Alyssa's Pandemic Reading List
When Ashley first asked me to write this guest post, things weren’t great, but they also weren’t bad, as we were still at the beginning of things. Since she asked, my state and hers have been given stay-at-home orders and now we’re over a month in. We’re facing perhaps months of limited social interaction even as some states begin to come out of strict stay at home orders.
Even as we don masks and carefully begin to brave the outside world again, the reality is we’re facing more solitude than usual for awhile longer. A book—a physical book—is a great remedy to zoom exhaustion, besides the fact it can transport you to a whole new world, as do many of the recommendations on my list. I think we all need help finding joy, lightheartedness, and comfort while we’re stuck at home and trying to manage our drastically altered lives. So here it is, my list of recommendations for when things get rough and you need to escape to another world.
The Stormlight Archive, Brandon Sanderson
I make this first recommendation for several reasons. The most important is that it’s one of the most immersive series I’ve read. In this series, we follow an excellent ensemble cast of characters, all of which are relatable in some way, but the main three are Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin. The story follows each of these characters as they attempt to make sense of looming threats and ancient, forgotten magics of the Knights Radiant, and their own emotional traumas.
The second reason for this recommendation is the beauty of the world. Sanderson is, in my humble opinion, the best worldbuilder I’ve read, and this series represents his worldbuilding masterpiece. Weather patterns (highstorms and seasons that last mere weeks!), mostly shell-covered animals, magics, plants that retreat in the face of humans and highstorms…it’s all gorgeous, intriguing, and explained in ways that fit each piece together within the logic of the world.
Finally, I put this recommendation here because of its length. With each book reaching or surpassing one thousand pages, it will keep you busy for a good while--call it a “pandemic long-read” if you will. And you’ll have more to look forward to. Book Four comes out in November!
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
This classic can’t be ignored in times like this. Austen’s work is…well, lovely is the best term, in my mind. Following Elizabeth and Darcy’s love story is both frustrating and beautiful. Personally, I love that Austen, despite the expectations of her time, often wrote stories in which the primary couples have either known each other well for years or are forced to learn about each other in a genuine way. I would recommend any work by Austen, but this one is a favorite. Let it pull you away from this COVID-infested moment and into the comforting embrace of Austen’s prose.
Ulysses, James Joyce
Well…I can’t not recommend this one, given that it’s occupying nearly all of my brain space as I speed on toward my dissertation defense. Most will likely skip this recommendation, but if you’re one of those people who’s been saying to themselves for years, “One day I’ll read Ulysses,” now’s as good a time as any.
The novel follows Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus around Dublin on a single day (June 16, 1904), and each episode (what scholars call the chapters) plays with a new style, from regular old modernist stream-of-consciousness as Stephen walks along the beach, to newspaper headlines, fugue-inspired musical encounters, parodies of the development of English literature, and the script-style subconscious dream extravaganza of ‘Circe’.
Ulysses is alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) insane, hilarious, confusing, and beautiful. If you’re interested in tackling this novel while you’re stuck at home, there are some great resources online for the allusions, foreign words, and whatever else confuses you. Ulysses Annotated by Don Gifford is available via Google Books, and this New York Times article highlights some other fun and helpful resources to get you through. I’ve also heard that the Naxos Audiobooks version of the novel, read by Jim Norton, is great.
The Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Libba Bray
Yes, another series…Ashley and I differ significantly in our love of them. This trilogy, though, is close to my heart.
I first picked it up in high school or college and fell in love with it immediately. Gemma Doyle is a young English girl in the late 19th century whom we first meet on her 16th birthday in India, where she has lived all her life with her mother, father, and brother. She starts off as a whiny teen begging her mother to let her go to England for a season. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes in the first chapter, and Gemma gets her wish in ways she could not have expected. We follow her during her time as a schoolgirl in England, where she bonds with a small group of girls over the magic revealed by a decades-old diary and tries to solve the mystery of the Indian boy who has followed her all the way to England.
This book scratches the itch for a Victorian setting as well as a fantasy world. Bray explores the limitations and emotional struggles of girls and the expectations of their time beautifully.
The First King of Shannara, Terry Brooks
This may have been one of the first books to break my heart (except, perhaps, for Little Women), but I love it nonetheless. It’s been years since I last picked it up, but it’s a wonderful start to the Shannara series by Terry Brooks, though it’s a standalone novel (Brooks’ series is very long at this point, but is published in trilogies or four-book series with their own arcs and characters). It follows Bremen, Tay Trefenwyd, and Risca (human, elf, and dwarf druids respectively) as they work to find the Black Elfstone and prevent the Warlock Lord from using it to gather power and destroy their homes. After plucking this book from my brother’s shelf, my poor 12-year-old heart fell in love with Tay Trefenwyd, and I followed the series for another ten years. It has grown more still in the last eight or so years. So if you want a Tolkien-esque world to escape to that will last you a a long time, Brooks’ series is great choice.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
This recommendation is for those of you looking for pure, ridiculous fun. I first read this series as a teenager and loved it, but as I’ve been (slowly) re-reading it recently, I’ve realized there is so much more hilarity to it when you’re an adult. The no-nonsense way Adams delivers lines of utter ridiculous nonsense can brighten anyone’s day, and watching Arthur Dent’s adorable, relatable confusion as Ford Prefect drags him around outer space, to the end of the universe and back to prehistoric Earth, is certain to pull you away from the world of constant COVID-19 updates.
Lud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirrlees
Lud-in-the-Mist is a fairly recent discovery for me, found while browsing the Foyles on Southbank on a misty-turned-drizzly London day near Christmastime…in short, it was a pretty lovely day and a pretty excellent find. I’ve always loved fantasy, and I now study modernist literature, so finding a modernist fantasy novel was too perfect. Hope Mirrlees (she was friends with Virginia Woolf!) tells the story of Dorimare, which is suddenly finding an influx of faerie fruit – and with it, young people who are beginning to act just a little bit…odd. Eventually, Nathaniel Chanticleer finds out that his son has run away to the land of the faeries, and Nathaniel must save him, even as he relives flashes of his own faerie fruit experience.
The Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling
This may seem an obvious recommendation, but one can always use a reminder to return to (or finally read!) Harry Potter. It probably needs no introduction, but for those who haven’t read the books or seen the movies or gone to the theme park—all two of you—it’s the story of (clearly) Harry Potter, an orphan boy who finds out he is a wizard (“Yer a wizard, Harry!”) and is able to escape his horrid aunt, uncle, and cousin for much of each year to attend the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Reading about Harry, Hermione, and Ron’s escapades as they try to live normal, teenage lives while fighting off Lord Voldemort and his supporters is one of my favorite reading experiences. I’ve read each book several times. In fact, I believe I left off on my (5th? 8th?...10th?) last re-read mid-Deathly Hallows…it might be time to finish that up and start yet another re-read during this COVID-19 situation.
The Lost Art of Listening, Michael P. Nichols, Ph.D.
My final recommendation is simply a reminder for us to try being kind to one another as we’re simultaneously cooped up, isolated, and trying to plan for the future. Nichols addresses the many reasons people find it difficult to listen to each other and why we often react to others negatively. To combat this, he provides concrete steps you can take when talking to others to truly listen to them and to help them feel heard, as well as suggestions for expressing your own feelings.
Some of the suggestions are difficult in the moment, I’ll admit, but I hope to gain more practice and skill as I grow. This can be helpful for you whether you’re struggling to work at home with your partner, overwhelmed by the constant presence of your entire family, or living alone and trying to reach out to your friends remotely. Let’s all practice kindness and empathy as much as we can during this time.
Concluding Thoughts
There you have it. My contribution to the lists that will (hopefully) help you in your attempts to stay sane during this isolating, routine-disturbing time. If you’re feeling anxious or stir-crazy, simply find a comfy chair, open the window for some much-needed fresh air, and curl up with one of these lovelies.
