Favourite Reads 2009

Favourite things we have been reading during 2009

At the close of 2009 we thought we would share with you some of our favourite reads of the year.

Claire Styles, who leads our young people's projects.

"Grimm's Fairy tales. Love the intricate storytelling, archaic language and fascinating insights into post-medieval rural life. Particularly relished the gruesome consequences for various witches etc. - crushed by millstones, roasted in hot ovens, forced to dance in molten shoes, served as stew... Perfect for bedtime!"

Brenda Read-Brown, who works on our young people's projects.

"This is Water by David Foster Wallace. It's a very short book, with only a sentence or two on each page, but if you haven't time to read it all, just page 120 would do."

Liz Dubber, who heads up our programmes.

"I finally read Philip Roth this year and was captivated by American Pastoral. It shows a harsh underside to the American dream, yet still manages to be optimistic and life affirming."

Sandeep Mahal, who manages our publisher partnerships.

"Sum: Forty Tales of the Afterlives by David M. Eagleman. The simplicity and originality of the short stories just blew me away. The book is about the essence of living and each short story explores the preciousness of life. Each story is around a page and a half and the language is just captivating. Everyone should read it!"

Tricia Kings, who leads our children's projects.

"I've got two and can't decide; they kind of go together as an inspiration about making the most of your life. Biography of Frances Partridge (lived till 103, an inspiration about life and how much people matter) and Bright Star/So bright and delicate - love letters and poems of Keats to Fanny Brawne (this time such a short life and such beautiful thinking and writing)."

Jenny Warner, who manages the office.

"I enjoyed Home, the Orange prize winner."

Debbie Hicks, who directs our research.

"Kate Atkinson's When Will There Be Good News. I love her writing because it peels back the top layer of ordinariness from everyday life to remind us of its bizarre and darker side."

Genevieve Clarke, who leads our adult literacy learners projects.

"I loved and wept over A Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry. It's a powerful and emotional tale of the early life of an elderly Irish lady who's been incarcerated wrongly in a psychiatric institution for most of her adult years. I've done quite a bit of voluntary work with old people and they've always got a story to tell if you find the right way in."

Maureen Mucculloch, who is our director of finance.

"My choice for the year is Proust and The Squid by Maryanne Wolf. It is about the history and science of the reading brain and is multi-disciplinarily brilliant, neuroscience mixed with personal anecdote and Greek myths."

Deborah Hyde, communications consultant who looks after our media relationships.

"One of my most interesting and moving reads of 2009 was written nearly 2,500 years ago. It's Books 6 and 7 of Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War. Amidst all the recording of Greek politics and blow by blow battle descriptions there is some really powerful writing about the human tragedy of conflict."

Sue Jones, one of our consultants.

"The book that's stayed with me is Colm Toibin's Brooklyn which should have made the Booker shortlist! Beautifully and sparingly written it reminds us of the central importance of love in our lives and how we sometimes have to make invidious choices to do what is right for those we love."

Kate Ingrams, finance manager.

"I enjoyed Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. It's an autobiographical novel about growing up in Iran in a time of upheaval and, although the events took place in the 1980s, they are (depressingly) still being repeated in many countries today. I had never read a graphic novel before and was initially a bit sceptical about the format but ended up being impressed at how one small picture could express a wealth of emotion which might have taken half a page of narrative to describe."

Anne Sarrag, director of the Summer Reading Challenge.

"A couple of books which really sum up peace and meaning at this time of year and two children's picture books (which I shall be giving as presents to grown ups this year!) Michael Morpurgo & Michael Foreman The Best Christmas Present in the World, a story of the German-English football match and carol singing in the trench in 1914, and The Gift of the Magi by O Henry & P J Lynch, about a young couple who are very poor and sell something special to them to buy a gift for the other, with a twist."

Penny Shapland-Chew, director of resources and strategy.

"Grace Bowman's Thin really struck me. It's autobiographical about anorexia and it reflects lots of the stresses living in western World today brings. I've been very much feeling how important it is to try to enjoy life, which is fragile, and to try to relate to other people with humility and kindness. The book is about how a person can slide into being dysfunctional and about the strength of the human mind to find a way out of that (in Grace's case anyway).

Miranda McKearney our director.

"Mark Cocker's Crow Country was one of my best reads this year, amongst a bunch of wonderful nature writing, an emerging genre that mixes intense and scholarly exploration of the natural world with reflections on the writer's inner life. The implicit challenge is to absorb and be nourished by the everyday around us, to stop chasing the exotic and dive more deeply into the world close by."

Michelle Treagust, who manages our projects for adult literacy learners.

"The book I particularly enjoyed this year was the graphic novel _A Woman's World _by Graham Rawle. To create this full length full-length novel the author used fragments from women's magazines of the 1950s. What I found particularly enchanting was how the use of vocabulary from the 50s demonstrated how typography and language has evolved and changed since then."

Lynne Taylor, who manages our children's programmes.

"My favourite read of 2009 was the Suspicions of Mr Whicher. I loved it because of the sense of history, the atmosphere, the mystery, and the grisly murder story which was REAL! It's quite close to here, so we went to look at the house from the outside - creepy! I get shivers up my spine every time I think about it."

Natasha Roe, communications consultant who looks after our website and marketing.

"_The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society _is not only a contender for best title but is also a beautifully crafted book. The entire narrative is told through letters written by the inhabitants of 1940s occupied Guernsey who form an accidental book club, initially as an excuse to be out after curfew. A touching testimony to the power of reading and friendship in very tough times."