Time - USA (2020-04-06)

98 Time April 6–13, 2020

TimeOff Books

What to read while

social distancing

N

o maTTer whaT’s going on in The

world, a good book can provide insight,

comfort or a welcome escape. As the

COVID-19 outbreak continues and many

of us are seeking entertainment while staying home,

now may be the time to finally dig into that epic novel

you’ve had on your shelf forever, revisit an old favorite

or try something out of your reading comfort zone.

Thankfully, books are easy to access without leav-

ing home. Libraries across the map allow cardholders

to borrow e-books and audiobooks without visiting a

branch. (Try the free Libby app, which connects you to

your local library.) If you’d like to purchase a book, whether

physical or digital, consider browsing the website of your

local independent bookstore.

Everyone has different ways of coping with the events of

the outbreak; these books will allow you to get however close

to or far from what’s going on outside as you want. From sto-

ries of pandemics and postapocalyptic societies and trium-

phant narratives about spending time alone to pure, page-

turning escapism, here are 22 books and series to read while

staying home. (There are more on time.com.)

Dive into

pandemics and

apocalyptic worlds

World War Z

Max Brooks’ “oral history” of

a virus that originated in China

and spread around the world,

transforming millions of people

into zombies, is a prescient look

at the sociopolitical response to a

pandemic—and a thriller to boot.

The Passage trilogy

Justin Cronin’s series, set in

the near future, follows the

grim ramifications of a secret

government project gone wrong.

In attempting to extend human

life, scientists created a drug

with some nasty side effects,

transforming most of the world’s

population into vampire-like

creatures.

The Broken Earth trilogy

The only people with the power to

protect their world from recurring

cataclysms are also its most

oppressed in N.K. Jemisin’s

trilogy. The acclaimed series is

set in the Stillness, a hostile

continent where magic wielders

called orogenes can prevent

seismic events but are attacked

and subjugated.

Severance

While a catastrophic

fever plagues the

world, Candace

Chen continues

to work at her job

producing Bibles.

Miraculously well,

she’s offered a

big bonus if she

continues commuting.

Ling Ma’s novel flips

between those harrowing

days as the illness

festers and Candace’s

uncertain future, when she

teams up with a group of

fellow survivors.

Station Eleven

A group of

musicians and

actors travel around

newly formed

settlements to

keep their art alive

after a swine-flu

pandemic wipes

out most of the

world’s population.

In following the

troupe’s journey, Emily

St. John Mandel showcases the

impact of the pandemic on the

lives of all of them.

Love in the Time of Cholera

In an unnamed city similar to

Cartagena, Colombia, Florentino

Ariza and Fermina Daza are

young and falling deeply in

love when Fermina chooses

to marry someone else.

Against a backdrop

of recurring

civil war and

recurring

cholera

epidemics,

Gabriel García

Márquez

explores

death, decay

and the idea of

lovesickness as

disease.

Zone One

The survivors of a global

pandemic attempt to rebuild

while coping with post-

apocalyptic stress disorder in

Colson Whitehead’s outside-

the-box zombie novel. The story

focuses on a fragmented New

York City, where characters

quickly discover the difficulties

of upholding order in the midst

of chaos.

Reflect on solitude

and survival

Wave

In 2004, Sonali Deraniyagala lost

her entire family to the Indian

Ocean tsunami and was left to

bear unimaginable grief. But in

working to rebuild, she reminds

us all how to move forward in the

wake of devastation.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

Can you sleep away your

problems? That’s what Ottessa

Moshfegh’s protagonist ponders

before embarking on a yearlong

journey of extreme—drug-fueled—

rest in an effort to reset her life

after a series of tragedies.

Walden

Henry David

Thoreau’s 1854

meditation

doubles as

a manual

for social

distancing:

he finds joy

in housework and the

sounds of daily life that ring

out around him; he champions

self-reliance, introspection and

environmentalism. Sections

about escaping the constant

distractions of modern life ring

even more true in the digital age.

A Gentleman in Moscow

After the Russian Revolution, an

aristocrat is sentenced to serve

a life sentence under house

arrest in the attic of a luxurious

hotel. Amor Towles’ hit novel

spans decades as it traces the

protagonist’s new perspective on

the world, which he can view only

from the windows of the Metropol.

The Martian

Stranded on Mars after an acci-

dent, an astronaut must use his

engineering skills to survive alone

with few supplies. Andy Weir’s fast-

paced narrative examines how

one person’s perseverance and

creativity can carry him through an

unthinkable trial.

Solitary

Albert Woodfox was the longest-

standing solitary- confinement

prisoner in the U.S. before his

2016 release. His harrowing

memoir tells the story of four

decades spent in a 9-by-6-ft.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOANNA NEBORSKY FOR TIME

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