COVID-19 book list - what we're reading instead of the news

As the global pandemic that is COVID-19 continues, so does our desire for escapism. Here are the books we’re switching off the news in favour of.

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Critically acclaimed nature writer Delia Owen’s first novel centres on a mysterious murder in a small town. The prime suspect is a young girl named Kya, who grew up isolated in the marsh of North Carolina, and whose life irrevocably changes when two young men take an interest in her.

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Former marketing executive Alka Joshi’s debut novel focuses on the story of a young girl escaping an abusive marriage. Set in India in the 1950s, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi flees her rural village to Jaipur, the vibrant pink city in Rajasthan where she becomes one of the most sought after henna artists (and confidante) to the wealthy women of the upper class. The new life she’s built for herself is threatened when her estranged husband reappears.

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

A cross between a memoir and fiction, Glennon Doyle’s Untamed taps into the joy and peace we discover when we turn to the voice inside us for guidance, rather than striving to meet external expectations set for us.

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Sally Rooney’s critically acclaimed second novel (and new Hulu TV series!) revolves around the relationship between Connell and Marianne, two teenagers who attend the same school in Sligo, Ireland. Normal People shows their relationship from their senior year of high school to the end of their university years, showing how they weave in and out of each others’ lives, and exploring their individual and shared insecurities and trauma.

Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

The debut novel by American celebrity profiler Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Fleishman Is in Trouble focuses on Toby Fleishman, a hepatologist, who is undergoing a bitter divorce from his wife Rachel, a successful talent agent. Set in Manhattan, Fleishman Is In Trouble deals with the themes of gender roles, marriage and divorce, online dating, midlife crises, and class anxiety, whilst simultaneously mocking and embracing the eccentricities of New York’s affluent professional class.

My Dark Vanessa By Kate Elizabeth Russell

Kate Elizabeth Russell’s – aptly titled – book is dark and complex, focusing on the story of Vanessa Wye, a thirty-two-year-old woman who has to reflect back to when she was fifteen and began a relationship with her English teacher. She recalls it being mutual love, but when the aforementioned teacher is accused of abuse by another student, Wye is forced to reevaluate everything she thought about their relationship.

Grown Ups by Marian Keyes

Johnny Casey, his two brothers Ed and Liam, and their wives are a close-knit bunch. Their kids are inseparable and they often enjoy weekends away together. Whilst there are the typical disagreements and people who like each other a little too much, everything stays relatively under control until Ed’s wife Cara, gets a concussion and can’t keep her thoughts to herself.

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

Deborah Feldman’s memoir explores her repression by and subsequent escape from the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism. Despite being raised under a code of relentlessly enforced customs dictating everything from what she could wear and to whom she could speak to what she was allowed to read, Feldman grew up into an independent-minded young woman, aided by the stolen moments she spent reading novels by Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Chances are you’ve heard of this New York Times bestseller. Gail Honeyman’s novel explores the themes of loneliness and the effect a kind gesture can have on someone’s life.

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