98 Time April 6–13, 2020TimeOff BooksWhat to read whilesocial distancingN
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 fa r 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 i nto
pandemics a nd
apocalyptic w orl dsWorld W ar Z
Max B rooks’ “ oral h istory ” o f
a v iru s t hat o riginated i n C hina
and s pread a round t he w orl d,
transform ing m illions o f p eople
into z ombies, i s a p rescient l ook
at t he s ociopolitical r esponse t o a
pandemic—and a t hriller t o b oot.The Passage t rilogy
Justin C ronin’s s eries, s et i n
the n ear f uture, f ollows t he
grim r amifications o f a s ecret
gov ern ment p roject g one w rong.
In a ttempting t o e xtend h uman
life, s cientists c reated a d ru g
with s ome n asty s ide e ffects,
transform ing m ost o f t he w orl d’s
population i nto v ampire-like
creatures.The Broken E arth t rilogy
The o nly p eople w ith t he p owe r t o
protect t heir w orl d f rom r ecurr ing
cataclysms a re a lso i ts m ost
oppressed i n N .K. J emisin’s
trilogy. T he a cclaimed s eries i s
set i n t he S tillness, a h ostilecontinent w here m agic w ielders
called o rogenes c an p rev ent
seismic events b ut a re a ttacke d
and s ubjugated.Severance
While a c atastrophic
fev er p lagues t he
worl d, C andace
Chen c ontinues
to w ork a t h er j ob
producing B ibles.
Miraculously well,
she’s o ffered a
big b onus i f s he
continues c ommuting.
Ling M a’s n ov el fl ips
betwe en t hose h arr owing
day s a s t he i llness
festers a nd C andace’s
uncert ain f uture, w hen s he
teams u p w ith a g roup o f
fellow s urv ivors.Station E leven
A g roup o f
musicians a nd
actors t rav el a round
new ly f orm ed
settlements t o
ke ep t heir a rt a live
after a s wine-flu
pandemic w ipes
out m ost o f t he
worl d’s p opulation.
In f ollowing t he
troupe’s j ourn ey, Emily
St. J ohn M andel s howcases t he
impact o f t he p andemic o n t he
lives o f a ll o f t hem.Love i n t he T ime o f C holera
In a n u nnamed c ity s imilar t o
Cart agena, C olombia, F lorentino
Ariza a nd Ferm ina D aza a re
young a nd f alling d eeply i n
lov e w hen Ferm ina c hooses
to m arry s omeone e lse.
Against a b ackdrop
of r ecurr ing
civil war a nd
recurr ing
cholera
epidemics,
Gabriel G arcía
Márquez
explores
death, d ecay
and t he i dea o f
lov esickness a s
disease.Zone O ne
The s urv ivors o f a g lobal
pandemic a ttempt t o r ebuild
while c oping w ith p ost-
apocalyptic s tress d isorder i n
Colson W hitehead’s o utside-
the-box z ombie n ov el. T he s tory
focuses o n a f ragmented N ew
Yo rk C ity, where c haracters
quickly d iscov er t he d ifficulties
of u pholding o rder i n t he m idst
of c haos.Reflect o n s olitude
and s urv ivalWave
In 2 004, S onali D eraniya gala l ost
her e ntire f amily t o t he I ndian
Ocean t sunami a nd was l eft t o
bear u nimaginable g rief. B ut i n
work ing t o r ebuild, s he r eminds
us a ll h ow t o m ov e f orwa rd i n t he
wa ke o f d ev astation.My Y ear o f R est a nd R elaxation
Can y ou s leep away your
problems? T hat’s w hat O ttessa
Moshfegh’s p rotagonist p onders
before e mbark ing o n a y earl ong
journ ey o f extreme—dru g-fueled—
rest i n a n e ffort t o r eset h er l ife
after a s eries o f t ragedies.Walden
Henry D av id
Thoreau’s 1 854
meditation
doubles a s
a m anual
for s ocial
distancing:
he fi nds j oy
in h ousew ork a nd t he
sounds o f d aily l ife t hat r ing
out a round h im; h e c hampions
self-reliance, i ntrospection a nd
env ironmentalism. S ections
about e scaping t he c onstant
distractions o f m odern l ife r ing
ev en m ore t ru e i n t he d igital a ge.A G entleman i n M oscow
After t he R ussian R ev olution, a n
aristocrat i s s entenced t o s erv e
a l ife s entence u nder h ouse
arr est i n t he a ttic o f a l uxurious
hotel. A mor To wles’ h it n ov el
spans d ecades a s i t t races t he
protagonist’s n ew p ers pective o n
the w orl d, w hich h e c an v iew o nly
from t he w indows o f t he M etropol.The M artian
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 t he l ongest-
standing s olitary - confinement
prisoner i n t he U .S. b efore h is
2016 r elease. H is h arr owing
memoir t ells t he s tory o f f our
decades s pent i n a 9 -by -6-ft.ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOANNA NEBORSKY FOR TIME
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