Deb Hunt’s Book List for a Week in Bed

Deb Hunt is the author of Dream Wheeler, Love in the Outback and the upcoming Australian Farming Families.

Ever wondered what you would read if you were stuck in bed for seven days? Here’s my list:

1. Lord of the Flies, William Golding. Ease yourself into the week with an old favourite, one you haven’t read for years. Lord of the Flies is short, deceptively simple to read and a blisteringly good story.
2. The Husband’s Secret, Liane Moriarty. You’ve got time to read something that’s spent months at the bottom of the pile of books beside your bed. In my case it’s The Husband’s Secret, which looks mysterious, intriguing and well written.
3. Let it Bleed, Ian Rankin. Get your pulse racing with a fast paced detective novel. Rankin is a first rate crime fiction writer and his novels never disappoint.
4. Sophie, Dog Overboard, Emma Pearse. By mid-week you’ll be craving popcorn, chocolate and the book lovers’ equivalent of watching Notting Hill (again). Sophie, Dog Overboard is a heart-warming tale of canine survival and love against the odds.
5. The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins. Read something everyone else is reading, so when you finally leave your sick bed you’ve got something to talk about. This psychological thriller will keep you guessing right up until the end.
6. Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri. You can dip in and out of short stories as you doze. The exquisitely written stories in Interpreter of Maladies will transport you out of your sick bed and take you into worlds far removed from your own.
7. The Good Life, Hugh Mackay. Renowned Australian social researcher Hugh Mackay’s non-fiction book will stop you feeling sorry for yourself and remind you that it doesn’t take to make a life worth living.
8. A Bear called Paddington, Michael Bond. The book that started the Paddington Bear phenomenon in the 1950s wasn’t written specifically for children and its themes still resonate today. It will make you smile as you snuggle up to your teddy bear.
9. May Week was in June, Clive James. This is Book Three in the Unreliable Memoirs series and it describes what Clive James got up to while he was (supposedly) studying at Cambridge University. It’s hugely entertaining and if it doesn’t make you laugh you don’t have a pulse. (Check it anyway, you’re sick remember).
10. The Famished Road, Ben Okri. Pick a massive tome like this Man Booker prize-winning classic, one that you’ve always tried to read and never quite made it, and you’ll either finish it and be proud of yourself or you’ll give up – and get up!