Reading has proven benefits and can put our brain into a state similar to meditation, according to studies. It provides the same health benefits as deep relaxation techniques, creating a feeling of inner calm.
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People who read regularly tend to have lower stress levels. They sleep better, have higher self-esteem and less chance of suffering from depression than non-readers. Research has found that people who read in later life have a 32% less chance of a decline in mental abilities.
Try to remain positive if you're spending more time at home and think of it as a way of having a little "you time". If you're not a regular reader, here are the top 10 books to read during lockdown, according to book critics...
- Daphne du Maurier: Rebecca
Part love story, part psychological thriller, Rebecca has sold 2.8 million copies and has never been out of print since it was written in 1938. The second Mrs de Winter, a timid young woman, suddenly becomes the mistress of Manderley estate when she marries wealthy widower Maxim de Winter after a whirlwind romance. Sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers, who was devoted to the first Mrs de Winter, the late Rebecca, makes her life a misery in this atmospheric thriller.
- Charles Dickens: Great Expectations
Don't let the fact this book dates from the Victorian era put you off. Dickens' famous 1861 novel is the epic tale of orphan Philip "Pip" Pirrip, who falls for the beautiful but damaged Estella as a youth and carries a torch for her all his life. After coming into money from an unknown benefactor, he momentarily forgets his humble origins but is overtaken by shocking events that bring him crashing back down to earth in Dickens' sprawling, humorous and tender novel.
- Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights
This 1847 novel shocked Victorian society with its tale of the brooding and cruel hero, Heathcliff, whose all-consuming passion for fiery heroine Catherine Earnshaw affects two families and spans three decades. Readers are swept away in the tale of their childhood devotion, which turns into a flawed relationship in adulthood, as they both marry other people whom they don't really love. The scandalous take on Victorian morality led the critics to describe the lead characters as being "prone to savagery".
- JRR Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings
This fantasy book was written between 1937 and 1949 and has sold more than 150 million copies, making it one of the best-selling novels of all time. It was made into a hugely successful trilogy of films. The lead character, Frodo Baggins, a hobbit, lives in a quiet village called The Shire, where the forces of evil are beginning to stir. The plot revolves around his epic journey to return a magical ring to the place where it was forged, before the evil Dark Lord Sauron can get his hands on it and destroy the world.
- Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited
Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel captures the intoxicating opulence and romance of a vanished era. It follows the life story of middle-class Charles Ryder, who meets wealthy fellow student Sebastian Flyte at Oxford University in the 1920s. Their lives become entwined after Ryder is welcomed into the Flyte family home, Brideshead Castle, where he meets his friend's glamorous sister, Julia. The tale starts during the Second World War and goes back in time to their wild youth.
- William Golding: Lord of the Flies
The 1954 novel by British author William Golding focuses on a group of British boys, who become stranded on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean after their plane crashes. They soon descend into primitive behaviour as they try to govern themselves, forgetting the trappings of conventional society. The themes include the tensions arising as group thinking clashes with individuality. Rational actions are soon replaced by emotional ones, as their fragile society slips into chaos. It was voted number 41 in the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels.
- JD Salinger: The Catcher in the Rye
With total sales of more than 65 million to date, Salinger's 1951 tale of teenage rebellion made Time Magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels. Holden Caulfield is a 17-year-old living in California after the end of World War II. The story begins when he is expelled from boarding school in Pennsylvania due to poor grades. Disillusioned, he decides to run away to live a reclusive lifestyle in a log cabin, but his sister Phoebe won't let him leave without her. Intended for adults, the plot explores themes of angst and the superficiality that exists in society.
- Joseph Heller: Catch-22
This book is so famous that its title has become a catchphrase. Joseph Heller's madcap and hilarious novel, published in 1961, tells the story of US pilot Captain John Yossarian and his experiences flying dangerous missions during the Second World War. The novel, set between 1942 and 1944, explores the absurdities of life, as the reader follows the anti-hero's increasingly bizarre antics. It was said that Heller drew on his own experience as a pilot during the war and used the McCarthyism of the 1950s to fuel the book's rage.
- F Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby,
F Scott Fitzgerald’s third novel The Great Gatsby didn't get good reviews when it was first published in 1925. It was only in later years that it was recognised as being a classic. Det in the summer of 1922, on prosperous Long Island, where hope, desire, ambition and cynicism are the emotions driving a group of people living the American Dream, the enigmatic Jay Gatsby, a young and mysterious millionaire, casts a shadow over the decadence and idealism of the Roaring Twenties as the novel explores social upheaval.
- Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express
No top 10 book list would be complete without a "whodunnit", courtesy of the master of crime and suspense, Agatha Christie. First published in 1934, Murder on the Orient Express is set on the glamorous and elegant long-distance train. On the Syria to Istanbul route, Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot attempts to unravel the murder of brash American businessman Mr Ratchett, who has been stabbed overnight in his compartment. The murderer is still on board - but will the detective be able to find out who it is, before it's too late?
Of course, there are hundreds of thousands of books out there and it's down to personal taste, but if you're not a regular reader, any one of our top 10 lockdown books could be a great place to start – my personal favourite has to be Murder on the Orient Express. Agatha Christie was such a brilliant writer.
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