If like me, you are thinking you’ll self-isolate as much as you can over the next few months, you might have some more time to read. I highly recommend escaping into a good novel when you’re feeling a little bit anxious or overwhelmed by the news.

Here’s a list of novels I’ve enjoyed over the years. Not all of them are new, but they’re all compelling reads.

The list is in random order, just as I thought of them. But the titles in bold are the ones I love the most, the ones with an asterisk (*) are not particularly relaxing and the ones that say YA are written for teens (but loved by Yvette).

House Rules | Jodi Piccoult

Saving Francesca | Melina Marchetta (YA)

I Capture the Castle | Dodie Smith (YA)

All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr

The Time Traveller’s Wife | Audrey Niffenegger

Cloudstreet | Tim Winton

The Dry | Jane Harper

Force of Nature | Jane Harper

We Need to Talk About Kevin | Lionel Shriver *

The Dutch House | Ann Patchett

Where the Crawdads Sing | Dehlia Owens

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Society | Mary Ann Schaffer

The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Mark Haddon (YA)

To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee

Jayne Eyre | Charlotte Bronte

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared | Jonas Jonasson

The Lovely Bones | Alice Sebold

Memoirs of a Geisha | Arthur Golden

Water for Elephants | Sara Gruen

A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman

The Book Thief | Markus Zusak

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter | Kim Edwards

What Alice Forgot | Liane Moriarty

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | John Boyne

Looking For Alibrandi | Melina Marcetta (YA)

The Bronze Horseman Trilogy | Paullina Simons

Boy Swallows Universe | Trent Dalton*

The Light Between Oceans | M.L Stedman

The Dressmaker | Rosalie Ham

The Lost Man | Jane Harper

Small Great Things | Jodi Picoult*

A Spark of Light | Jodi Picoult*

Bridge of Clay | Markus Zusak

The Rip | Mark Brandi

I Do Not Come To You By Chance | Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Wimmera | Mark Brandi*

The Lake House | Kate Morton