What to Read During a Pandemic

While some people are compiling recommendations of dystopian angst or Stephen King-like disaster, my rules are different. The book can’t be depressing (of course, depressing is in the eye of the beholder), it has to be worth reading more than once, and it needs to be available as an eBook or from Project Gutenberg.  It would be diabolical to make you long for something you cannot get quickly and I am rarely so cruel!  Also, remember that your library owns many eBooks and may be willing to purchase more.  Download Libby, if you haven't already!

Fiction

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson: Major Ernest Pettigrew is perfectly content to lead a quiet life in the sleepy village of Edgecombe St Mary, away from the meddling of the locals and his overbearing son.  Then an unexpected friendship between the crusty, retired military officer and Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village, scandalizes everyone.

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman: Natalie’s family is stunned when the Vermont resort they want to visit answers their inquiry, “Our guests who feel most comfortable here, and return year after year, are Gentiles."  She is determined to go anyway and it becomes a mission.


Historical Fiction

Dawn’s Early Light by Elswyth Thane: When Julian Day arrives in Williamsburg from England just prior to the Revolutionary War, he is shocked by his new friends’ outspoken views on liberty.  As time goes by he feels a sense of belonging and fellow feeling and realizes he has become a patriot!

 

Dear Mrs. Bird by A.J. Pearce:  During WWII, an eager young woman longs to be a war correspondent but inadvertently becomes a secret advice columnist.  See my review.

While Still We Live by Helen MacInnes: Sheila Matthews’ innocent holiday to Poland becomes a nightmare when the Germans invade in the summer of 1939 and she can’t get back to England.  Soon she is working for the Polish underground.

Historical Romance

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: On my last day at BDD, I picked up two galleys on my way out the door that turned out to be bestselling franchises.   One was this spellbinding time travel about a WWII nurse who is on her second honeymoon when she goes back in time 200 years to war-torn Scotland.

The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (published in the UK as Sophia’s Secret): A dual time frame story which begins with author Carrie McClelland in Scotland working on a novel about the 1708 Jacobite Rebellion.  See my review.

Mystery

Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey:  Patrick Ashby supposedly committed suicide at 13—his body was never found—but now he has returned to his family just in time to inherit the estate.  Or has he?

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer Fleming: Clare Fergusson, an ex-Army chopper pilot, is the new minister in a conservative Episcopal parish in upstate New York and her congregation is upset when she gets involved in a murder investigation.  Series launch.

A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie: A week at time-share is just what the Scotland Yard's detective needs – until he finds a body, in this series launch.  See my review.

Suspense

The Dinosaur Club: A Novel by William Heffernan: When Jack Fallon and several of his middle-aged coworkers are downsized, they plan revenge to drive the company's greedy Young Turks into extinction.

The Charm School by Nelson de Mille: When the CIA learns about "The Charm School," a sinister operation where American POWs teach young KBG agents how to be model U.S. citizens, a secret investigation is set in motion.

Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton: In the Falkland Islands, there are missing children, a killer, and secrets that have to be unraveled to avoid more tragedy.

Classics

The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse: It is hard to capture the plot in any of the adventures of Bertie Wooster and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves, but this starts off with an 18th-century cow-creamer sought by Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell: When Margaret Hale’s family moves north to the industrial town of Milton, she has difficulty acclimating and comes into conflict with mill owner and self-made man John Thornton.

Washington Square by Henry James:  When New York heiress Catherine Sloper is wooed by upstart Morris Townsend, she has to figure out if he more interested in her inheritance than he is in her.  Let me know if you want to join the discussion of this book at the end of the month!

You’ve already read The Great Gatsby, haven’t you?  If not, this is a good opportunity.

Nonfiction

Citizens of London by Lynne Olson: This is a riveting the behind-the-scenes story of how the United States forged its WWII alliance with Britain, told from the perspective of three key American players in London: journalist Edward R. Murrow; businessman Averell Harriman; and John Gilbert Winant, the idealistic U.S. ambassador to Britain who replaced JFK’s father, Joseph Kennedy.

Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime: The bestselling – and very candid - behind the scenes story of the Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin campaigns and the historic 2008 election.

Orville and Wilbur

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough: I found this history of the American inventors and aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright (with only a high school education) both inspirational and mesmerizing.

Sports

The Game: Harvard, Yale, and America in 1968 by George Howe Colt: Colt looks not only at college football’s biggest rivalry (yes, I am prejudiced) and the famous 29-29 tie but also the history of the era and how that affected the players and universities.

The Last Great Game: Duke vs. Kentucky and the 2.1 Seconds That Changed Basketball by Gene Wojciechowski: March 28, 1992. The final of the NCAA East Regional, Duke vs. Kentucky. The definitive book on the greatest game and the greatest shot in the history of college basketball, and the dramatic road both teams took to get there.  This game has been shown on TV often since 1992, introducing new generations to this game and the rivalry.

Young Adult

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L’Engle (better known for A Wrinkle in Time):  An American girl at boarding school in Switzerland is unhappy until a friendship with a French boy who suffered trauma during WWII helps her develop self-confidence.  See my review.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: A young woman from Scotland is captured in Nazi-occupied France and forced to write a confession detailing the British war effort, which she writes in the form of a novel.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney: When Janie sees a kidnapped child on a milk carton at school, she becomes convinced it is her and is desperate to know if  her parents are really her parents.

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery:  You’ve read Anne of Green Gables (at least I hope so) but do you know about Emily Byrd Starr, an orphan forced to live with an unsympathetic aunt who doesn’t believe in fiction, fun, or fresh air?

YA Fantasy

Graceling by Kristen Cashore: Katsa is a smart, beautiful teenager with a special talent. Her talent is killing. As the king’s niece, she is forced to use her extreme skills as his thug.  What happens if she resists?

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo:  When criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, he enlists a group of talented outcasts, although each has individual goals that may derail the success of the project.

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski: As a general's daughter, seventeen-year-old Kestrel enjoys an extravagant and privileged life. Arin has nothing but the clothes on his back. Then he is purchased for her.

Children’s Books

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild: The ageless story of three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova, and Posy Fossil, who enroll at Madame Fidolia’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training in order to earn their own livings and make their name famous.

Seven Day Magic by Edward Eager: When Susan opens a strange library book, she discovers it is about her and her friends, leading up to the moment when she opened the book. Beyond that, the pages are blank . . . waiting for the children to create a book full of magical adventures or misadventures.

Shadow Castle by Marian Cockrell: In the middle of a deep forest is an enchanted valley and a castle where only shadows live, waiting for the spell cast upon them to be broken. One day, a girl named Lucy follows a little dog through a tunnel into the valley and meets the mysterious red-haired Michael, who takes her into the shadow world.  See my review.

A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley:  When Penelope goes to stay at an old English farmhouse, she finds herself transported at unforeseeable intervals back and forth from modern to Elizabethan times and learns of a plot to free Mary, Queen of Scots from imprisonment.  Also, who has my hardcover?? It belongs to my Aunt Adrienne!  You can listen to this book on YouTube.

Picture Books

Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion: This funny picture book about the strong-willed dog who really doesn't want a bath stands the test of time.  Is Harry a white dog with black spots or a black dog with white spots?  You can listen to Betty White read it on YouTube.

How Rocket Learned to Read by Tad Hills: Follow along as Rocket masters the alphabet, sounds out words, and finally . . . learns to read, with help from a little yellow bird!

* * *

A little something for everyone! It is frustrating when the library is closed for this long, although I have hundreds of unread books in my house.  I did order the new Julia Spencer-Fleming and look forward to curling up with it.

What is the one "must-read" during quarantine you would have included?