As with many other people, the shelter-in-place order has given me a lot of free time. Recently, I have used my new-found free time to not only read, but to organize my bookshelves by alphabetical order of the author's last name. Out of the 588 books I have moved around these past few days, I have organized a list of books that I plan to pass the time with during this quarantine.
1."The Enemy", "The Dead", and "The Fear" by Charlie Higson
These three books are the first three books in a six part series. The series is about a group of kids in London trying to survive an outbreak of a disease that affects people sixteen and over by killing them or causing them to become violent and cannibalistic. I would add the whole series to the reading list, but I only have the first three books.
2. "World War Z" by Max Brooks
This book is an early, and very unique, piece of zombie literature. It details the events of a global zombie outbreak through a series of interviews with doctors, soldiers, politicians, and others that survived the outbreak, conducted by the narrator. Its realistic take on how the world would react during a zombie is absolutely thrilling.
3. "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel
This National Book Award finalist takes place in a world where society has collapsed after a flu pandemic devastated the world. It follows a group of traveling musicians and actors and their conflict with a violent prophet in the town the have just stopped in. This book also has a mesmerizing structure, jumping back and forth between the times before and after the pandemic.
4. "Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable, Undead" by Chris Pauls and Matt Solomon
This thriller is about a German scientist who tries to secretly go to America, via the Titanic, with a new plague to study its uses in curing other diseases and to keep it from the German military that wants to weaponize it. Aboard the Titanic, the plague breaks out, turning those infected into zombies. The scientist must keep the infection down while avoiding German agents that are tracking him down, all while on a ship that was doomed from the start.
5. "Apocalypse Cow" and "World War Moo" by Michael Logan
Apocalypse Cow is a dark comedy that follows the three least qualified people to handle a pandemic as they attempt to find a cure for new strain of mad cow disease that is turning cows all over Britain into violent zombies. In the sequel, World War Moo, the disease has spread to humans and infected all of Great Britain. The book is about the conflict between Britain, which wants to infect the rest of the world, and the world, which wants to nuke the country off the face of the Earth.
6. "Rainbow Six" by Tom Clancy
This book is action packed and is one of my all-time favorites. It follows a newly-formed, international special-ops agency and their training. After some early missions, the group has to stop a terrorist organization from releasing a virus that would wipe out everyone but themselves.
7. "The Eleventh Plague" by Jeff Hirsch
This book takes place in a post-pandemic world where a deadly strain of the flu killed two-thirds of the population. It follows two kids who pull a prank at their settlement that goes horribly wrong and gets them involved in a greater war. I am especially excited to have this book on my reading list since I have had it for years and still haven't read the whole thing.
8. "Field Guide to the End of the World" by Jeannine Hall Gailey
This book may be the most unique book on my reading list. It is a book of poetry about a post-apocalyptic world as well as the end of the world and the end of humanity. It is also notable because it was published as the 2016 Poetry Award Winner by Moon City Press, a press based out of Missouri State University.
9. "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart
This book is a classic science-fiction novel straight out of 1949. This novel details the trials and triumphs of life after a pandemic almost wipes the entire population of the United States. I am excited to have this book on my reading list because when I pulled it off of my bookshelf, my dad said it was such a good book that he wanted to read it again too.
10. "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot
This book is a biographical tale of Dr. James Herriot, a country veterinarian. In the book, Herriot tells his story about opening up his practice in rural England and getting used to the way people do business in the country. It's a heartwarming and hopeful tale that we all need during these trying times.
It is certainly very obvious that most of the books on this list are stories about diseases and the end of the world. I wanted to end the list off on a good note, however. I did this because even though it may look like the end of the world now, but there is hope at the end of the tunnel.
