At the beginning of the pandemic here in the United States, before we all became far too familiar with terms like social distancing and PPE, I wasn’t reading very much. This was partially because I was moving and lacked an abundance of free time, mental energy, and available books, and partially because most of the free time and mental energy I did have was wasted on repeatedly refreshing my social media pages and falling down one terrifying rabbit hole after another of COVID-19 news and updates.
On the plus side, repeated scrolling helped me feel a little less alone in my less than ideal coping mechanisms. So at least there’s that.
In the last month, though, I’ve found my way back to reading with a vengeance for the same simple reason I’ve been so obsessed with it all my life: It allows me to escape myself and my thoughts and my worries and inhabit another world for a while. And given how supremely screwed up the real world feels right now, there is no small measure of relief in that.
Although my options are limited to an extent, thanks to a) the size of my local library’s e-book collection, and b) the size of my budget, I’ve found myself gravitating to three different types of books:
1. Light, sweet contemporary YA, usually with a romantic bent.
A recent favorite: What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
2. YA of all genres about girls who overcome adversity
Recent favorites: The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed and Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
3. Nonfiction of the self-help variety because it helps me kid myself into believing I have some control over my life in the midst of this crisis.
No recent favorites to report yet, but I do have an e-book about why resting more helps you be more productive that I’m pretty excited about.
Whether it’s reading, a favorite TV show, or just a whole bunch of video chatting with family and friends, I hope all of you out there are finding ways to escape from the collective anxiety and uncertainty we’re all struggling with. But if you’ve also found yourself gravitating toward a particular genre or type of story recently, or if you’ve read something you LOVED in the last month, please leave me a note in the comments and let me know. I’m always game for new recommendations!
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