The books we've loved during lockdown

As you might have gathered, we love a good book and during lockdown we had more time than usual to indulge our passion for reading.  For us, reading a good book is an escape; a chance to switch off from real life and immerse ourselves elsewhere. A much-needed retreat.

Here are the books we've loved during lockdown, we've included Amazon links so you can see the books, but get them at your little local book shops if you can...

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

You might have seen this pop up on our Instagram feed and with good reason - it's one of the best books we've read in a long time.  A beautiful, moving story of love of many kinds, underpinned by the wildlife and nature of the marsh. The story focusses on Kya and her life in the marsh she calls home. You'll root for the her the whole time, despair of the casual cruelty of human beings and fall in love with Jumpin and Mabel.  This is a slow burner rather than a page turner, but at the end of it, we felt we'd really known and genuinely befriended Kya.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Another one of our favourites, this is long but when we finished it, we shed a tear that it was over.  The story takes the form of a long letter, written by Vivian, who is like the scandalous, outspoken great auntie we never had.  It tells of her life in the glamourous 20s in a raw, gritty and very unforgiving way and we loved it.  The latter part of the book is devoted to her love story which is unexpected and gorgeous.  We wept.

Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins

David Goggins is the only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller. He went on to set records in numerous endurance events including achieving a Guiness World Record for the most pull ups in 24 hours - he did 4030 can you believe?!  This is his story. He believes that we are all only tapping into only a tiny percentage of what we're capable of.  It's sweary, gruesome at times, VERY honest and is good to draw on when times get hard.  We loved it.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This drew us in so much we had to google the band to check if it actually existed and we'd just missed it.  Daisy Jones & The Six tells the story of a Fleetwood Mac-esque rock band in the hedonistic 1970s.  Drugs (a lot of drugs), sex and rock and roll and an enduring love story that will stay with you.  We devoured this in one sitting.  Couldn't put it down.  A real treat.

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

This is a short and fast book but a page turner.  Korede tells the story of her sister Ayoola who is rather ruthless when it comes to dating - and man is it clinical and brutal.  Shocking and gripping, we were a bit startled when it ended.  A story of enduring sisterly love and a person who literally just does as she pleases - with quite horrifying consequences.  Different.  We liked it a lot.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Suffering withdrawal symptoms following Daisy Jones & The Six, we moved on to this gem.  A completely different book, story, era, but just as compelling.  We follow Evelyn throughout her life as she tells her story to writer Monique. Set against the backdrop of Old Hollywood, sexism, racism and prejudice, the book charts Evelyn's journey from someone who lived her live within the constraints dictated by others, to a woman set free. Makes you think twice about compromising your choices because of prejudices within society. Made us feel a bit more determined to make choices that are right for us.