Life on the inside: 10 uplifting books to read during isolation

You’re likely to have some extra time on your hands right now, so if you need an escape from self-isolation, here are some uplifting, heart-warming books aimed to help raise your spirits, give you hope and help you through difficult times.

1. In The Crypt With A Candlestick by Daisy Waugh (Piatkus, £16.99)

The story sees an oddball, eccentric family group gather to try to revive an old country house, with a murder thrown in for good measure. Outrageous and over-the-top, a perfect antidote to all real-life craziness going on.

2. Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb (Virago, published Apr 2, £14.99)

Kalb saved every voicemail message her grandmother – best friend and confidante – ever left until the day she died.

This tribute shows the fierce love they shared along with happy memories, as the author paints a picture of this larger-than-life glamorous figure. It’s full of truths, devotion and hard-won experience.

3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Pan, £8.99)

Following the intergalactic (mis)adventures of Arthur Dent, the book has sold over 15 million copies. To celebrate, special anniversary reissues of the five original volumes are being published. For old fans and new.

4. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell (Tinder Press, £20)

It becomes a heart-rending vigil when the boy and his twin sister, Judith, fall sick, but it also gives Anne Hathaway, Hamnet’s mother, Shakespeare’s wife, a shape and form that is both touching and provoking.  It’s tender, moving and hopeful.

5. The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley (Bantam, Apr 2, £12.99)

There, it is found and read by the cafe owner, who in turn writes about her own anxieties. And so the story progresses. It’s a heartwarming, laughter-and-tears story about the value of friendships and the importance of reaching out to each other.

6. Pretending by Holly Bourne (Hodder & Stoughton, Apr 2, £14.99)

It centres on April, working in a charity crisis centre for young women, who’s constantly disappointed in her dates.

She begins using her dating app to pretend to be what she sees as every stereotypical man’s dream: sexy, laid-back, casual and problem-free. The only snag is that she falls for the man she ensnares in her trap.

7. Grown Ups by Marian Keyes (Michael Joseph, £20)

It’s a sharp, wry tale about a seemingly happy family who harbour a plethora of contemporary problems from overspending and debt, to bulimia, family clashes and complications facing blended families. Despite the traumas, you’ll whizz through it with a smile on your face.

8. The Boy From The Woods by Harlan Coben (Century, £20)

It introduces readers to Wilde, a decorated former soldier who 30 years ago was found in remote woodland with no clue to how he got there or what had happened to him.

Wilde teams up with his pal, hard-hitting celebrity lawyer Hester Crimstein, when a local girl goes missing. Watch out for more of these – and one day you may even see Wilde on TV.

9. Saving Missy by Beth Morrey (HarperCollins, £12.99)

With a son and grandson living in Australia and a seemingly estranged daughter, things start to change when she meets some kind strangers in the park with whom she forms an unlikely friendship and then acquires a faithful dog, Bobby.

Could her life soon turn around? This big-hearted story shows that it is possible to live the life you choose. It’s HarperCollins’s biggest debut for 2020.

10. Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury Circus, £12.99)

It centres on an incident in which a young black woman who works as a babysitter for a wealthy white family is stopped at the supermarket for allegedly kidnapping the child that she is babysitting.

The incident sets off a chain of events which opens a string of debates, tackling the themes of race, political correctness and privilege, with brilliant observation and wit.