Ah, there’s nothing like the joy of getting stuck into a new book. The perfect escape from the mundanity of lockdown, a good book will immediately transport you to another world filled with mystery/romance/history/alternative universes – all depending on what you fancy. And whilst it’s easy to mindlessly scroll through Tik Tok’s whilst watching yet another Netflix true-crime series, or half-listening to a podcast, it’s a task that requires your full attention – and so passes the time like no other.
But even in lockdown, with so many other distractions absent, devoting an hour to reading each day isn’t always possible. So, instead, even for the time poor, we challenge you to 10 minutes of reading before bed each night. It’s so important for our mental wellbeing and we all know it’s been proven to help aid sleep (something that pandemic has also robbed from us).
Whether you’re a serial reader whose ready to start the next story as the last page closes on your current read, or someone who's fallen out of reading and the momentum of it, we’ve found some of the absolute best new books for this month (and recent months too if you missed them), that should be on your nightstand.
For fans of Imbolo Mbue's debut novel, Behold The Dreamers, you'll be pleased to know Mbue's next offering is releasing this month. How Beautiful We Were tells the story of people living in fear amidst environmental degradation wrought by an American oil company, through the perspective of a generation of children. For literary thriller lovers, we'd suggest Who is Maud Dixon?; an exhilarating novel of suspense set in Morocco (just the place we'd choose to be mentally transported to right now!) And ahead of International Women's Day, Kate Hope Day's novel In The Quick - a story about a female astronaut's persistence and journey to self-discovery - seems a fitting read for the month.
Some books are out to buy now, some have been around for a while and others are available for pre-order so they can be delivered further down the line. In the world of book publishing, racking up decent pre-sales is actually really important - especially in an era when authors can’t host events and signings. So don't be put off shopping if the book you fancy isn't out yet. Pre-sales are factored into a book’s first week of sales, so they help to push new releases over the “Instant Bestseller” line. They also affect what happens behind the scenes - lots of pre-orders can cause a vendor to ask for a second order of books before the book is even out. How cool is that?
Our point: you’re doing the author a huge favour if you make a pre-order, now more than ever. So for any books on this list which aren’t out yet place a pre-order, forget about them and wait to be surprised when they drop through your letterbox on publication day. Happy reading!
