Home Comforts | Uplifting Reads

You, like us, may have found yourself with some extra time at home. For those who always seem to be too busy to read the standout bestseller or underground sensation, now could be the time. It may not be possible to bury your head in the sand, but we highly encourage burying your nose in a book.

Not just the ultimate escapism, books are wonderful for their ability to engage the imagination and connect us to the lives and stories of our fellow human beings. Lose yourself in one of our book recommendations, perfect for whiling away the hours in comfort and being transported to pastures new.

This Mother’s Day, you can show your love from a distance by gifting one of the delightful, gripping, heartwarming stories below:

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Women Who Run with Wolves 

Dr Clarissa Estes 

“Within every woman there is a wild and natural creature, a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. Her name is Wild Woman, but she is an endangered species.”

Delve into the female psyche, guided by Dr Clarissa Estes, and find the Wild Woman within. Using myths, stories, folk and fairy tales, Estes introduces you to a female archetype you may have always known but likely never met. 

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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Jan-Philipp Sendker

A New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace and neither his wife nor his daughter Julia knows where he could have gone. After a desperate search for clues, the only thing they can find is a love letter he wrote decades ago to a woman in Burma that they have never heard of.

Julia sets out for the Burmese village where the woman lived, intent on finding answers, and uncovers her father’s past. A past filled with hardship, resilience, passion and heartwarming love.

Winner of the 2013 Indies Choice Honor Award, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats now has a sequel, A Well-Tempered Heart, for those who can’t bear to let the story go.

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The Vintage Caper

Peter Mayle  

If you can’t go to France, let France come to you. This delightful story by Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence and many others, involves the investigation of an ingenious heist by Sam Levitt, an unlikely hero brought in for his expertise in law, crime and wine.  

This whodunnit takes you on a deliciously indulgent ride from Los Angeles to Paris to Bordeaux and finally Marseille. With its quirky characters, evocative descriptions and clever plot, this novel is a five-course meal – with wine pairing! The best part about it? It’s the first in a series. 

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The Hidden Lives of Trees

Peter Wohlleben

What if trees could talk? What if, similar to a human population they can help each other, can share when one lacks and the other has plenty? In Peter Wohlleben’s ode to woodland, he explores the life cycle and amazing processes of trees. He presents the science behind the secrets of the forest, trees relationships with each other and our relationship with them.

As he says, “a happy forest is a healthy forest”. This book drives home the fact that protecting the natural world will benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth.

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Daisy Jones & The Six

Taylor Jenkins Reid 

This story chronicles the rise of a star, Daisy Jones, and the extraordinary life she lived through the rock and roll era of the late seventies. Daisy’s coming of age story coincides with the parallel life of Billy Dunne, lead singer of The Six. When a producer sees the potential for magic and puts them together, what happens next is the stuff of legend.  

This story will transport you to a hedonistic, intoxicating world of music and fame. More like a documentary on paper than anything else, a novel as compellingly written as this one is escapism at its best. If you enjoy listening to audiobooks, we recommend this one highly!

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Lilac Girls

Martha Hall Kelly

The lives of three women seemingly worlds away from each other are set on a collision course against the backdrop of WWII. A New York socialite, a Polish teenager, and an ambitious young German doctor form a dynamic trio of characters inspired by real women of history. 

The gripping story weaves between cultures and continents and is the result of Martha Hall Kelly’s exhaustive research into the Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp. Readers and lovers of historical fiction can move on to Lost Roses, the prequel that Kelly wrote after debuting with Lilac Girls.