How Books Saved Lockdown

The year 2020 was one hell of a year! And the start of 2021 hasn’t been much different. Especially here in England where we are still in lockdown! It’s crazy to think this time last year we were only just going into the first lockdown and we were optimistic that it would be over in a couple of weeks. Living through a pandemic is hard and we all had to adapt to this new way of living and finding things to occupy ourselves. Worry not, this is not going to be a really depressing post about how terrible the times we are living in are. Instead I’m focusing on the positives.

Lockdown gave us all time to reflect, to think about those most important to us and have a bit of a breather from our usually hectic everyday lives. One thing that saved my sanity and lockdown was books! I know this isn’t a surprise to you all… after all you’re currently reading a book blog! I’ve always been a huge book nerd, I mean this blog started 10 years ago, but I came to appreciate the joy of literature in a new light during this pandemic. No longer did I need to rush in a couple of chapters here and there in between working, looking after my pup and socialising with friends. I was able to sit for hours on end and just lose myself in the pages of a book and live every moment. It reminded me of how I used to be when I was younger, when I first started this blog and didn’t have to do adult things. It made me appreciate the art of these books so much. And this blog is essentially a thank you to all authors for the blood, sweat and tears that they pour into these books for us to lose ourselves in. We are able to crack open the spine of a book (or turn on an e-reader) and forget about everything that was going on in the world and lose ourselves in fiction, or learn a new skill if you’re more into non-fiction. They saved lockdown for us bookworms and I cannot thank them enough!

Here I want to share with you the three books that saved lockdown for me. That I devoured in a matter of days and obsessed over talking about them with my bookish friends.

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Aurora Burning released in May 2020, right in the middle of our first lockdown and as I was currently off work at the time it came out I was able to devour this one in just a few days. I am completely obsessed with this series and I was able to just fall into this incredible intergalactic world and be part of Squad 312 for a while.

Sanctum by Hannah McBride
Part way through last year Hannah McBride released her debut novel, Sanctum. I was able to just jump into this book without a care in the world and I fell head over heels in love with the story, world and characters. I loved every single second of this book. I was also very lucky to become friends with Hannah this past year and I value her friendship so very much. She most definitely saved lockdown!

From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L Armentrout
You knew it was coming… right? The person who single handedly saved so many of us from the horror of being locked in our homes. Just a week or two after many countries went into lockdown Jen did a surprise drop of this phenomenal fantasy book! She gave us all something to obsess over and discuss. Not only that but since then she has dropped the second book and is about the drop the third in a little over a month’s time. Not only did she give me this awesome series to lose myself in but due to this book I have made many, many bookish friends who have been a huge help over this past year.

So there you have it! Those are the books that saved my sanity! I can’t thank these authors enough for everything that they have done. You have definitely saved my life this past year! Your hard work does not go unnoticed and we are so very thankful for everything that you do!

What was it that saved lockdown for you?