With World Book Day on March 5, Express took the opportunity to ask some of the bailiwick’s well-known faces about their favourite books.
Here are the page turners they picked off the shelf!
Jo and Andy Priaulx
Jo Priaulx MBE co-founded the Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation with her racing driver husband Andy Priaulx MBE.
She fell in love with the characters in L Frank Baum’s childhood classic, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ – with the possible exception of the Wicked Witch.
The book “never left my mind and just brings back fond memories of how one story can still mean so much many years later”.
Mr Priaulx, a three-time World Touring Car Champion, also went for a childhood favourite in ‘Swallows and Amazons’, by Arthur Ransome.
For him, the book “brought back wonderful childhood memories of bedtime stories and the pure joy of adventure”.
He loved its “sense of freedom, imagination and exploration”, which “quietly shaped my subconscious with a sense of curiosity, adventure and connection to the water that has stayed with me ever since”.
Steve Byrne
GSPCA Manager Steve Byrne said fantasy novel ‘Magician’, by American author Raymond E Feist “remained a favourite”.
Fittingly, for someone who runs an animal shelter, the lead character is called Pug.
Mr Byrne said the book and its sequels “entertained me during my night shifts” at various animal shelters, so he’d since “named many animals” after its characters.
In the books, Pug – an orphan – and his friend Tomas “grow and develop new skills battling the invading alien species”.
Books helped him “escape into another world”, he said, from sci-fi to “historic times like the Greek and Roman era”.
Christopher Beaumont
Another sci-fi fan is Sark’s Seigneur Christopher Beaumont, whose pick was ‘Foundation’, by Isaac Asimov.
The book introduced him as a teenager to the genre he’s “loved ever since”.
“He was probably the best science fiction writer and most importantly a great story teller,” he added.
Cameron Chalmers
Athlete Cameron Chalmers chose a much more down-to-earth book – ‘Touching the Void’ by Joe Simpson.
It’s a “true story about a disastrous climbing expedition” in the Peruvian Andes mountains, he explained.
The book “changed how I think about limits”, he said, adding: “It’s a reminder not to give up when things feel impossible and just focus on your next step.”
Lindsay de Sausmarez
Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, still has her school copy of ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’, by Gabriel García Márquez – “complete with all the thoughts I scribbled in the margins at the time”.
The “epic tale” charts seven generations of one Colombian family through “wars, miracles and disasters” in a “colourful tapestry of human stories”.
She told Express: “I love the way it presents magical events as ordinary, and ordinary events as magical.
“It encouraged me as a teenager to look at the world through a lens of anything being possible – an outlook that has carried me through life ever since.”
Jeannie Cameron
Alderney’s top politician, Jeannie Cameron, gave her vote to Ariel Lawhon’s ‘Code Name Helene’, a historical-fiction novel about real-life French Resistance fighter Nancy Wake.
The “young and fearless” agent – who won a George Medal and Legion d’honneur – “seemed able to stare down danger itself and face whatever the war threw at her”.
“She was an Australian who made Europe her home just like me, and she wore red lipstick just like me.”
“More should be known about her and that’s why she’s my heroine and I love this book!”
Greg Harrison
St James’ Deputy Director Greg Harrison chose Middle Earth over southern France, with his pick of JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
“It’s got adventure, a badass bunch of heroes, a rich tale of good versus evil (spoiler: where good prevails), huge backstories and a world to lose yourself in.”
Mr Harrison struggled to read as a child, because of his dyslexia, so his father used to read with him and his brother.
“My battle of Mordor is now the battle for art, culture and heritage – but I am very much looking forward to returning to Middle Earth with my son when the time comes,” he said.
Steph Watkins
One novel that’s definitely not a “bedtime story for the kids” was local radio presenter Steph Watkins’ choice, ‘Bunny’, by Mona Awad.
The novel’s “vivid language” was a smash hit with her as it’s a “bit on the feral side”, adding: “I do love a weird book!”
“Think ‘Mean Girls’ crossed with ‘Heathers’, but even weirder.”
Ms Watkins is “fairly new to reading for pleasure”, but had already rattled through seven books this year as it gave her a “safe space” to unwind, filled with escapism.
“I can’t stop talking about it!”
Ross Allen
The winner for Guernsey FC striker Ross Allen was Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series.
The footballer has been speaking to students around the island about the role reading plays in his own life, on and off the pitch, and how books help him to learn, relax, and stay focused.
The series, about “dysfunctional souls learning to love one another despite their flaws”, shaped his 20s.
Mr Allen may be used to hitting the back of the net, but said the book’s main characters had “a goal that may seem unrealistic, irrelevant, even pointless”.
“This story has everything, an epic fusion of adventure, western grit, fantasy, sci-fi, time travel and horror – woven together into something far greater than the sum of its parts.”
Books were “part of the fabric of my life”, he said.
“They’re where I turn to learn, to be inspired and to escape – they’re a quiet refuge that helps me unwind between games.”