International best-selling novelist Marian Keyes (Watermelon, Rachel’s Holiday and The Break) has today revealed her Ultimate Comfort Reads for challenging times, with a curated list shared on Bookshop in support of indie bookshops, and to mark the paperback publication of her globally acclaimed Sunday Times No.1 novel, Grown Ups (Penguin Michael Joseph, £8.99).
Confessing she’s “personally … desperate for a holiday from reality and from my head”, Marian’s recommended reads will offer readers some much-needed solace and escapism into a world of bookish pleasure during lockdown, and beyond.
From Booker-nominated debut novels to fiercely funny memoirs, and from heart-warming stories turned into much-loved TV series to feminist retellings of traditional fairy tales, Marian’s curated list aims to inspire, engage and entertain, as an antidote to the difficult times we’re living in.
Marian’s list includes: Stella Gibbons’s Cold Comfort Farm, a classic comedy novel named one of BBC ‘100 Novels That Shaped Our World’; The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill, a feminist reimagining of The Little Mermaid; My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite, the sensational debut novel nominated for the Booker Prize in 2019; Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe, a laugh-out-lout memoir adapted into a popular BBC series by Nick Hornby; Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, a Pride and Prejudice catapulted into our modern world; Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce, the Sunday Times best-seller chosen as a Richard & Judy Book Club Pick; the WWII romance The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson, based on the author’s own experience as a refugee.
The list has been released by Bookshop.org – the alternative to Amazon for shoppers wanting to support independent bookshops when they shop online. Celebrated by critics, readers and booksellers, Marian is known for her untiring support of independent bookshops. She was one of the first authors to take part in “At Home with Four Indies”, the virtual series of events launched in lockdown by independent booksellers from Linghams (Heswall), Booka (Oswestery), Book-ish (Crickhowell) and Forum Books (Corbridge).
Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups, said: “Life is very challenging at the moment and personally, I’m desperate for a holiday from reality and from my head. Reading has always been a huge pleasure for me but because so much fear is circulating, there are lots of subjects I’m currently not able for. I’ve put together a collection of titles that I’ve found engaging, uplifting, distracting and entertaining. I hope that some of them give you enjoyment and respite. I am thrilled to share this list on a platform that supports the vital work of independent bookshops.”
One of the most successful novelists of all time, Keyes’ books have sold over 30 million copies in 33 languages, and her writing has received several accolades, including the British Book Awards, the Irish Book Awards and the inaugural Melissa Nathan Prize for Comedy Romance. In the last year, Marian has been chair of judges for the Comedy Women in Print prize, and the second series of her instant hit, Between Ourselves, will air on BBC Radio 4 on 18 February 2021.
Marian joins a growing number of authors to share a curated reading list on Bookshop.org, such as: Elena Ferrante, Malorie Blackman, Nikesh Shukla, Emma Gannon and more. Author reading lists on Bookshop.org have proven to have a tangible impact on sales figures for the books they feature, shining a light on many lesser known works beyond bestseller lists.
Marian Keyes’ Ultimate Comfort Reads:
- The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson (Pan MacMillan)
- Oh My God, What A Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen (PRH)
- I Never Said I Loved You by Rhik Samadder (Hachette)
- Gravity is the Thing by Jacqueline Moriarty (Atlantic)
- Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny (Harper Collins)
- Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe (PRH)
- Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Ranjeev Balasubramanyam (PRH)
- Writers and Lovers by Lily King (Pan MacMillan)
- The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill (Scholastic)
- The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan (Little, Brown)
- Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (PRH)
- Filter This by Sophie White (Hachette)
- The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield (PRH)
- My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic)
- The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abi Waxman (Hachette)
- If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane (Harper Collins)
- Odd One Out by Lissa Evans (Simon & Schuster)
- Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Bloomsbury)
- The Switch by Beth O’Leary (Hachette)
- The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard (Pan MacMillan)
- Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce (Pan MacMillan)
- Brother of The More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido (Bloomsbury)
- The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson (PanMacMillan)
- Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (Harper Collins)
What would you add?