Remember that book shelf you’ve got staring at you from the corner of your living room? I’m sure there’s loads of books on there you said you’d read “if you had the time”. Thanks to the coronavirus leaving everyone with ample time on their hands, you can finally get started on that literature backlog you’ve been building up over the years.
And just in case you’ve finished that entire book shelf, allow me to give you some suggestions for books you could read to get through the quarantine.
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
I mean, it’s a good TV show, but the book adds lots of extra’s
that will leave you wanting to read more and more pages to get
through it as fast as you can. Also, don’t forget that there’s a
sequel to the book that recently came out, so this might be the
perfect time to scratch this one off the list.
The Martian (Andy Weir)
If you want to read the manual to social distancing and living in
isolation, what better way to do it than read the story of a
scientist who gets stuck on Mars and tries to survive until he can be
rescued. It’s a hilarious book, much like the movie, and it has a
very unique style to it.
1984 (George Orwell)
With more and more countries contemplating the development of a Covid-19 app on your phone that would track your movements and which people you’ve come into contact with, it seems like as good a time as any to read George Orwell’s dystopian sci-fi novel about a society where every move you make is watched by the government.
The Art of Happiness (Dalai Lama)
Being isolated and quarantined for prolonged periods of time can lead
to depression and just not feeling very good about yourself and life.
It never hurts to read up on how to achieve a form of happiness that
can last a long time and get you through this corona crisis without
too much sadness. And who better to tell you how to achieve that
happiness than the Dalai Lama?
This is Going to Hurt (Adam Kay)
Maybe you’re more into biographies. In that case, this book will
give you all the information you need to know – and a lot more –
about life on the National Health Service and the decisions these
people have to make on a daily basis. And remember: this book was
written when there wasn’t even a corona crisis to speak of!
The Masque of the Red Death (Edgar Allen Poe)
While Poe writing a short story about someone who isolates himself
from the outside world to avoid a disease (sound familiar?) probably
won’t be something that lifts your spirits, it is a classic story
and definitely worth reading.
A Song of Ice And Fire (George R.R. Martin)
I mean, we have no idea how long this quarantine will last, so you might as well start reading the entire Game of Thrones books by George R.R. Martin. Who knows, you might even be finished reading them all before he finishes writing the long-awaited Winds of Winter!
