Reading Nooks & Book Club
Written by: Claire Sugden
As the nights draw in and the days turn cloudy, there’s no better way to embrace the cosy season than by snuggling up with a blanket, candlelight, and a good book. Whether you opt for e-reader or hardback, library or bookstore, autumn is the perfect time to stock the shelves and get lost in the pages. Below, we’ll talk you through how to create the ultimate at-home reading nook – and share some of our team’s personal top picks to dive into this fall.
How to create the perfect reading nook
1. Choose your space
Find a spot you can claim as your own, without any distractions: a fireside armchair, a quiet window seat, or even a tucked away corner of a bedroom or attic room.
2. Create cosiness
Layer up blankets, cushions and soft, knitted throws to create a space you can get lost in for hours.
3. Set the mood
It’s all about the ambience. Switch off the big light and opt for strings of fairy lights instead, and the glow of flickering LED candles.
4. Boil the kettle
You can’t hunker down properly without a warm drink. For full immersion, you might even consider theming your drink (and snack selection) to your current read.
5. Add your finishing touches
Make the space truly yours by adding a few personal touches: framed photos, bookish memorabilia, or your most prized signed copy of your favourite novel.
Our team's autumn reads
We’re a team of book lovers and we love to share, so we’ve asked around our offices for some ten-out-of-ten recommendations for you to dive into this autumn. Enjoy!
Lisa, Customer Experience Team
Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall – recommended by a friend of mine earlier this year, when first published. I had been coveting this novel and treated myself to a copy to enjoy whilst on holiday this summer. I was captivated, fell in love with all the characters and sobbed my heart out at the ending.
The House on the Edge of the Cliff by Carol Drinkwater – I’m currently reading a novel handed to me by my Mum. We often share books, and like Broken Country, The House on the Edge of the Cliff weaves together the past and the present where long-buried secrets resurface in a gripping story of love and betrayal.
Claire, Finance Team
The Lost Book Shop by Evie Woods – this book transports you into the lives of the three main characters drawn together by a mysterious book shop. It blends realism with enchantment and a drop of romance, it is a great book to hunker down with.
Faye, Design Team
Verity by Colleen Hoover – I’m not widely read yet, but I found this to be my favourite thriller so far, and I’m really looking forward to the film coming out.
How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley – I’m currently reading this as part of my family book club.
Viv, Customer Experience Team (Germany)
Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover – it’s an enemy to lovers story and plot twist no one sees coming. It’s beautiful and an easy read.
A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole – I love it because it is a love story that does not have a happy ending but it’s still so beautiful to read and will make you cry.
Nikita, Marketing Team
Normal People by Sally Rooney – a raw, sometimes frustrating love story that’s not anything like your typical romantic novel.
This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay – a window into life as a doctor. Hilarious, heartbreaking, and of huge societal importance.
Lucy, Marketing Team
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman – a science fiction novel about female friendship, shared humanity, and searching for hope and meaning in a hostile world. Impossible to put down.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt – a group of mysterious outsiders at an elite liberal arts college get up to no good. Beautiful prose, high drama. The quintessential autumn read.
