6 Books to Read in Lockdown 2020

It has been a year. A year where many of us have probably watched way more TV than we ever knew possible, and perhaps read a lot more books too. I’ve pulled together six of my favourite books to read in lockdown from the books I’ve read so far this year.

In Cambodia, we haven’t had a strict lockdown but living in (what used to be) a tourist town means that life is very quiet.

At the beginning of this year, I told myself I would read more fiction. I had got slightly obsessed with reading self-help books, and rather than making me feel better – I was feeling worse. So this year I told myself that for every non-fiction book I read, I would read a fiction book too.

It’s worked! This new reading habit gives me lots of variety, along with some escapism through fiction AND an expanded world or self-view through the non-fiction.

Lots of books I have read this year have been great, but below are my top 6 to read in lockdown.

Three fiction and three non-fiction, take your pick!

6 books to read in lockdown:

Fiction:

The Silent Treatment by Abbie Greaves

Abbie’s debut novel is heart-warming and heart-breaking, I cried a lot towards the end. It follows the story of Frank and Maggie.

Frank hasn’t spoken to Maggie for six months, and it takes a tragic event for their story to unfold and for the silence to be broken.

I read this from start to finish in one evening, staying up until 2am. Highly recommend, and it’s only 99p on Kindle right now.

The Love Square by Laura Jane Williams

I love Laura’s writing, it’s fun and easy-to-read whilst being witty and engaging. I read Our Stop last year and was excited for her new novel. In a year where a lot has felt heavy, The Love Square was a fun way to escape!

The Love Square centres on the life of Penny Bridge, a Londoner who has always been unlucky in love but who finds herself with three love interests to choose from. It did in parts make me feel depressingly single (but that’s just me), but I loved the book from start to finish and again stayed home one weekend afternoon to finish it.

Buy The Love Square here

The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

This is a book and a half! It’s long, so perfect if you want to get your teeth stuck in to something which won’t be over in a night. 642 pages make up the story of the Sorrenson family, two parents and four daughters. The Most Fun We Ever Had follows their journey from the parents meeting through to the daughters adulthood, with chapters jumping back and forth and focusing on each of the family members at different stages and ages in the novel.

If you like reading about families and relationships, you’ll love this book. I have a big, messy, family so I think in parts I related to lots of it – but regardless of that, the intimacies of sibling relations and the complications of human relationships make it a relatable read for anyone. I absolutely loved it and was sad when it was over. It’s funny, and gripping, and poignant all in one. You can buy it here on Amazon and Kindle, and order from all book shops.

Non-fiction:

Essentialism by Greg Mckeown

This isn’t a new book; in fact it has been recommended to me a hundred times. I even started it earlier in the year but put it back down. And then I was feeling frazzled, like I was trying to do too much and I picked it up again.

Essentialism isn’t your typical self-help book; it doesn’t come with a load of promises or instructions. Instead it focusses on the disciplined pursuit of doing less. In a world that tells us to do more, more, more – or at least that’s what I see – permission to do less can be freeing. Essentialism “challenges the core assumption of ‘We can have it all’ and ‘I have to do everything’ and replaces it with the pursuit of ‘the right thing, in the right way, at the right time’.” And is a message I really needed in 2020! Buy Essentialism here.

On Being Human by Jennifer Pastillof

Before 2020 I had never heard of Jen Pastillof, and my life was worse for it! I stumbled upon her awesome yoga classes on Yogagirl’s platform and I am so glad I did. She teaches yoga with affirmations and it is SO GREAT, highly recommend (if you like yoga).

Anyway, after I found her classes I wanted to know more about her and did the usual Instagram follow and podcast search. I found she’d written a book too, it is a memoir of sorts: On Being Human. Jen has overcome a lot in her life, and it’s an inspiring story that will make you feel less alone.  As it says in the book promo “through her journey, Jen conveys the experience most of us are missing in our lives: being heard and being told, “I got you.”” I don’t know about you, but I really need to be told “I got you,” this year. Buy On Being Human here.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Renni Eddo-Lodge

 I read Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race when it came out, but I re-read it this year during the black uprising. I have read a lot of books in an attempt to better educate myself on white privilege and the inbuilt-racism both in myself and the UK, but I return to this one by Renni as I find it informative and digestible.

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race is an exploration of what it is to be a person of colour in Britain today. The book covers “issues from eradicated black history to white privilege, the fallacy of ‘meritocracy’ to whitewashing feminism, and the inextricable link between class and race. When I first read it, it was a wake-up call to me of my own white privilege and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get an understanding of the structural and institutional racism occurring in our homes.

I listened to Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race and would highly recommend it, narrated by Renni Eddo-Lodge herself. Listen here (free with an Audible trial).

What books have you read during lockdown 2020?

I’m always on the lookout for new reads. Next up on my list I have the novel Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth and the non-fiction Claim Your Power by Mastin Kipp.

If you’re looking for more reading inspiration, take a look at Booze Free: 6 Books about Sobriety to get you Motivated and 13 books that changed my life. I also wrote a long list of the best books I read in 2019.

Let me know what you’re reading in the comments below, or over on Instagram @laurievmcallister.