15 Book Recommendations To Read During Lockdown

This month on the Books by LR Instagram  and Facebook we explored book genres that may spark your interest in writing or reading. Here some book recommendations from these genres written by both local and international authors that I think you’ll enjoy during this lockdown period:

Memoirs

Becoming by Michelle Obama

In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically … Read more

From Mason Hall to Whitehall by Dr. Keith Rowley

From Mason Hall to Whitehall: His name is Keith Rowley is the autobiography of Dr. Keith Rowley, the Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. Rowley gives several anecdotes from his life’s experiences, with a healthy appreciation and fondness for Mason Hall, Tobago from which he came. Divided into five parts, these memoirs recount the details of Dr Rowley’s life and career from his humble beginnings in Tobago to the launch of his political career and … Read more

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement, he was … Read More

Short Stories

Joebell and America by Earl Lovelace

The self confident gambler Joebell, in an attempt to escape the drudgery of life in Trinidad, schemes to find his way to the promise and fantasy of America. Each step of his journey uncovers him to himself and his island he had never really seen.

A poignant tale of love, ambition and self-discovery. Read more

Poetry

Selected Poems by Derek Walcott

Drawing from every stage of his career, Derek Walcott’s Selected Poems brings together famous pieces from his early volumes, including “A Far Cry from Africa” and “A City’s Death by Fire,” with passages from the celebrated Omeros and selections from his latest major works, which extend his contributions… Read more

Collection of Poems by Latoyaa Roberts

Collection of Poems by Latoyaa Roberts is not merely a book of poetry, but it tells an anthology of the author’s life through five distinct themes: women in society, civil society movements, inspiration and motivation, exploring the world and roots and identity. The five themes that cover forty-five poems is complemented by Caribbean art, through illustrations of Tomley Roberts that preface each section. This makes the book a wonderful piece for a coffee table or to be placed on bookshelf. Take a journey with… Read more

Cookbooks

The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago & the Caribbean by Naparima Girl’s High School

A collection of receipt reflecting the taste and culture of the diverse ethnic groups of Trinidad and Tobago. Many of the recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and have altered little with time. Recipes included are Creole, East Indian, Chinese, Spanish, English, Syrian Lebanese (middle eastern) as well as those of other Caribbean islands. With more than 500 recipes and 32 colored photographs, this book is a comprehensive guide to Trinidad and Tobago cuisine… Read more

Classics

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding  … Read more

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, in which Ishmael narrates the monomaniacal quest of Ahab, captain of the whaler Pequod, for revenge on the albino sperm whale Moby Dick, which on a previous voyage destroyed Ahab’s ship and severed his leg at the knee. Although the novel was a commercial failure and out of print at the time of the author’s death in 1891, its reputation grew immensely during the twentieth century. D. H. Lawrence called it “one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world,” and “the greatest book of the sea ever written.” Moby-Dick is … Read More

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of the British Regency. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London. Page 2 of a letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra (11 June 1799) in which she first mentions Pride and Prejudice, using its working title First Impressions. Set in England in the early 19th century, Pride and Prejudice tells the story of Mr and Mrs Bennet’s five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking … Read more

Action and Adventure

Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Orphan Harry learns he is a wizard on his 11th birthday when Hagrid escorts him to magic-teaching Hogwarts School. As a baby, his mother’s love protected him and vanquished the villain Voldemort, leaving the child famous as “The Boy who Lived.” With his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry has to defeat the returned “He Who Must Not Be Named.” … Read more

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

The thrilling trilogy expertly described by Suzanne Collins. You enter a future world where every year two tributes from each district are thrown into an arena expected to fight to the death or get knocked out by other means. Only one can survive… Read More

Science Fiction

Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth

Divergent: One choice can transform you. Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling debut is a gripping dystopian tale of electrifying choices, powerful consequences, unexpected romance, and a deeply flawed “perfect society.” Insurgent: One choice can destroy you. Veronica Roth’s second #1 New York Times bestseller continues the dystopian thrill ride. As war surges in the factions all around her, Tris attempts to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. Allegiant: The explosive conclusion to Veronica Roth’s #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy reveals the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent… Read more

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. From Sauron’s fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared… Read more

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known … Read More

Whatever you choose to read, I hope it is able to take your mind off our current situations even for a little while. Perhaps one of them will inspire you to get started on writing your next book.

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Published by booksbylr

Latoyaa Roberts is a Caribbean Communications Consultant, Freelancewriter and author.

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