World Book Day: 10 great reads recommended by our Book Club members

Escaping into a good book has perhaps never been quite as needed as during the past year.

Book sales have soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people around the globe looked for inspiration and education - and in some countries the number of books read has doubled, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

April 23 marks UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day. And this year, it's celebrating the power of books to "combat isolation, reinforce ties between people and expand our horizons, while stimulating our minds and creativity."

It's also encouraging people to step outside of their reading comfort zones, by exploring new topics, formats, or genres that are "out of your ordinary".

So if you're looking to challenge yourself to read a new book on World Book Day, here are 10 picks from our Book Club members.

Chosen by reader Travis Equality Day, Caste was also our Book Club pick in September 2020. An exploration of race and the unspoken caste system that has shaped the US, Caste received wide critical acclaim and there are plans for a TV adaptation.

Chosen by reader Khanhvy Duongngoc, who says: "The book provides plenty of facts and figures covering various global issues with rationally optimistic perspective. Though there are many statistics, graphs and charts, reading this book turns out to be quite an emotional journey, mostly due to the unique way the author looks at the world."

Olivia Krishanty chose this moving memoir of Westover's extraordinary struggle to be free from an abusive family, who never sent her to school.

Another former Book Club pick and popular among our readers, in 21 Lessons, Harari takes the pulse of the world. He told a session at Davos that humanity faces three existential threats: nuclear war, ecological collapse and technological disruption. "Even if we disappear, it will not be the end of the world. Something will survive us. Perhaps the rats will eventually take over and rebuild civilization."

Reader Nikita Garg chose this epic tale of four graduates who try to make their way in New York, buoyed only by their friendship and ambition.

Alex Court enjoyed this book about racial politics in the US so much, he read it twice. "The characters and their stories are so engrossing I didn’t realise what I was learning until I got to the end."

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and sentenced to house arrest in a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Book Club member Rachna Kalra says: "I loved the writing, descriptions and the idea of spending the rest of your life in one place suddenly did not feel depressing."

Cristina Gonzalez chose this "beguiling" Mexican fiction, set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution and the influenza of 1918. It tells the story of one family and a mysterious child.

A modern classic and perennial favourite, The Kite Runner tells the tale of childhood friends, Amir and Hassan, growing up together in Kabul - and it was chosen by reader Syed Ishrat.

Amare Geremew chose this international bestseller, in which DiAngelo explains the concept of 'White Fragility', how systemic racism is often perpetuated by the reactions white people have to being told they have unintentionally caused offence.