Books to read while self-distancing

While we’re all practicing self distancing, now is a great time to pick up a book you’ve been meaning to read. I know that I personally have a mountain of books in my To Be Read pile, but here’s a few recommendations to prevent you from getting cabin fever while you’re at home.

‘The Two Lives of Lydia Bird’ by Josie Silver

When Lydia’s fiance dies in a car accident, she has difficulty sleeping while she tries to grieve for him. A doctor prescribes her a vial of pink sleeping pills that allows her to slip away to another life where her fiance never died, but as she allows herself to spend more and more time in that world things begin to unravel in her real life.

‘Dear Edward’ by Ann Napolitano

Twelve-year-old Edward boarded a plane with his parents and brother on a trip to Los Angeles. Instead of reaching sunny California, the plane crashes, leaving Edward as the sole survivor and an orphan. Now Edward is faced with trying to figure out how to survive in a world without his loved ones and find a reason to keep going on.

‘Deacon King Kong’ by James McBride

The bustle in the projects came to a halt one day when an elderly church deacon, known as Sportcoat, up and shot a drug dealer. As the novel explores why Sportcoat shot the dealer, the book provides details from all the witnesses, the shooter and the victim in this 1960s New York tale.

‘We Ride Upon Sticks’ by Barry Quan

Grab some hairspray and leg warmers, as this dynamic field hockey team will transport readers back to the ’80s. In the hopes of getting to the state championships, the Danvers Falcons players will practice witchcraft and mischief in the name of Emilio Estevez in the hopes of achieving their goals.

‘In Five Years’ by Rebecca Serle

On the night of her engagement to her longtime boyfriend, Dannie falls asleep and has a dream of herself five years in the future where she’s living a different life in a different apartment and engaged to a very different man. When she wakes up, she can’t quite shake the dream until four and a half years later, when she meets the dream man on her best friend’s arm.

‘Such a Fun Age’ by Kiley Reid

Emira is a black woman doing her job, when she’s accused of kidnapping the white child she’s babysitting during a trip to a grocery store. The store confrontation explodes and Emira’s boss, Alix, wants to make everything better, but Emira is wary.

‘This Town Sleeps’ by Dennis Staples

Marion Lafournier, a mid-20s, gay Ojibwe man, unknowingly brings back the spirit of a dog which leads him to the grave of the town’s former basketball star. As Marion begins to investigate the athlete’s death, he uncovers an old legend that might be the key to solving the mystery he finds himself in.