Shaping lives one page at a time

In an age of screens, books continue to be popular and in celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, we asked Sunshine Coast Libraries team members and Strong Community Portfolio Councillor Taylor Bunnag to name the book that has most shaped their lives and why.

Taylor Bunnag - Strong Community Portfolio Councillor

• The book that has most shaped your life? I think there’s different books at different times of your life that shape you. As a child, The Wind in the Willows was a book I have fond memories of with my parents, but I think I associate the warmth of my parents more so than my fondness for the book. As an adult, the most fascinating books (two-part publication) for me - John Curtin’s War by John Edwards - provide an in-depth recount of Australia’s response to World War II under the prime ministership of John Curtin.  
• When did you read it? When the first edition was published, in around 2017.
• How would you describe it? Very non-fictional and a historical biography of not just a person, but also a nation going through arguably it’s most significant challenge.
• How did it shape your life? It fundamentally has shaped my views on how I see Australia and our role in the world. It also provided me with thinking on crisis management, strategy and diplomacy.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? We can learn so much from books. It’s fair to say that I’m a heavy non-fiction reader and I have never picked up a book and not learnt something. In the age of social media, books (in most cases, it should be stressed) are generally a source of truth.

Verena Prewitt - Senior Library Officer at Maleny Library

• The book that has most shaped your life?Nesthäkchen by Else Ury.
• When did you read it? I've been reading this series since my grandmother gave it to me when I was a little girl.
• How would you describe it? This is a very old but well-loved series about a little girl, Annemarie, growing up in Berlin in the early 1900s and follows her life as she faces various challenges and learns important life lessons, up until she is a grandmother.
• How did it shape your life? My grandmother received this series for her birthday in 1928 and gave them to me when I started to read. I've loved these books my whole life and reread them every so often, they were my first true book love and ignited my love for reading.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? A world without stories is like a sky without stars.

Tom Hogar - Library Officer at Caloundra library

• The book that has most shaped your life?Running Your First Ultra by Krissy Moehl.
• When did you read it? November 2023.
• How would you describe it? A how-to guide for running ultra marathons by a very accomplished ultra-marathon athlete.
• How did it shape your life? Having a physical resource was great to refer to for such a big event. It had week-by-week training plans, tips for managing fatigue, unhelpful thinking and other issues that can happen during the event. It made my training and race day much less stressful.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? Books are an amazing resource for entertainment, knowledge and mutual understanding. They help us understand different viewpoints, cultures and ways of operating in the world and reveal our shared humanity across time periods and locations.

Colleen Ryan - Collections Acquisitions Officer, Library Services

• The book that has most shaped your life?Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J. K. Rowling.
• When did you read it? In 2000.
• How would you describe it? A classic tale of good versus evil. This is the first in a series of seven novels written for children but enjoyed by all ages. The setting is a beautifully described world of magical witches and wizards. It’s full of wit, fun, friendship and danger.
• How did it shape your life? Whilst this is a fabulous and enjoyable story, it’s not only the story that shaped my life. My daughter was ten years old when we purchased the first three books in this series through her school’s book club. As our home is in a rural area, the two of us spent a lot of time in the car driving to and from work/school. To assist her reading and language development we decided that she would read the first book aloud while I drove. We both loved the story but loved the experience even more! So it continued… through the first four books. The Harry Potter series is still well loved in my family but the experience of sharing it so intimately together was a beautiful bonding that will never leave me.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? I think it is important to celebrate World Book Day because books truly do shape people’s lives in more ways than one person can imagine. Books bring together the imaginations of writers, illustrators, publishers, designers, sellers and readers! It is said that it takes a village to raise a child. That village is full of the people who make books.

Amanda Kennedy - Library Supervisor at Maleny Library

• The book that has most shaped your life? Very hard to answer as when you are an avid reader, so many books shape your life. If I can only say one, I will say Devotion by Hannah Kent.
• When did you read it? In the last couple of years.
• How would you describe it? Story of a family of Lutherans who come to Australia to escape persecution. Two of them form a bond of love and friendship that not even death can sever.
• How did it shape your life? I found this book so very moving and it brought me to tears. It came at a time when I was grieving and helped me to get through this period.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? Because what is the point of anything without stories or books?! They are our lifeline and our sanity.

Jenny Ryan - Heritage Library Supervisor at Nambour Library

• The book that has most shaped your life?Watership Down by Richard Adams. It was the first novel I recall reading that brought me to tears, as I was so invested in the lives of the rabbits and the destruction of their homes. It was probably the novel that deepened my awareness of the cruelty of humans.
• When did you read it? I read it when I was 10 during the summer school holidays. Thank God there were no wild rabbits in Yeppoon, as I would have rescued them all and brought them home to live.
• How would you describe it? This story depicts the trials of a family of rabbits who need to find a new home as theirs is being destroyed. It highlights human-like relationships and big themes of loyalty, love and friendship.
• How did it shape your life? Fiver, the rabbit who is a seer, predicts the destruction of the warren and compels the family to seek a new home. There is drama, violence, death and destruction, but also friendship and love. This novel is an adventure with all the dramatic elements.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? It is so important to acknowledge the impact of stories on our lives. A simple tale about rabbits that I read 45 years ago still reminds me of the power of words on human emotions and our capacity to feel empathy for another being.

Rebecca Lennard - Library Officer at Maleny Library

• The book that has most shaped your life?Aida’s Ghost by Patricia Bernard.
• When did you read it? When I was 12 or 13 years old.
• How would you describe it? When Ty and Haila become extras in “Aida” at the Sydney Opera House, they don’t expect to travel back to ancient Egypt, where poison and intrigue abound in the court of the Dying Kind, and an evil princess plots to kill her brother and seize the kingdom.
• How did it shape your life? After reading Aida’s Ghost, I started to wonder what it would be like to travel back to ancient Egypt, and then discovered caves in the local area that made me think about all the other places you could travel to. This ultimately led me into writing.
• Why do you think it’s important to celebrate World Book Day? Without books, the world wouldn’t be the same. We learn and grow with stories.

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