5 Books You Should Read While Self-Isolating.

Looking for temporary escapism to reality while self-isolating?

You can turn to some quarantine reads instead of the usual endless scrolls on Netflix and Instagram. Use some of your time to get off any screen and plug off the news and constant horrific facts.

Giving yourself some quality time for reading books can change both mentality and spirituality drastically. So, grab any book in sight, your hot cup of coffee, and snuggle into your favourite spot for the ultimate leisure. Here, 5 of the best fiction/drama books to read in the times of lock-down to allow yourself to immense in an alternative universe, recommended by Flair’s editorial team.

• Platform Seven, by Louise Doughty

Louise Doughty, who is known for her most recent thriller Platform Seven, has outdone herself with her ninth novel. This is not a soft-story for the faint of hearts, this thriller pretty much reflects Doughty’s style in writing; edgy, and dwelling in the human’s psyche. she takes on the most up to date of topics, forcible control, and paint it between Lisa, the ghostly tool of a narrative, and her pretentious boyfriend. How a relationship appears to be versus its reality and all in between with somehow a spiritual appearance of Lisa after her questionable death in the upmost vague circumstances. You will not blink throughout the pages, so this is a must.

• Heartburn, by Nora Ephron

Still sticking to number seven, we bring to you this semi-biographic artsy piece. Narrating the almost-entire story of her life and marriage to her husband, Rachel Samstat, a journalist whom she discovered to be in love with another woman while expecting a child in two months. The Sleepless in Seattle writer refreshes our minds that comedy relies on agony as certainly dough depends on flour and butter. Knowing of her husband’s cheating, Samstat finds comfort in her food recipes for she writes cookbooks for a living. The novel offers irony, comedy, and deliciousness all at once. You can get a recipe or two to try while still in quarantine. 

• A Man Called Ove, by Fredrick Backman

A cranky yet sweet guy believes his isolated world turned upside down when a wild noisy family moves in his neighbourhood.  Ove is a grouch grumpy type of man who detests anything related to chaos or noise, he hates intruders and would rather stick to his usual smooth routine. His image reflects that unfriendly neighbour to those living around him; however, behind this cranky face, there is more to his looks than what it seems. After moving in, the neighbours unravel the story behind him in a series of comic incidents that lead to a lasting friendship. The story takes place post the death of his wife and reveals how healing can arise with the unlikeliest of people, in the unlikeliest of paths.

• 28 Summers, by Elin Hilderbrand

When Mallory Blessing’s son gets deathbed notes from his mother to contact a number hidden in her desk, he was astonished to hear who answered his call. Jake McCloud, who is married to the frontrunner in the next presidential elections speaks to him on the phone. Trying to figure out the connection between his mother and McCloud, he figures out the past of the secret relationship between them over the past almost three decades. Their relationship has changed them and the people they love for good.

• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear

This book gives a demonstrated structure for improving daily. James Clear presents the top-notch world leaders’ notion of habit establishment and unravels practical framework to be the expert on human behavior and mechanism. He explains how habits, in general, are related to our system, and how can this system identify with the best habits or choices taken. In a series of chapters with business leaders, athletics, physicians, and influencers, you will be taken on a journey of improving yourself through your habits and hopefully, you will find the motivation to do so.

By: Nadine Mustafa