Dive into a good story

In addition to IkPas month, January is also lockdown month. A month in which we are more at home than ever. That takes a while to switch, but also brings advantages. This period is ideal for sprawling on the couch or in bed in the evening to immerse yourself in a nice story. The hours fly by, while you lead the most diverse lives. In your head then. Are you still looking for a story that won't let go? The five books below will all be released in January. That will be read, because you want to devour each piece!

Another interesting fact: reading is a good stress reliever. So are you having a difficult moment in the evening? Then instead of having a glass of wine or beer, sit on the couch with a nice book. As you immerse yourself in the story, you forget everything around you for a while. This will relax you mentally and physically. The University of Sussex already came to this conclusion in 2009: reading six minutes a day lowers your stress level by 68 percent!

Els Visser – No sea too high

From castaway to professional triathlete with a medical degree. That is the incredible story of Els Visser. Her ship is shipwrecked during a tour of Indonesia. Els ends up in the water and has to swim for more than eight hours until she reaches land. The mental and physical strength unleashed during her survival make her want more and Els decides to become a professional triathlete. Her story shows what you can achieve by trusting yourself and your own abilities.

Thomas Olde Heuvelt – Oracle

After HEX and Echo, Thomas Olde Heuvelt comes with a new, spine-chilling ghost novel.

One winter morning, Luca Wolf and Emma Reich see an eighteenth-century sailing ship in a bulb field near the dunes. Oracle, it says on the stern. Emma enters the ship and does not return. Luca remains stunned. Then people disappear, Luca and his mother are detained and the secret services are puzzled. As the Oracle's mystery slowly unravels, the ship appears to be a harbinger of far greater doom. Reading this book at night is at your own risk.

Dean Nicholson – Nala's World

Thirty-year-old Scotsman Dean Nicholson goes on a bike ride around the world, determined to learn as much as possible about our planet. After cycling for three months, he finds a starving kitten on a deserted mountain path between Montenegro and Bosnia. He baptizes her Nala and from that day on has a regular traveling companion. Nala's World tells the heartwarming story of Dean and Nala's extraordinary friendship and the extraordinary adventure of their bike ride around the world.

Aline van Wijnen – Elle .'s secret box

Janna is going through a difficult time. Her husband has left her and then her grandmother, Elle, also dies. When she helps her mother clear out Grandma's house, Janna finds an old box in the attic. The contents puzzle her: a Star of David, an old identity document in an illegible language and a ring. What do these things have to do with her grandmother? Janna's quest takes you back to Elle's past. As a Jewish girl in Belarus in 1941, she sees her entire family being murdered. She flees and eventually ends up in the Netherlands. She is as silent as the grave about her origins and past.

Jackie van Laren – Spring Green

This feel-good story with a good dose of romance revolves around forest ranger Sylvie. After her boyfriend cheated on her, Sylvie is ready for a fresh start. When she gets the chance to become a forester in a beautiful area on the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, she doesn't hesitate for a moment. She packs her things and moves with her daughter to the forest house in her new work environment. Life smiles at Sylvie again. The only stumbling block seems to be Freek, the petulant owner of the adjacent estate. Sylvie has to persuade him to open his estate to holidaymakers, but Freek is not waiting for that. Will Freek and Sylvie still be okay?