21 Quarantine Reads From Your Favorite Authors
Whether you’re self-quarantined or under a shelter-in-place order, you might find yourself feeling a little bit restless. But remember that everyone is in this together — even the authors whose books are on your nightstand right now. Bustle has put together a list of 21 books your favorite authors are reading while quarantined, so you can read along with them, or crib reading recommendations from their notes.
Many authors are finding comfort in pandemic-centric fiction. Like Crissy Van Meter, who is hunkering down with her copy of Gabriel García Márquez’s classic novel Love in the Time of Cholera. Or Gish Jen, who’s reading They Came Like Swallows, an epic about the Flu Epidemic of 1918 and how it impacts one individual family. But other novelists are seeking out escapism by way of their bookshelf. Abby Jimenez is devouring romance novels like The Honey-Don’t List, which has many parallels to the Netflix rom-com, Set It Up. And Stephanie Wrobel is all about the incisive take on celebrity culture and reality television, Followers.
Read on for the 21 books your favorite authors are keeping calm with during quarantine. Let them inspire you, entertain you, and above all, offer you a little levity.
Samira Ahmed is reading The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung
Samira Ahmed’s Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is out on Apr. 7 and is available for pre-order today. The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung is available now.
Afia Atakora is reading Blindness by José Saramago
Afia Atakora’s Conjure Women is out on Apr. 7 and is available for pre-order today. Blindness by José Scaramango is available now.
Andrea Bartz is reading Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar
Andrea Bartz’s The Herd is available now, and Take Me Apart by Sara Sligar is out on Apr. 28.
Clare Beams is reading Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas
Clare Beams’ The Illness Lesson and Oligarchy by Scarlett Thomas are available today.
Jennifer Finney Boylan is reading Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Jennifer Finney Boylan’s Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs is out on Apr. 21 and is available for pre-order today. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo is available now.
Frances Cha is reading Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
Frances Cha’s If I Had Your Face is out on Apr. 21 and is available for pre-order today. Dear Girls by Ali Wong is available now.
Alexandra Chang is reading Burning Province by Michael Prior
Alexandra Chang’s Days of Distraction is out on Mar. 31 and is available for pre-order today. Burning Province by Michael Prior is available now.
Sarah Gailey is reading A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen
Sarah Gailey’s Upright Women Wanted is available now. A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen is out on Sep. 29 and is available for pre-order today.
As of this writing, the cover image for A Neon Darkness has not yet been released. Pictured is Shippen’s first novel, The Infinite Noise.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda is reading Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s The Shape of Family and Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner are available now.
Talia Hibbert is reading Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins
Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown is out on June 23 and is available for pre-order today. Night Hawk by Beverly Jenkins is available now.
Gish Jen is reading They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell
Gish Jen’s The Resisters and They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell are available now.
Abby Jimenez is reading The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
Abby Jimenez’s The Happy Ever After Playlist is out on Apr. 14 and is available for pre-order today. The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren is available now.
Meng Jin is reading Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
Meng Jin’s Little Gods and Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong are available now.
Mikki Kendall is reading The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
Mikki Kendall’s Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot and The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin are available now.
Sonya Lalli is reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Sonya Lalli’s Grown-Up Pose and The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman are available now.
Laura Lam is reading Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities by Rebecca Solnit
Laura Lam’s Goldilocks is out on May 5 and is available for pre-order today. Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit is available now.
Hilary Mantel is reading Fraud by Anita Brookner
Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror & the Light and Fraud by Anita Brookner are available now.
Ottessa Moshfegh is reading The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
Ottessa Moshfegh’s Death in Her Hands is available for pre-order today. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima is available now.
Miranda Popkey is reading The Collected Stories by Grace Paley
Miranda Popkey’s Topics of Conversation and The Collected Stories by Grace Paley are available now.
Alisha Rai is reading Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn
Alisha Rai’s Girl Gone Viral is out on Apr. 21 and is available for pre-order today. Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn is available now.
Crissy Van Meter is reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez
Crissy Van Meter’s Creatures and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez are available now.
Stephanie Wrobel is reading Followers by Megan Angelo
Stephanie Wrobel’s Darling Rose Gold and Followers by Megan Angelo are available now.
If you think you’re showing symptoms of coronavirus, which include fever, shortness of breath, and cough, call your doctor before going to get tested. If you’re anxious about the virus’s spread in your community, visit the CDC or NHS 111 in the UK for up-to-date information and resources, or seek out mental health support. You can find all Bustle’s coverage of coronavirus here, and UK-specific updates on coronavirus here.
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