Team Bookends’ Lockdown Reads

We’re a month into Lockdown 3.0 and, unsurprisingly, Team Bookends have been keeping ourselves busy by reading. There’s a real comfort to be found in losing yourself within another world when your reality is rather bleak. We have read books that are uplifting, gripping, immeasurably sad, thought-provoking, or just absolutely charming. But what unites all of our reads is that they provide a form of escape, distraction, and enrichment that is keeping us afloat as we muddle through this chaotic time. Here’s what we’ve been reading…

Ellie

Going into lockdown no. 3 meant that I wanted to reach for books that I know will comfort me, but in a new and exciting way. I found myself listening to the audiobook of Jane Eyre for the first time, after having re-read the physical book countless times! I found it was a great addition to my daily walks outside, and I would even find myself being out on the walk for longer just to finish a chapter! Another book I have turned to during this lockdown was The Vanishing Half. I’d had the hardback for some months after seeing a lot of people rave about it last year, but it kept on falling to the bottom of my to-read list as it was a longer hardback. This lockdown allowed me to delve head-first into it, and I regret not reading it sooner! Believe the hype with this one.

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Shadé 

Just like the majority of the UK, I’ve taken up ‘walking’ as my lockdown 3.0 hobby and would dare to say that it’s the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. Alongside this, I’ve ordered three recent fiction releases to keep my imagination running whilst the real world is still looking pretty bleak: Girl A by Abigail Dean, The Push by Ashley Audrain, and of course, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. Shocker. I’m on a strictly fiction diet until I get through these three beauties, but I wouldn’t mind some cosy Non-Fiction to spice things up a bit. I’m talking, Hygge, Mindfulness, and ‘How Not To Burn Out’ kind of reading. And who doesn’t love to delve into a good cookbook? Recommendations are very welcome!

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Laura

I think we could all do with some sweet and uplifting books right now to distract from the craziness of the world. That’s why I turned to Rescue Me by Sarra Manning. It features a rom-com (who doesn’t love a romance?), an ADORABLE rescue dog, and is truly just a lovely book all-around! If you are a dog person and a sucker for a romance this is definitely a book for you, it’s also only 99p in Kindle this month – so get reading!

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Lipfon

Love in Colour is perfect escapist fiction! Bolu Babalola has beautifully rewritten love stories from history and mythology and it completely captured my heart! It’s definitely one to read as an antidote to all the doom and gloom around us.

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Ellie

I’ve been making my way through the very generous stack of books I was gifted for Christmas. One of those was Olivia Potts’ brilliant memoir A Half Baked Idea: How Grief, Love and Cake Took Me from the Courtroom to Le Cordon Bleu (which has the most gorgeous hardback cover). I gobbled it up over a weekend and was left with a plethora of new recipes to try out. Olivia’s memoir is both sad but also joyously uplifting; it starts with the unexpected death of her mother and follows Olivia as she quits her career as a barrister and instead, with no cooking ability, attends Le Cordon Bleu. There was a real comfort to be found in how Olivia found light in the dark, and in many ways, it gave me a morale boost during this lockdown. I highly recommend!

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Lucie

With Bridgerton well and truly on my recent watchlist I’ve gone back to an old favourite this lockdown, getting stuck back into all the drama of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. I love a period drama and Jane Austen’s smart, witty satire always strikes me as being so far ahead of her time. For lockdown, a feel-good book is just what I need for some much needed escapism.

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