Our top books to dive into now that the school holidays are over!

Now that the kids are back at school, it’s the perfect time to catch up on all the reading you’ve missed out on over six long weeks of summer holiday madness!

From gripping fiction to uplifting and inspiring memoirs, Team Bookends has picked out some of our favourite new reads for you to dive into, and make the most of some peace and quiet…

Take Nothing With You by Patrick Gale

As always, Patrick Gale gives us something to think about with his novel Take Nothing With You. If your children is heading back to school – and onward into adolescence – this is the book for you. A beautiful coming-of-age story of boyhood, parent-child relationships and self-discovery.

1970s Weston-Super-Mare and ten-year-old oddball Eustace, an only child, has life transformed by his mother’s quixotic decision to sign him up for cello lessons. Music-making brings release for a boy who is discovering he is an emotional volcano. He laps up lessons from his young teacher, not noticing how her brand of glamour is casting a damaging spell over his frustrated and controlling mother.

When he is enrolled in holiday courses in the Scottish borders, lessons in love, rejection and humility are added to daily practice.

How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t by Andrea Owen

If the start of a new term has left you itching to make a change and break out of a rut, How to Stop Feeling Like Sh*t is the perfect place to start.

From listening to the imposter complex and bitchy inner critic to catastrophizing and people-pleasing, Andrea Owen – a nationally sought-after life coach – crystallizes what’s behind these invisible, undermining habits. With each chapter, she offers practical advice and kicks women’s gears out of autopilot and empowers them to create happier, more fulfilling lives… for a fresh new attitude to match the start of a new school year!

Younger by Pamela Redmond Satran

Alice has always looked young for her age, even with her greying hair and her housewife style. But now that her husband’s gone and her daughter is grown, Alice is in desperate need of a new life. So she lets her best friend Maggie transform her into a woman who looks really young.

But the white lies escalate, and soon Alice finds herself with a gorgeous 20-something boyfriend and the dream job she’d briefly had before becoming a full-time mum. For the first time since she was actually twenty-nine, or possibly ever, Alice feels that life is ripe with possibility. But has Alice told one lie too many?

The Key by Kathryn Hughes

The perfect way to ease you in to autumn. School run done – time for a cup of tea and this irresistible new novel from Kathryn Hughes. With the kids at school, you can cry all you want without being caught! This heart breaking book is the tear-jerker of the year.

The discovery of an old suitcase in an abandoned lunatic asylum unlocks a forgotten story of tragedy, lost love and a devastating wrong waiting to be put right, from the #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret.

Step by Step by Simon Reeve

In the mood for some escapism to help you through the early morning routines and increasingly rainy weather? TV adventurer Simon Reeve has journeyed across epic landscapes, dodged bullets on frontlines, walked through minefields and been detained for spying by the KGB, and in this revelatory account of his life he gives the full story behind some of his favourite expeditions. Simon traces his own inspiring personal journey back to leaving school without qualifications, and then overcoming his challenges and changing his life, step by step.

Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness

 Have you heard about the SKY TV adaptation of the bestselling Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness? We have the new book coming out at the same time. More vampire, witches, daemons – and another EPIC love story to keep you hooked. With the kids now out of your hair, it’s the perfect time to embark on a new series. Be the first to get your hands on the latest book from her – Time’s Convert.