It’s no secret that I love reading books. Thanks to Goodreads and their yearly challenge, I push myself to read at least 50 books a year. I like to set aside an hour a day to read. I don’t always have that much time but I do what I can. When the pandemic first got serious here and my library closed until further notice, I thought I’d get a lot of reading done. What else was I going to do? I wound up spending all of March and the majority of April barely reading a few minutes. There was too much on my mind to focus on a book. Anytime I opened my Kindle, my brain lost any ability to concentrate on the words in front of me.
As I am entering the third month of this, I have been able to get back on the reading bandwagon. And I couldn’t be happier. Reading is the ultimate escape. You truly can get lost in a book. (Barbie knows what she’s talking about.) If you’re looking for escapism (and really who isn’t at this point?), then let me suggest some books to get lost in while you’re stuck at home.
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore – This book revolves around time travel in the same way The Time Traveler’s Wife does. It’s more about the human connections and time travel is the backdrop. Oona passes out at midnight on New Year’s Eve of 1982, which also happens to be her 19th birthday, and wakes up in the year 2015 at 51-years-old. Each New Year’s after that, Oona wakes up in a different time of her life. This is the first book I really got into since the pandemic hit and I highly recommend it.
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong – So you’re only going to enjoy this book if you enjoy Ali Wong’s humor. I suggest you check out her two comedy specials on Netflix. If you find yourself cracking up like I did, then get a hold of this book!
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert – Full disclosure, this book is a long one. I do think it could have been edited down by a couple of chapters, but that’s my only complaint. This is a great historical fiction novel based in New York City.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng – Reading this book gives you two ways to get lost. First you can get lost in the book and then the mini series on Hulu.
The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager – I am normally not a fan of mysteries but this one sucked me in. It switches from Emma Davis’s current adult life in New York City to her time as a young girl at Camp Nightingale where three of her friends vanished.
The White Queen by Philappa Gregory – I recognize right away that this book will not be for everyone. It tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who goes onto marry the King of England. It’s historical fiction very loosely based on facts. It’s highly entertaining and Gregory’s novels are my ultimate guilty pleasures. If you like this one, then there are several others in the same series.
What are some of the books you’ve used during this time to help you escape?
Am I Thirty Yet 
Thank you so much, I needed new recommendations!
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Thanks for doing this. You’re review was spot on. Really appreciate this. I added a couple of them to my list.
Hope you enjoy if you read any of them!
I watched Little Fires Everywhere, but I heard the book is massively different so I’m definitely adding that one to my list!
I wouldn’t say massively different but their are some big key elements that differ from the show and the book. Let me know if you read the book. I wanna know what you think!
Loss of focus, yes!
I usually read at bedtime, so depending on how easily I fall asleep, it may be for a couple of hours or a couple of minutes. Really need to give myself some quality time to read. My very favorite book from last year’s reading was The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. It’s about the pack horse librarians of eastern KY during the Great Depression. Great fictional tale based on real history, Extremely well researched but you’d have a hard time picking the facts from the fiction it’s so neatly tied together. The author really threw herself into the book, even living in a little cabin way back in the woods in southern Appalachia while working on it. Another good one, also weaving fact in fiction together marvelously is True Places by Sonja Yoerg. I also recommend the Inspector Gamache series by Canadian author Louise Penny. Good escapism and an interesting protagonist. Best to read these in order since the back story from one appears in the next one.
Ooh thanks for the suggestions. That one about librarians during the Great Depression sounds right up my alley. I’ll have to check it out.
LOVED Oona Out of Order so much! I feel like it’s just such a unique story? I wish the book was her whole life, I was disappointed when I realized it wasn’t, but it was good nonetheless. I’ve also read City of Girls, Dear Girls and Little Fires Everywhere, seems like we have similar tastes! I’ll have to check out the other two 🙂
Yes, I felt the same way about Oona Out of Order. I get why they did what they did. But it would have been so cool to see some of the other years play out as well.
Thank you so much for the recommendations I read “little fires everywhere” great read
Did you watch the TV show as well? I’d recommend it if you haven’t. It’s on Hulu.