With Christmas around the corner, the work parties over and all (well, maybe most!) of your preparations for this busy time of year sorted, now could finally be the time to relax into the holidays. And what better way to do it than to switch off from the outside world for a while with a good read.
We don’t know about you, but the thought of sitting by the pool or at the beach with a tablet or a good book gets us pretty excited. With our lives being so busy during the working year, it isn’t always possible to get stuck into a really good book. So taking advantage of these precious quiet moments can help us to get in some me-time and recharge from what can sometimes be such a stressful time of year.
Aside from the enjoyability, reading also offers a number of health benefits. According to a 2009 study by researchers at the University of Sussex, reading for just six minutes can reduce stress levels by as much as 68%. And, another study which was published in Social Science and Medicine in 2016 actually found a correlation between reading and long lifespans.
So with this in mind, we have come up with our essential reading guide for these holidays to help you on your way.
The Testaments
As the sequel to Margaret Atwood’s ’The Handmaid’s Tale’, this deeply moving book is said to be jarring and dramatic and one that is hard to put down. Blessed be the author! Find it here>
Quichotte: A Novel
The New York Times best-selling author Salman Rushdie gives us this exquisite satire on the world we live in today. Quichotte is a metafiction that tells the story of an addled Indian American man who travels across America in pursuit of a celebrity television host with whom he has become obsessed. Find it here >
City of Girls
By the author of Eat Pray Love, this big-hearted and wise novel is set in the 1940s where frivolous and fun-loving Vivian Morris arrives in New York with the goal of “becoming someone interesting” – and in short order she is, but for all the wrong reasons. Find it here>
Dooce: Blog
Although there were personal websites that came before hers, certain elements conspired to make Heather Armstrong’s Dooce one of the biggest public diaries. Armstrong became one of the first high-profile cases of somebody being fired for writing about her job. Now covering such subjects as family life, postnatal depression, motherhood, puppies and her Mormon upbringing, and with an army of personal bloggers perhaps not directly influenced by, or even aware of, her work – she represents the hundreds of thousands who decide to share part of their lives with strangers. Find it here >
Run Away – Ebook
Master of suspense Harlan Coben brings us this thriller from the view of a parent whose daughter goes missing and doesn’t want to be found. Then spotted by chance, playing the guitar in Central Park is the drug-addicted girl, leading you into a dangerous world you never knew existed. Find it here>
Challenge Accepted
Funny woman, Instagram star and international comedy sensation, Celeste Barber’s Challenge Accepted! is a hilarious and outspoken guide to life, unwanted gas and how to rock a sexy scar. It’s real, like totally, really real. Find it here >.
Scrublands
Winner of the 2019 CWA Dagger New Blood Award for Best First Crime Novel, Scrublands by Chris Hammer is set in a fictional Riverina town at the height of a devastating drought, Scrublands is one of the most powerful, compelling and original crime novels to be written in Australia. Find it here >
Citizens of the World – Blog
Travel and lifestyle bloggers Meghan and Dominic Loneragan take us all around the world, cover lifestyle subjects from health issues to environmental hacks and even have a section for our little folk covering parental topics. This blog is as interesting as it is useful. Find it here >
Nowhere Child – Ebook
Inspired by Gillian Flynn’s frenetic suspense and Stephen King’s masterful world-building, The Nowhere Child is a combustible tale of trauma, cult, conspiracy, and memory. It is the remarkable debut of Christian White, an exhilarating new Australian talent. Find it here >
Back after the Break – Ebook
Our very own Osher Günsberg opens up in a powerful, dark, funny and heart-wrenching memoir about life, love and living with mental illness. Find it here >
