Stand out books through the years
Through the years there have been some stand-out books which have become the ‘must-reads- for many – even those who are not regular readers but feel driven to pick up a title which everyone is talking about. FOMO (the fear of missing out) is a thing even in the literary world!
Thinking way back to the 70s Jeffrey Archer’s Kane and Abel was one of the main stand outs, along with Alex Haley’s Roots- even now both these titles are around having stood the test of time.
More recently in the last few decades stories like The Life of Pi, The Time Travellers Wife and The Kite Runner have all been successfully turned into popular films after becoming bestselling books – although it has to be said that the books where (and always are) better than the films. It is a completely different experience watching a screen with someone else’s interpretation than reading the story for yourself. Part of the magic of the whole reading process is allowing your own imagination to take flight and immersing yourself in a fictitious world.
There have been a succession of popular series on TV such as The Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Twilight Trilogy which have resulted in a marked resurgence in reading as fans can’t wait for the next episode to be aired so have resorted to reading the original material. Anything that results in turning people back to reading is always a positive in my book (pun intended!) but I can’t help wondering what they would have thought of the films if they had read the original books first. The Fifty Shades of Grey series had a mixed reception in the literary world but - love it or hate it – it has served to entice a whole new audience to the printed word.
The feelgood element in some of the more popular books recently addresses mental health benefits of reading as well as informing readers– Harold Fry and Eleanor Oliphant are two memorable characters who find redemption and comfort in connection with nature as well as with others. It seems that quirky characters are often the most popular with readers -the character of Elizabeth Zott from Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus being the most notable recently.
Exposing injustice in some form or other through fiction has always been an important element in popular novels – with The Book Thief and The Boy in Striped Pyjamas springing to mind as notable novels both shining a light on the Holocaust - but in the current economic and political climate I know I, like many others, value the ability to escape into a cosy world like those described in books such as Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club, or Robert Galbraith’s Strike series - both perfect for full immersion.
If you are looking for some entertaining Christmas reading you can’t go for wrong with either of these!
Happy Reading 😊
Bonnie Garmus – Lessons in Chemistry
