What have you read this year- which books have you loved? Here are my top five, highly recommended for quiet dark evenings on the sofa.
Bob Mortimer And Away
For someone who doubles up even just looking at Bob Mortimer this book was sent from heaven and it does not disappoint. You cannot not read And Away if you’re a fan. The Sunday Times Humour Book Of The Year, this book has been described as testament to the magic of finding your happy place in life, and it truly delivers. I can’t imagine not having it beside my bed for years to come.
Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice
If you love crime, get this. A brilliant follow up to The Thursday Murder Club, it’s a similar story line – revolving around a group of pensioners in Kent who solve murders – it has lots of surprising changes and will make you laugh and cry by turns. It goes a bit deep too, into the psyche of age: despite running rings around the police, the pensioners also show the frail vulnerability which creeps up with age in an entertaining and very relatable way.
Matt Haig, The Book Of Comfort
Not one I’d have bought myself, but I was lucky enough to be given this by an insightful friend who thought I needed another book by my bed to dip in an out of, giving reassurance and light hearted support, depending on my mood. How clever she was. This manual of reflections is all about hope and it’s the perfect counter to an increasingly stressful world. Home from work after a draining and bewildering day? Open this book and discover new ways to see the world, and yourself in the stories. It’s really wonderful.
Mick Mahoney & Kevin Chesters, The Creative Nudge
Here’s another one I might not have picked up, but am so glad I did on a recommendation. This book gives you simple steps to think differently: it shows you how to make simple changes to your routine in a method called ‘nudge theory’ (and lets face it, sometimes in life you need a nudge – or a good push – in the right direction) to recharge your thinking and get you back in gear. It helps restore your mojo and basically makes you remember why you’re bloody fabulous.
Tish Delaney, My Actual Heart Breaks
An exquisite slowburn of a love story. Mary Rattigan lives on a farm in the middle of nowhere at the mercy of her tyrannical mother until she gets pregnant at sixteen and married off to the enigmatic John Johns from the farm down the road. Twenty five years later, she finds herself taking stock of a life and a love interrupted.’
