Five books to lighten Lockdown, by Deborah Jenkins

 I thought I'd do another Five Things post this month. Actually, that's not true. I was completely stumped for ideas and another ACW friend (I won't tell you which one but she's short and funny) said, Why don't you do a Five Things post? So here it is: Five recommended books to read, in no particular order. I hope you find something you like the look of.

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

I've loved all Rachel Joyce's books (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey, Perfect, A Faraway Smell of Lemons, The Music shop) and this latest one was no exception. Set in the 1950s, it begins by describing how Marjorie Benson, a beleaguered school teacher, suddenly drops everything to undertake an expedition to a small island in the Pacific Ocean to find a rare beetle. Despite the apparent madness of the scheme, we desperately want Miss Benson to succeed, relating to the things she hates most about her life: loneliness, boredom, spiteful teenage girls. However, there are malign forces at work, both in the people who want to assist her on the expedition, and in some she meets on the island. This is a thoroughly gripping and beautifully written book. Highly recommended. Currently in hardback only (from £12.65) but a lovely treat to read and worth every penny of the £9.99 I paid for it on kindle.

Writer value: - A carefully planned and clever plot which is helpful to dissect. Some lovely descriptions which remind you again that less is more: The fog made smudges of trees, people came and went like ink in water, sunsets like a sky of geraniums.

Lockdown value: - As a time when most of us can't travel, it takes you to another world with vivid descriptions of the culture, people and ex-pats of 1950s New Caledonia. The world of post-war Britain, with its many restrictions, is something we can all relate to at the current time.

The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes

To my shame, I did not think Jojo Moyes was my kind of writer. I was wrong. Attracted by the subject -  a group of women set up a travelling library for the poor and vulnerable in 1930s Kentucky - I started it with interest and then literally could not put it down. Moyes draws us in immediately with her description of Alice who has travelled from England to marry her new American husband only to realise she doesn't love him. Disliked by her domineering father in law and the gossiping townsfolk, she feels lonely and misunderstood. That is, until she finds daily escape with Margery O'Hare and the other women who take books by horseback to poor families in far flung corners of the mountains. But Alice's freedom, friendships and an unlikely love are threatened as the town turns against them. A vividly written and totally absorbing read which will have you wanting more of Jojo Moyes. The paperback is from £5. On kindle, it's £4.99.

Writer value: - The characters are described so well, they become friends. The opening lines are a lesson in atmospherics: - Listen. Three miles deep in the forest below Arnott's ridge, and you're in silence so dense, it's like you're wading through it. There's no birdsong past dawn, not even in high summer, and especially not now with the chill air so thick with moisture that is stills those few leaves clinging gamely to the branches.

Lockdown value: - Takes you to another place and another decade so vividly that you don't think about Covid for hours at a time. 

A Year of Living Simply, the joys of a life less complicated, by Kate Humble

Rightly or wrongly, I am almost exclusively a fiction reader, but this book appealed on several levels. I like the words, simple, joy and less complicated. I've always been attracted by the idea of living more simply but never really knew how to start. I like the chapter headings, which clearly demonstrate what each one is about, so you don't have to necessarily read them in the right order. Kate begins by describing how she felt led to start making small changes which would simplify her life and provide much needed moments of joy. She and her husband had already swapped their fast paced life in London for a cottage and small holding in Wales but she shows how you don't need to necessarily do this in order to simplify and improve your quality of life. Sharing, among other things, what she has learned about growing a productive and beautiful garden, buying less, and making your home more sustainable, Kate's writing is informative and easy to read with plenty of examples and personal testimonies. An inspirational and thought-provoking book if you want to find small ways to live a simpler, more enjoyable life. Hardback copies for £12 - £14. Kindle version is £8.99.

Writer value: - Kate tells stories about her life and those of the people she's met as a journalist, pulling out the things she wants to say about a simpler, less stressful way of living. I think this is an effective approach when writing something like this. Passion and a desire to share what you've learned, to help others, is a compelling reason to write. 

Lockdown value: - Much has been said about this whole Covid business being time for a rethink, reset. This book is an opportunity to do this. A cosy winter read, like a warm hug.

Health warning; Do not rush downstairs and tell your spouse you're now passionate about earthships and have decided when you both retire, you're going to build one. It might have the opposite effect.

Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

This amazing book is the kind of debut that has you reaching for the wine/chocolate and googling Jobs for failed writers. An utterly lovely read, author Delia Owens is a former zoologist and this debut novel topped the New York Times Fiction Bestsellers list for 25 weeks and was on there for more than a year. Painfully beautiful, the book straddles traditional genres as a murder mystery, coming of age, nature story set in the evocative marshland surroundings of North Carolina. Left to fend for herself, six year old Kya, the marsh girl, copes by learning to cook her dead mother's recipes and befriending birds and wildlife. Her passion for collecting and documenting items from the natural world lead her to meetings with two young men, with uncertain results. When something happens to one of them, the bigoted views of the nearby townsfolk result in the finger of suspicion being pointed firmly in her direction. How she copes and what happens next will have you reading way past lights-out and keep you thinking well after you've read the book's powerful conclusion. From £4.50 as a paperback and, unusually, more expensive on kindle at £4.99.

Writer value: - It's a debut. Owens had already written three non-fiction books so for those of us who already write non-fiction, her success in crossing over is encouraging. It really does seem to straddle genres which we are told agents and publishers don't much like. This proves if the writing is good enough, they probably won't mind (simples!)

Lockdown value: - It's a gripping, unrelenting and sometimes painful read. You will come out of it feeling grateful for 2020s England in a time of Covid.

The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett

I had been resisting Ann Patchett for years. Not sure why. I think I thought her writing would be similar to that of Anne Tyler who I like but can have too much of. They are very different. The Dutch House is a family saga dipping back and forth across five decades. It tells the story of a strikingly beautiful and unusual house and of the family who lived there. Danny and Maeve have vivid memories of their childhood in the house when their mother was alive and before their father remarried. At particular times of year, they still park outside it and share their perceptions of the past, as the story gradually unfolds. The characters are beautifully drawn and convincing, and at the centre of the story is the house, a sublimely described mansion which is so easy to visualise it becomes a character in its own right. An unusual but highly compelling read. From around £7 in paperback. £4. 53 on kindle.

Writer value: - The sense of place is exemplary and reminds me how powerful it can be to root a story setting in a strongly visual way. Patchett writes very simply but in a way that grabs you immediately, pulls you in and will not let you go.

Lockdown value: - If you're a bit bored of your own house and long to experience Lockdown in someone else's, this book is the one for you. Also, however much your family is annoying you, you'll feel grateful for them after reading about this one.

Click on the link to see the novella on amazon

Deborah Jenkins is a primary school teacher and freelance writer who has written articles, text books, devotional notes and short stories. She writes regularly for the tes. She has also completed a novella, The Evenness of Things, available as an Amazon e-book. She is currently seeking a publisher for her recently finished novel, Braver. Deborah loves hats, trees and small children. After years overseas with her family, who are now grown up, she lives in Sussex with her husband, a Baptist minister, and a cat called Oliver