of Lin, an escaped Australian armed robber who flies to Mumbai on a forged passport, how he becomes a slum ‘doctor’, a Bollywood extra, joins the Bombay Mafia, finds love and even has time to go on jihad. He certainly doesn’t hang about.
The book, as well as being a gripping story, evokes the magic of India, and the tale reminds me of my visits, how the colours and contrasts of India can seep into your soul.
Mark Vaughan Ulysses by James Joyce
Why has Ulysses stayed with me? Firstly, it took me three years to read the damn thing – actually in two phases, three years apart.
Secondly, because of where I was when reading it: staying in a clifftop repurposed railway carriage, and a blissful sunny morning alone on an empty beach. By contrast I finished the book three years later lying in a hospital bed in Birmingham. Ulysses was good company wherever I happened to be.
Thirdly, I admit sometimes I had no idea what was going on, the renowned puns and cultural references just passing me by. But I ploughed on regardless, simply enjoying the wonderful intricate flow of language for its own sake.
Jayson Winters The works of Iain Banks
My first real introduction to literature outside of school came while casually browsing the shelves at WH Smith. I was drawn to the stark black-and-white cover and intrigued by the blurb. The book seemed to defy genres – not quite sci-fi, not quite fantasy, yet not entirely conventional literature either. It was written by a relatively new Scottish author who, as I later discovered, had received critical acclaim for his debut novel.
I won’t spoil even the smallest detail by summarising the book but reading it at 16 was a significant coming-of-age moment for me. That book was Walking on Glass by Iain Banks. I read his first novel, The Wasp Factory, immediately after and went on to buy every book he subsequently published, devouring each one upon release. I will be forever grateful for the mind-expanding impact his work has had on me – his life, sadly, taken too soon.
Judy Copage Celebrating Margaret Atwood and Patricia Highsmith
I’m a big fan of science fiction and good old-fashioned crime noir but there aren’t that many women who excel at this. Two women writers who left a lasting impression on me are Margaret Atwood with her beautifully crafted style of writing and Patricia Highsmith, the virtuoso of pared-back minimalist style. Must-reads are Atwood’s MaddAddam trilogy, a post-apocalyptic dystopian world in the wake of a genetic engineering catastrophe and Highsmith’s series of five Ripley novels. Never has a psychopath seemed so ordinary and understated, yet deadly at the same time.
Richard Price Nature Detectives by Donald Cunningham
Published in 1959 and read by the seven-year-old me. 10 years later, Nature Detectives by Donald Cunningham unlocked many of the mysteries of the countryside. As a farmer’s son I had the perfect playground in which to see birds and animals in the wild and Nature Detectives not only added a frisson of adventure to my observations but also served as a handy introduction to many species. Thumbing through it now, it evokes a post-war age of innocence, beautifully illustrated in pen and ink by A Burgess Sharrocks, and reminds me of a time when wildlife truly thrived.
Robert Postings The Gentle Art of Tramping by Stephen Graham
The Gentle Art of Tramping was originally published in 1926. Now almost 100 years old, it is still as relevant as ever for anyone who has ever dreamed of heading out of their door with nothing more than a couple of essentials and a sense of wanderlust.
It was published as a practical ‘how to’ guide on the art of tramping. A tramp, according to Graham, is a “friend of society […] all true bohemians, pilgrims, explorers afoot, walking tourists, and the like.” In fact, it’s for anyone who has headed off in search of adventure under the power of their own two feet and a good heart.
Much of this advice is admittedly outdated now. However, the ideas underpinning it – an approach to travel, nature, humanity and life itself – are timeless, as the opening line states: “Know how to tramp, and you know how to live.”
Anna Schurer Children on the Oregon Trail by An Rutgers
There are several books that have stayed with me over the years, so I will pick the one I bought again a few years ago. Children on the Oregon Trail by An Rutgers van der Loeff (original Dutch title: De Kinder Karavaan).
It is set in 1844, with a family travelling through America hoping to settle in Oregon. On the way both parents die, and the two eldest of the seven children have to look after the younger ones, find food, nurse them when they are sick and keep their spirits up. It is based on a true story and tells of desperation and deprivation but also hope and resilience. This is a story that taught me people can overcome a lot more than you would think, even at a young age.
Books have a way of weaving themselves into our lives, shaping our perspectives and staying with us in unexpected ways. Whether it’s a childhood classic, a thought-provoking novel, or a book that has offered comfort in a difficult time, the stories we cherish become part of who we are. We hope our choices have inspired you to reflect on the books that have left their mark on you, or perhaps to pick up something new. This World Book Day, let’s celebrate the power of literature to connect, challenge and endure.
