Feeling the cool weather blues? Here are 12 feel-good and inspiring books to binge
Looking for more of the best deals, latest celebrity news and hottest trends? Sign up for Yahoo Lifestyle Canada’s newsletter.
Yahoo Lifestyle Canada is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
Cold weather and shorter days means curling up on the sofa with a great book and a hot cup of cocoa.
As much of the world continues into varying stages of lockdown thanks to COVID-19, it’s as good a time as any to pick up your next few page turners and get reading. Whether you’re into inspiring memoirs, how-to books on spirituality or coming-of-age fiction, the Yahoo Lifestyle Canada team has a roster of stories perfect for your next escape.
ALSO SEE: Need help finding your next read? Here's what the Yahoo Canada team recommends
From Glennon Doyle’s latest hit book Untamed to the popular quirky, feel-good fiction Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, there’s a little something for everyone to feast their eyes on.
From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
Thistle’s debut memoir chronicles his life on the streets, overcoming trauma and battling addiction. It’s a story of hope and resilience, and how he turned his life around from a high-school dropout to Indigenous scholar.
SHOP IT: Indigo, $19 (originally $25)
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
For the research-oriented reader, this Oprah’s Book Club pick is the one for you. Wilkerson explores how today’s America is shaped by a hidden caste system, “a rigid hierarchy of human rankings.”
SHOP IT: Indigo, $26 (originally $42)
Think Like A Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day
On Purpose podcast host Shetty helps his readers learn how to think like a monk, and move towards a less anxious and more meaningful life.
SHOP IT: Indigo, $21 (originally $35)
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
One of the most talked-about books this year, Braiding Sweetgrass is described as an ode to nature. Kimmerer, an Indigenous scientist, shows readers what living beings can offer us.
SHOP IT: Indigo, $18 (originally $27)
Untamed
One of Reese Witherspoon’s book club picks, Untamed aims to liberate women from the expectation of being good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends through Doyle’s own story of love and loss.
SHOP IT: Chapters Indigo, $26 (originally $37)
Educated
A story like no other, Educated follows a young Westover’s unusual upbringing in a strict, often abusive, family preparing for the apocalypse, to her journey into formal education.
SHOP IT: Indigo, $17 (originally $23)
American Dirt
Described by Stephen King as “extraordinary,” American Dirt is a fictional novel that tells the story of a mother’s forced immigration from Mexico to the United States, and all she endured along the way.
SHOP IT: Chapters Indigo, $14 (originally $23)
Where the Crawdads Sings
Owens’ book is part murder-mystery, part coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 1969 North Carolina. Where the Crawdads Sing follows “Marsh Girl,” or Kya Clark, a painfully misunderstood girl suspected of murder.
SHOP IT: Amazon, $22
Hope In the Balance: A Newfoundland Doctor Meets a World in Crisis
This memoir follows a Canadian orthopedic surgeon who forms a group of three physicians and heads to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to volunteer following the devastating earthquake in 2010. The trip leads to the creation of Team Broken Earth, and a message that “will leave readers inspired to bring about positive change in their own lives.”
SHOP IT: Indigo, $25 (originally $33)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
With more than 22,000 positive reviews on Amazon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine follows a young, lonely woman who learns how to open up her heart to friendship and love by confronting secrets she’s avoided her whole life.
SHOP IT: Amazon, $19
By the Book
A “modern ode to Jane Austen’s classic,” By the Book follows an English teacher in California who realizes her ex-fiancé has just become president of her college... And her new boss.
SHOP IT: Amazon, $22
The Vanishing Half
A no. 1 New York Times Bestseller, The Vanishing Half chronicles the lives of two identical twin sisters whose lives, as they grow up, become complete opposites. It’s an exploration of community, family and racial identity that exposes how the past shapes a person’s future.
SHOP IT: Amazon, $24
Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram and sign up for our newsletter.