My new year started in the same way as what feels like half the world; in a COVID related quarantine. If you also find yourself alone and turning to books as company, here are a few of my recent favorites.
I finished the book at the tail end of 2021. I brought it on vacation, thinking it would last me all week. However, I could not put it down. Not only was the story beautiful, but the characters were compelling. It was the perfect escape if you need a break from the modern world.
This book was perfect. I read it while I was home sick with COVID, and it provided a perfect, impossible to put down escape. It was imaginative, captivated, and held my attention (which was a rarity as my attention span had been at zero recently), and had so many unexpected twists and turns.
If you are looking for a happy, everything will work out okay, read; this is the book for you. It even provided me with some much-needed armchair travel. It reads like an early 2000’s rom-com without the cheese of (my ever loved) Hallmark. But, sometimes, we just need a book with a guaranteed happy ending. This is that book.
I found this book in early 2021 in the middle of France’s second lockdown by google, books when you need hope. This is that book. The writing is lovely, and the story is so hopeful. This book came into my life at the perfect moment, and I highly recommend it.
Early on in the pandemic (back when it was two weeks to stop the spread…), I could not consume anything new: no new TV shows, no new books, no new music. I wanted to know what was going to happen. I needed to know the ending. So for me, A Wrinkle in Time is always my go-to book in a season like that. It was my favorite as a child, and it stands the test of time.
This book found me in France’s third (and maybe final?) lockdown. It helped me through a reading rut. The characters have stayed with me a year later, and the story is one I come back to often. This is a beautifully moving family saga.
My book club read this book during the first lockdown, and it has become one of my all-time favorites. This book has the perfect amount of magical realism to make the story come alive. It is incredibly moving and heartwarming. I have also heard that it is great on audio.
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