This photo is used for illustrative purpose.

Gulf Today Report

Life in the lockdown has not been easy for most of us. We are isolated and there’s no sign of things changing anytime soon.

Well books can come to your rescue and what better way to spend the last two weeks in home-sheltering than by reading. Reading is not only a great form of escapism, but it also helps to stimulate creativity and enrich language skills, making it a great idea for all ages.

Here is a list of must read books which can transport you to another time and place:

A combo photo of Shahnaz Bashir and his novel.

The Half Mother by Shahnaz Bashir

Author of ‘Scattered Souls’, Shahnaz Bashir’s debut novel, ‘The Half Mother’ brings an attempt to reflect the issue of involuntary disappearances in Kashmir, which tells the heart-wrenching story of courageous Haleema, a mother, a daughter and a woman full of hope and the energy to fight against her suffering.

A combo picture of Suzanne Collins and her novel.

'The Hunger Games Series-The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes' by Suzanne Collins

A new Hunger Games book is on its way, the first since 2010; it's not only for teens but also for all sci-fi lovers. A prequel to the "Hunger Games" series by Suzanne Collins, "A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" was first announced in June last year, and - as revealed in an extract published by Entertainment Weekly - 'will focus on Coriolanus Snow.'

The cover photo of 'Hunted by the Sky' by Tanaz Bhatena.

'Hunted by the Sky' by Tanaz Bhatena

From the author of 'A Girl Like That', the YA fantasy explores identity, class inequality, alongside a high-stakes romance story, 'Hunted by the Sky' is set in the Kingdom of Ambar - a world inspired by medieval India-- a world of deadly, dark secrets and adventures.

The cover photo of 'A Thousand Cranes for India'.

'A Thousand Cranes for India: Reclaiming Plurality Amid Hatred' edited by Pallavi Aiyar

This anthology - comprising 23 pieces of reportage, stories, poems, memoir and polemic - uses the mythology, history, and symbolism of Japanese Origami paper cranes as a pathway for some of India's best-known writers, poets and artists to pave a "shared, civic space for a conversation about the fault lines in India at a time of darkness".

The cover photo of 'A Burning' by Megha Majumda.

'A Burning' by Megha Majumdar

"For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri , Majumdar's debut, a thriller-like epic, centres around three characters who find their lives criss-crossing in the aftermath of a catastrophe. 'Of A Burning', Amitav Ghosh has said, it's "the best debut novel I have come across in a long time… In telling the story of a young Muslim girl whose life is undone by a single social media post, it creates a kaleidoscope of contemporary urban India, with its internet-driven hysteria, religious fanaticism, rampant corruption, poisoned air, random violence, enraged mobs and pervasive misogyny."