10 best uplifting books to read during lockdown

Many people are using the current lockdown situation to curl up on the sofa at home, or in gardens while it’s sunny, and lose themselves in fiction.

Online book sales have rapidly increased. Waterstones reported a 400 per cent rise at the end of March, as readers discover they have more time on their hands to finally get through their “to read” list. And book clubs have metamorphosed into online reading groups, with readers discussing novels on Zoom instead of face-to-face.

But while publishers around the world have reported a surge in sales of titles like Albert Camus’s The Plague and Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic The Stand, many of us are choosing to immerse ourselves in feel-good, comforting fiction that reminds us of happier times.

We’ve selected some of the most uplifting novels, from the story of a grandmother and granddaughter who come up with a crazy plan to swap lives to the tale of a young amputee who sets herself five challenges to achieve in life – from braving public transport again to learning to dance.

Our choices were judged on their originality, readability and how they reminded us that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Some of the books aren’t upbeat all the way through, but reading them definitely helped lift our spirits.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.