Reading is my tonic. I know I’m not the only one. There’s very few other things in life which completely transport you somewhere else; another life, another time, another place…without actually going anywhere. Not only offering an escape, but forcing you to be completely ‘in’ the pages of the book, leaving little brain space for outside chatter. Calming, restful, uplifting, all-consuming, enriching. There really is nothing like reading. At times like these, I am beyond grateful for my life-long love affair with books.

I’m going to keep writing down recommendations in the coming weeks and also posting on my @romy_reads Instagram and (NEW!) book club. Firstly I thought I would give you 15 reads to take you places….while we can’t go anywhere. Vivid landscapes, faraway countries, unknown cultures, different times…. (I also asked my equally book wormy Mum, who gave me some juicy recs too) 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Beartown by Fredrik Backman 

The Dry by Jane Harper

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini 

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

Villa America by Liza Klaussmann

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella 

The Island by Victoria Hislop

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

The Help by Kathryn Stockett 

Dominicana by Angie Cruz (currently reading & I’m loving it so far) 

I hope you find a few you like amongst that list and I also hope you manage to find some calm and joy by letting your mind go to another place for a little while. Thanks for reading, stay safe & sane x