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Cozy Reads To Enjoy While On Lockdown This Fall 

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Now that October has officially begun, the weather is finally starting to cool and people are gearing up for fall and all of its cozy glory. Reading is always a popular indoor activity to do by the fire on a cool autumn day, and now that we’re all enduring a global health crisis that forces everyone to stay indoors, it’s the perfect time to stock up on some new reads to welcome in the cooler season. Here’s a few options of good reads to get cozy with:

“Whale Day” By Billy Collins: Collins’ has a very distinguished style of writing that is often regarded as funny and light, which makes it easy to get into and keep reading. This book is his most recent collection of poems that is meant to take readers on a journey that will force them to use their imagination. The themes of life and mortality are threaded throughout the novel, and Collins hopes readers can enjoy the whimsical nature of the poems. 

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“The Book of Two Ways” By Jodi Picoult: Picoult is a New York Times bestselling author, and her most recent novel has been reviewed as the perfect read to enjoy while sipping on your morning coffee. The story follows Dawn Edelstein who’s in the middle of a flight when she has to prepare for a crash landing. She ends up surviving the crash only to realize that when her life flashed before her eyes she wasn’t nearly as satisfied with what she’s done so far, so she makes some major changes and aims to find the man she fell in love with 15 years prior. 

“The Thursday Murder Club” By Richard Osman: Now that it’s October and spooky season is officially here, it’s time to break out some scary stories. This novel is the first by author Richard Osmand and tells the story of four friends in a retirement village that meet up weekly to talk about unsolved crimes. As the story develops the group of friends notice more local murders are taking place, and it’s up to the Thursday Murder Club to solve the cases. 

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“The End of Her” By Shari Lapena: Keeping up with the Halloween theme, this novel is a great new suspense story that centers around an average couple, Stephanie and Patrick, as they raise their twin daughters. They’re family is relatively nuclear, until a woman from Patrick’s past appears one day and accuses him of murder. The accusation is just the beginning of a whole slew of lies that Stephanie finds out about her husband, leaving her confused and in need of the truth. 

“No Time Like The Future” By Michael J. Fox: This is a memoir collection of stories from Fox, as he discusses illness, health, family, friends, and life in general. The book won’t be available to purchase until November 17th, however, the timing makes it the perfect gift for any memoir lover in your family. Fox openly discusses his ongoing experience with Parkinson’s disease while threading in his classic humor throughout. 

“The Little Ghost Who Was A Quilt” By Riel Nason: This book is perfect for younger children who love Halloween, but want to keep the holiday light and innocent. This novel follows a little ghost who stands out when compared to his ghost friends. All of his other friends have classic white sheets to disguise themselves while the little ghost is left with a quilt, making it hard to fly as fast as the others. However, on Halloween he learns a very valuable lesson about what it is to be an individual, and that it’s okay to be special or different from what everyone else considers “normal.”

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Books To Motivate And Inspire You During Quarantine 

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2020 has definitely been one of the most difficult and unpredictable years for all of us. Now that we’re all used to being home and are continuing to wait out the rest of this pandemic until some sort of vaccine is released, many are continuing to figure out ways of occupying their time. Many have taken up reading more now that they actually have the time to do so. Here’s a list of leadership/motivational novels that are regarded as being extremely effective in helping readers remain more positive during these uncertain times:

Friday Forward By Robert Glazer: Bestselling author Robert Glazer wrote this book for industry and company leaders who need the motivation to keep not only their team, but themselves, going during difficult times. The book is a curated collection of over 50 stories that Glazer has experienced or witnessed himself. These stories are meant to inspire readers and help them get through specific situations that can arise in any company culture. 

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Daring Greatly By Brene Brown: This novel focuses on the art of vulnerability in the workplace. Throughout 2020, we’ve all had to make occupational adjustments, and have discovered newfound skills and techniques for getting through our day-to-day responsibilities. Brown wanted to take all of those new techniques, and share them with readers so they can learn from others and improve their own personal work habits. 

Girl Decoded By Rana el-Kaliouby: el-Kaliouby is a technology entrepreneur by day, and in this memoir she shares her transformative experience of going from shy, soft-spoken child growing up in Egypt, to one of the world’s biggest authorities on human interaction with artificial intelligence. Her book is meant to present a positive future for human beings and technology, and show that you can start from anywhere and make it as big in the world as you want. 

The Garden By Jon Gordon: Gordon is a bestselling author, and in his most recent book he drew inspiration from his experiences working with top CEOs, athletes, and organizations throughout the world, and shared those experiences so that readers can see how normal all of these major figureheads actually are. The purpose of this novel is much like Girl Decoded in the sense that it’s meant to leave the reader with an overall feeling of inspiration and positivity in terms of their future. 

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Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe The World By William McRaven: This novel outlines lessons that were in a speech given by Admiral William McRaven. In this specific speech, McRaven shared the 10 principles he learned during his Navy Seal training that helped him overcome various challenges not just in his career, but in his own personal life. The speech itself went viral and gained over 10 million views shortly after being posted online. 

The Four Agreements By Don Miguel Ruiz: This novel is subtitled “a practical guide to personal freedom,” and it’s meant to do exactly that. In this book Ruiz attempts to discuss the many common “mental roadblocks” that all humans experience that prevent us from living in the moment and being happy. The novel gives advice on how to properly self-reflect on your actions without punishing ourselves for past mistakes or wrongdoings. 

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance By Angela Duckworth: Angela Duckworth is a psychologist who wrote this novel as a means of telling her readers that if they want to be successful, they need to embrace their individual grit. This “grit” is made up of a “unique blend of passion and persistence,” and when used right, it can lead us to amazing things in our lives and career.