Literary links for World Book Day

As it’s World Book Day, here’s another of those occasional cultural interludes.. Award winning blogger [*ahem* – Ed], Shane Hegarty, wants to know “what one book you would recommend everyone read?” I’d agree HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy would be an excellent choice, and I’d disagree with Sinéad’s comment on the movie – it wasn’t great, but it was good. [Adds That was this Sinéad, btw. A different] Sinéad, at Sigla blog, also has 10 more related links. To which I’ll add the Guardian video of a young artist meeting Quentin Blake. And I’ll take the opportunity to repost my version of Melvyn Bragg’s 12 books that changed the worldHere’s my attempt.. admittedly, entirely subjective.. as Melvyn Bragg’s is –

Magna Carta (1215)

Johann Guttenberg’s Bible (1452)

Nicolaus Copernicus – On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (1543)

William Gilbert – De Magnete (1600)

William Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623)

Galileo Galilei – Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican (1632)

Charles I’s death warrant (1649)

Robert Hooke – Micrographia (1665)

Newton – Principia Mathematica (1687)

Thomas Jefferson et al – The Unanimous Declaration of Independence of the thirteen united States of America(1776)

Charles Darwin – The Origin of Species (1859)

Albert Einstein – Special theory of relativity (1905)

This time I’ll add an honourable mention to Andreas Vesalius – De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543, 1555)

Feel free to add your own suggestions.

Pete Baker