Pandemic Literature: A Meta-List of the Books You Should Read Now

Describing conditions characteristic of life in the early 21st century, future historians may well point to such epidemic viral illnesses as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. But those focused on culture will also have their pick of much more benign recurring phenomena to explain: topical book lists, for instance, which crop up in the 21st-century press at the faintest prompting by current events. As the coronavirus has spread through the English-speaking world over the past months, pandemic-themed reading lists have appeared in all manner of outlets.

Here are a few reads for your consideration:

Fiction

• Ammonite by Nicola Griffith

• The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

• Beauty Salon by Mario Bellatin

• Bird Box by Josh Malerman

• Blindness by José Saramago

• The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

• The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

• Bring Out Your Dead by J.M. Powell

• The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman

• The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrian

• The Companion by Katie M. Flynn

• The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

• The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

• The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

• The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker

• Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

• The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz

• Find Me by Laura van den Berg

• The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

• Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe

• Journal of the Plague Years by Norman Spinrad

• The Last Man by Mary Shelley

• The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen

• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

• My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

• My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

• The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

• Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

• Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter

• The Passage trilogy by Justin Cronin

• The Plague by Albert Camus

• The Power by Naomi Alderman

• Real Life by Brandon Taylor

• The Road by Cormac McCarthy

• Room by Emma Donoghue

• Severance by Ling Ma

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

• The Stand by Stephen King

• They Came Like Swallows by William Maxwell

• The Training Commission by Ingrid Burrington and Brendan Byrne

• The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera

• The White Plague by Frank Herbert

• Wilder Girls by Rory Power

• World War Z by Max Brooks

• The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

• Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

• The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson

• Zone One by Colson Whitehead

Nonfiction

• The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, The Epidemic That Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby

• And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts

• The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett

• A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara W. Tuchman

• Flu: The Story Of the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918 and the Search for the Virus That Caused It by Gina Kolata

• The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson

• The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John Barry

• The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time by John Kelly

• History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

• The Hot Zone The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus by Richard Preston

• Networked Disease: Emerging Infections in the Global City by A. Harris Ali and Roger Keil

• Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney

• Pox: An American History by Michael Willrich

SOURCE: Open Culture

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Whidbey WOW Stories

A celebration of the extraordinary lives and experiences of the Women of Whidbey.

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WOW 2017

A casual question over dinner takes a lifetime to answer.

Trudy Martin wonders ‘what comes next?’

Three young women are committed to bringing Theatre back into the schools.

The snow doesn't need to be falling to enjoy this woman power song from Irving Berlin's “White Christmas.”

A song that honors Ella Baker and all who work for freedom.

“Have I done enough with my life?”

Art, Anxiety, and Activism.

Michele talks about growing up in Langley’s creative sub-cultures.

Dance, Poetry, and Song.

Stevie Wonder’s “Vision” spoke to her soul when she heard it at 17 and it has stayed relevant throughout her life.

What if "find your passion" isn't useful advice?

“We are spiritual beings immersed in a human experience.”

After years of teaching, travel, and writing eight books, Christina brings story home to her heart.

MORE STORIES CAN BE FOUND ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

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YOUR SUPPORT TODAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

As a nonprofit arts organization, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts relies on support from our community. Please consider the role that art plays in your life, and support your center with a gift of any amount today.

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NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

Happy National Poetry Month!

National Poetry Month was launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996 to remind us that poets have an integral role to play in our culture and that poetry matters.

While we #StayAtHome, we’re turning to poetry for inspiration, solace, and strength. 

We hope the virtual National Poetry Month information and activities below will bring you joy and encourage you to keep celebrating poetry all year long!

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10 Ways to Celebrate

1. Sign-up for Poem-a-Day and read a poem each morning.

2. Record yourself reading a poem and share it online using the hashtag #ShelterInPoems.

3. Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day podcast.

4. Check out an e-book of poetry from Sno-Isle Libraries.

5. Meet Claudia Castro Luna, our state poet laureate.

6. Organize a poetry reading, open mic, or poetry slam via a video conferencing service. 

7. Sign up for an online poetry class or workshop.

8. Start a virtual poetry reading group or potluck, inviting friends to share poems.

9. Write an exquisite corpse with friends via email, text, or social media. 

10. Make a poetry chapbook.

Send us your recommendations!

Films about Poets and Poetry

A Quiet Passion | Cynthia Nixon portrays Emily Dickinson in this biographical drama, which recounts the poet’s life and features some of her famous verses.

The Basketball Diaries | Based on the autobiography by poet and artist Jim Carroll, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, this film depicts Carroll's reckless youth and the writing that becomes his means of clarity.

Before Night Falls | Javier Bardem plays Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in this film, adapted from Arenas's own memoir.

Bright Star | Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish play John Keats and Franny Brawne in this biographical romantic drama about the famous couple, which features several of Keats’s poems and takes its title from one of Keats’s famous love sonnets.

Il Postino | In this 1994 Italian film, a postman develops a relationship with his only customer, famous poet Pablo Neruda, living in exile in Italy, and through Neruda’s poetry, is better able to express his feelings to his love interest.

Kill Your Darlings | This biographical drama, starring Daniel Radcliffe as Allen Ginsberg, Dane DeHaan as Lucien Carr, Ben Foster as William S. Burroughs, and Jack Huston as Jack Kerouac, takes place in the early days of the Beat Movement when a 1944 murder affects the group of young writers.

Piñero | Benjamin Bratt stars in this biopic about Puerto Rican poet-playwright Miguel Piñero, who cofounded the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle | The Algonquin Round Table comes alive in this film, which features Jennifer Jason Leigh as Dorothy Parker.

Set Fire to the Stars | Elijah Wood stars as poet John M. Brinnin and Celyn Jones stars as Dylan Thomas in this 2014 Welsh film, based on Brinnin’s memoir of the same name.

Sylvia | The relationship of Ted Hughes, played by Daniel Craig, and Sylvia Plath, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, is detailed in this film, which begins with the couple's courtship as young college students.

Tom & Viv | Willem Dafoe and Miranda Richardson star as T. S. Eliot and Vivienne Haigh-Wood in a film that depicts their tumultuous marriage and Eliot's literary success.

Total Eclipse | This film captures the turbulent, explosive affair between Parisian poets Paul Verlaine, played by David Thewlis, and Arthur Rimbaud, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Wilde | Based on Richard Ellmann’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the famous poet, novelist, and playwright, Wilde, starring Jennifer Ehle, Vanessa Redgrave, Jude Law, and Stephen Fry as the eponymous writer.

#STAYATHOME READING LIST

WHAT WE’RE READING

Marion J. is reading

A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community by John Pavlovitz

“Because we need a more inclusive, diverse and joyful world.

Mercer Girls by Libbie Hawker
”…it is the story of women who helped shape the Seattle and Whidbey areas.”

Andy V. is reading

Us and Them: Understanding Your Tribal Mind by David Berreby

“An engrossing read into human nature, the human psyche, and the dynamics underlying the forces of tribalism that have driven human societies from ancient times into the present.”

Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

“A light of insight and knowledge to help us find our way forward through these dark times.”

Judith B. is reading

Whiskey When We're Dry by John Larison

Trace Elements by Donna Leon

Ana Marie L. is reading

Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

“She also authored The Yearling. The writing is superb, imagery sharp, and characters ones we have known or would like to meet.”

Jacqui W. suggests

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian

“…appropriate for these times…”

Marion J. suggests

Finding Themselves: The Letters of an American Army Chief Nurse in a British Hospital in France by Julia Catherine Stimson

Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin

Marie O. suggests

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

“Wonderful books. ENJOY!”

Leslie B. is reading

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

“I loved Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You. One of my favorites. Want to read Little Fires before I watch the series on TV.”

Lisa D. is reading

The Ghost Map. The story of London's most terrifying epidemic—and how it changed science, cities, and the modern world by Steven Johnson

Shelley D. is reading

Death's Dancer (Grace Bloods #1) by Jasmine Silvera

Jason D. is reading

The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet (The Way, With The Enchanted Neighborhood) by Benjamin Hoff

Mark C. is reading

After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story by Michael Hainey

Tell us what you’re reading and we’ll add it to the list!

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YOUR SUPPORT TODAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER

As a nonprofit arts organization, Whidbey Island Center for the Arts relies on support from our community. Please consider the role that art plays in your life and support your center with a gift of any amount today.

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