Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Reads That Provided Me an Escape During the Pandemic

 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Comfort Reads (Share which books or kinds of books you turn to when you need to escape. You can either share specific titles if you love to re-read, or you could share qualities of books you look for in a comfort read).  I decided to focus on reads that provided me a much needed escape during the Pandemic, particularly as we were going through months and months of isolation.  The kinds of reads I’ve highlighted here are reads that feature elements that bring me joy – both real families like the Murphy women of Peachtree Bluff and found families like we find in The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Break Up Book Club.  They also feature happily ever afters as in Very Sincerely Yours and The Simple Wild, as well as uplifting themes as in The Garden of Small Beginnings.  And finally yes, there are books such as Crazy Stupid Bromance that feature laugh out loud humor.  If you ever find yourself looking for a read that will provide you with a much needed escape from the reality of your life, I highly recommend any of these gems.

 

Ten Reads That Provided Me an Escape During the Pandemic

 

 

 

1. THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by T.J. Klune

2. THE KINDRED SPIRITS SUPPER CLUB by Amy E. Reichert

3.  THE SECRET TO SOUTHERN CHARM by Kristy Woodson Harvey

4.  THE SIMPLE WILD by K.A. Tucker

5. THE BREAKUP BOOK CLUB by Wendy Wax

6. VERY SINCERELY YOURS by Kerry Winfrey

7.  ACT YOUR AGE, EVE BROWN by Talia Hibbert

8.  CRAZY STUPID BROMANCE by Lyssa Kay Adams

9. THE GARDEN OF SMALL BEGINNINGS by Abbi Waxman

10. THE LAST CHANCE LIBRARY by Freya Sampson

 

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Question:  Have you read any of these?  What kind of read brings your comfort?

28 replies
  1. Mica - Away From The Blue
    Mica - Away From The Blue says:

    Oooh very sincerely yours is on my list, I want to read that one! The last library I read but didn’t enjoy as much as I thought I would. it was a good read, just not one of my faves.

    Hope you are having a great week!

  2. Angela
    Angela says:

    Love the Bromance books, they are always good for a laugh! I really leaned into romance books like The Simple Wild during the pandemic, too.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      Same. I’ve probably read more romance novels in the past 2 1/2 years than I had read in the 15 years prior to that, lol.

  3. Jo
    Jo says:

    I’ve not read any of these, I’m not really a big romance reader! I read mostly fantasy and historical anyway, so in that respect, the pandemic didn’t massively change my reading habits, but I did steer far clear of anything set in the real world even more so than usual! I think I read about 3 or 4 contemporary set books the entire year.

  4. Lark
    Lark says:

    I love the little spin you did with your TTT list this week; I know books were a huge escape and comfort for me during the pandemic, too. 🙂

  5. Anne - Books of My Heart
    Anne - Books of My Heart says:

    I’ve read 3 of these the Talia Hibbert, Lyssa Kay Adams and Freya Sampson. I enjoyed them all. I think my comfort reads in times of uncertainty tend to be police procedurals where there is an answer and a definite conclusion.

  6. Greg
    Greg says:

    The KA Tucker books look good, and I’ve seen a lot of love for them. Thank goodness for books during the pandemic, right??

  7. Sam@WLABB
    Sam@WLABB says:

    I read 9 out of 10 of these book, and I spy many favorites. Waxman always leaves me warm and fuzzy, and I adored Garden. It was exciting to revisit those characters in her latest book.

  8. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books says:

    I have such a strong tie to The Simple Wild. I read it just after a major life event and my thoughts and feelings about the book are forever tied to that time in my life. I imagine it colored my feelings in some ways, but it is such a special books to me. I’ve loved the whole series.

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