Reading Books : 5 Books to Read in Quarantine
AUTHOR : SREEJITA KARMAKAR
Since the beginning of quarantine in 2020, the only good thing that I have done, apart from exercising and waking up late in the morning, is reading a lot. And I am so pleased with myself for the number of books I have made my way through throughout the lockdown period and I still am doing the same in 2021.I generally love reading a lot and being busy with school and tuitions never really spared much time for me to catch up on reading. So, I thought why not make good use of the time quarantine gave us. And apart from doing my studies and other work, I kept on reading and that showed me some of the best books that I had owned all this while but had never read until quarantine.
If you clicked on this article, that means you are curious about what books you can read to erase the boredom that life in quarantine offers. Fret not because you are in the right place. The following list of books will cater to the tastes of many types of readers. And if you want to try out all the books on the list, then you are definitely in for a ride. So, without any further ado, let’s dive right into it:
1) Horror, Mystery, Thriller:
The Outsider by Stephen King
Regular readers, especially Horror lovers, all know the name, ‘Stephen King’, and never stop recommending books by him. It was due to these constant recommendations, that I had picked up my first Stephen King novel back in 2019, which was The Shining. But unfortunately, I soon got bored because of the tedious beginning and the dragged-out description of the characters and their past. Since first impressions are (more times than not) last impressions, I thought I would take my time before trying out any other book by King. And when I found myself in the monotonous and almost suffocating atmosphere of quarantine, I decided it was time I treated myself to a horror read and gave King another chance and picked this book up, which was gifted to me in 2019.
The beginning was again, slow (which I assume is typical King style), and I had almost given up on the thought of finding any horror element in the book and had decided to pause reading it when the long-awaited bone-chilling part seeped in. It was so unexpected but I soon found myself immersed in the novel. I read it taking my time, and by the time I finished it, I was in love with King. And now I am one of those readers who recommend Stephen King novels. I still recall those nights, when I read it while munching snacks, before going to bed… totally scared to the core.
The blurb:
This story is about an unspeakable crime, a confounding investigation. King is at his best in this unsettling story clouded with horror, mystery, and unexpected twists, all in the right proportions.
In Flint City, an eleven-year-old boy has been violated and his corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of the town’s most popular citizens, Terry Maitland. Terry is a Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson is on the case, whose son was once coached by Maitland. Anderson orders a quick arrest, right in public. Maitland has an alibi, but the DNA evidence collected alongside the fingerprints and witnesses leads Anderson and the district attorney to believe Maitland is lying. Their case seems ironclad.
As the investigation proceeds and expands, horrifying answers begin to surface as King’s propulsive story turns the direction of the plot, creating unbearable suspense filled with tension, that leads up to a nightmarish revelation. Terry Maitland has always had a nice reputation, but is he hiding something? Or is it something entirely separate and sinister? The answer is enough to leave you shocked and wanting more from this King of Horror.
Interested yet? There’s another cool thing I have to add, there is an actual series based on this book on HBO (the cover says it too). I binged-watched that right after I finished reading this book and I loved it. So, if you love reading spooky stories with twists and turns, give this a go. This is coming from a person who did not like Stephen King’s books before this.
2) Coming-of-age story, Literary realism:
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I had seen this book being recommended in a movie and ever since then, I had always wanted to read it, which led me to buy it in the first place. This is a much-talked-about novel that portrays the coming-of-age theme sublimely.
I was left in awe after I finished reading it last year, around July. And the best part for me was that I was buddy-reading it with a close friend of mine who is also an avid reader. So after we had finished reading it, we had plenty to discuss, regarding the characters and the way the story stretched out. I have to admit, that time of the year was very satisfying because we talked all the time about this book and its deep, underlying meanings. I was so interested in learning more about it that I searched up about the book and found many shocking facts surrounding it. One should read it at least once in their life.
The blurb:
The narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is a sixteen-year-old boy, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfied, carved by experience in life and his childish ways. He leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy is an old soul but not without childlike curiosities and a thirst for adventure and knowledge. He is sometimes too simple and the other times too complex for readers to decipher. Holden was not only drawn to all the beauty the world had to offer but was hopelessly affected by it.
This novel has many voices: children’s voices, adult voices, underground voices- but Holden’s voice is the most persuasive of them all. He has a pained perspective of the world, an almost accusing but harmless way of looking at people and life in general. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of high orders, he believes in keeping his pain to himself.
J.D. Salinger’s classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, is filled with teenage angst and rebellion. It was first published in 1951 and was included on Time’s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. The novel has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950s and 60s, it was a much-admired novel among teenage boys.
3) Tragedy, an American classic:
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This is the latest book I have read this year. I just finished reading it a few days ago. It has thrown me into an abyss of grief and so many unanswered what-ifs. I am not trying to scare you away from reading it, instead, I am trying to persuade you to dive into this piece of absolute art. You will be heartbroken but so full of satisfaction that you read it and didn’t miss out on one of the best works in literature ever. I think that is convincing enough, but the blurb might fill you with curiosity for it.
The blurb:
The Great Gatsby is F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, which stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This novel highlights the Jazz Age and has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story is narrated by Nick Carraway, who speaks about his dear friend, the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby, and his ardent love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Carraway talks about the lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted: “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession.” This book speaks about the American Dream and is one of the greatest classics of twentieth-century literature.
There are two noteworthy versions of this novel as a movie out of all the times it has been adapted to the big screen, one in 1974 and the other in 2013. I have watched the latter, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in and as The Great Gatsby- just the day after I finished reading it. The music used in the movie was rich. The intense pleasure I have received from this brilliant book is unexplainable. You simply have to read it to learn more about it.
4) Romance, Chick-lit, Contemporary Fiction:
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Taking a swift turn from the scary and the sad, this book is a boost of fun and laughter, filled with the warmth of romance. I was scrolling through my ebooks one fine afternoon when I wanted something to hit me with life and joy in this boring quarantine and I spotted this among the others.
The blurb:
This is a hilarious and sexy book about two archenemies and colleagues in an office backdrop. They have to work together for hours on end and endure each other every single day. They pass snide comments to one another and cannot help but compete with each other given a chance. But when they are not inside the four walls of their office room, Joshua Templeman and Lucy Hutton are complicated and awkward. Angsty like teenagers, even. They play little games with each other every day and the Hating Game is one of them. But how long can they hate one another before they start falling for each other for who they truly are?
This will soon be made into a movie starring Lucy Hale as Lucy Hutton and Austin Stowell as Joshua Templeman. So, before the movie comes out, go and read the book. Then you can talk all about which one was better, the book or the movie.
5) Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism (Japanese):
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
We are stuck at home and life is so dull at this point. We all miss going to coffee shops and movies with our families and friends. So do you want to be teleported to a café in Japan where you can have the opportunity to time-travel? Well, this book is the one then. This light-hearted, breezy fiction can make you smile, feel sad, and feel so many different emotions as you make your way through the four short stories collected in it, all taking place in the magical café.
The blurb:
In a small back alley in Tokyo, a café has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than a hundred years. But this is not just like any other coffee shop, it offers its customers an experience to last a lifetime: a chance to travel back in time.
In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, four visitors are willing to take the ticket to time-travel, each with different reasons: to confront a lover who has left them, to receive a letter from their husband whose memory has been eaten away by early-onset Alzheimer’s, to see their sister one last time, and to meet the daughter they never got the chance to meet.
But the journey into the past comes with risks: customers must sit in a particular seat, they cannot leave the café while they travel in time, and finally, they must return to the present before the coffee gets cold…
This story explores the question: What would you change if you could travel back in time? Most importantly, who would you want to meet, even if it is maybe for one last time?
Just like almost all the other books on the list, this book also has been made into a movie in 2018, in Japanese. I am yet to watch it.
With that, we come to the end of this list. I’m so sure you will fall in love with at least one of these stories if not with all of them. And if you do, then make sure you watch the movies or series made based on the stories, to imprint the stories in your memory for life. Hopefully, this will make your slow, repetitive quarantine life a tad better.
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