Are you looking for books to read at home during this enforced solitary time during the fight against COVID-19? While lots of us are looking for escape, others want even more immersion in the topic of global viruses and contaigon. There are plenty of books out there about pandemics, such as influenza and the Black Plague. Terrifying or comforting? Your call, dear reader. Our correspondent Abbie Martin Greenbaum has curated a list of the best books – both novels and histories – about global pandemics.
Topical reads about viruses and global pandemics
One good thing about this strange and terrible moment is that suddenly there’s ample time for solitary activities and reflection. For example, if you’re someone who has had an endless to-be-read pile of books and magazines sitting by your bed for months, this might be your chance to finally turn some pages.
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And if you’re like us, you might be looking for some excellent topical options. After all, great books – both fiction and nonfiction – have been written about pandemics for decades. And arguably, there has never been a better moment to read them.
The best books, novels and histories about global pandemics and viruses to read during COVID-19 outbreak.
Why? Well, some people want to understand the science of contaigon and the successful methods that have been deployed to defeat them. After all, there’s comfort in knowing that people before us have lived through a lot worse and come out the other side.
Then there are the adrenaline junkies, who want to go deeper into the abyss as a way to pass the time – or to manage their anxieties.
Wherever you may fall on that spectrum, these twelve books – novels and histories – about the spread of disease and global pandemics are here for those who want to dive even more deeply into this urgent topic.
The best books – novels and histories – about global pandemics and viruses to read during COVID-19 outbreak.
Dystopian fiction or chilling reality – take your pick.
The Best Novels and Histories About Global Pandemics
1.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. When COVID-19 really began to take over, it was Mandel’s post-pandemic masterpiece that you may have heard people whispering about to one another. And okay, yes, there are some definite similarities between the onset of their fictional virus and our real one. But there are also plenty of differences, and you should read Station Eleven for reasons other than its topicality.
At heart, this book is about the importance of art during apocalypse, and about how humans surviving after a tragedy takes everything they know. Though it is definitely dark, it may even make you feel a sort of hope about what could come next.
2.
In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made by Norman F. Cantor. While we are still in the middle of our own plague, it may be hard to absorb any lessons from it. But that doesn’t mean we have to stop learning from pandemics of the past. This is a short and accessible work of nonfiction, absorbing even to those who may not spend a lot of time reading historical texts.
If you are looking for a light at the end of the tunnel, and you want to see how society rebuilt after the Black Death, then this is a great way to find out all you need to know.
3.
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Zombie apocalypses are perhaps literature’s favorite metaphor for pandemics, and here the zombie infection literally is transmitted via virus. Even for those who have not always enjoyed the genre, you might like this one.
Carey chooses to focus on a group of outliers: children who are imprisoned because they are zombies who have been able to retain at least a portion of their own minds. This is a thriller, but it has a lot of depth and even more heart, choosing to look at the victims of its plague with empathy.
The best books – novels and histories – about global pandemics and viruses to read during COVID-19 outbreak.
4.
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry. Everyone has heard the many comparisons between the coronavirus COVID-19 and the 1918 “Spanish” flu. So maybe now is the time to learn a bit more about it. Barry’s book will teach you about the virus, the context of the America it ravaged, and even a bit about the history of medicine as it dates back to this period.
This history walks you through to an in-depth understanding of all that happened and all that went wrong. And how exactly this disease managed to wreak enough havoc that it’s still referenced today.
5.
Salvation City by Sigrid Nunez. In this novel set in the aftermath of a devastating plague, thirteen-year-old Cole is the only survivor from his family. And he’s struggling to make his way in a changed world. This is a gentler and less intense take on the pandemic book, veering more toward a coming-of-age story about connection and personal values.
If you want to read a book that feels less like a Hollywood apocalypse movie, and more like a literary work that just happens to take place after apocalypse, then this is an excellent choice.
6.
Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical by Anthony Bourdain. For those who are not as familiar with the strange and shocking story of “Typhoid Mary,” you will really enjoy this book from the late and greatly beloved Anthony Bourdain.
Told from the perspective of someone who has an intimate understanding of kitchen life, Bourdain is able to offer a bit more insight and sympathy to Mary than she is often allowed. If you are interested in reading a fascinating tale about the spread of a disease, give this one a try.
The best books – novels and histories – about global pandemics and viruses to read during COVID-19 outbreak.
7.
Zone One by Colson Whitehead. For those looking for a story a little closer to home, this post-pandemic novel takes place in a brutalized Manhattan. The book flashes back and forth between the siege of the pandemic and the government’s attempts to salvage the remains in the aftermath. Making it an apt choice for this moment in time.
Whitehead’s writing is always masterful, and this book has so much to offer, suggesting that there is much for us all to learn from the way mankind responds during emergency.
8.
How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS by David France. You may have heard of this book before, or have watched the movie of the same name. Well, this book comes from the film’s creator, and it is one of the all-time greatest accounts of the world’s fight to stop the AIDS outbreak in the late twentieth century.
France looks both at the individual players and the big picture, showing the way in which activists and scientists came together to halt this disease. It is certainly a painful read in parts, but absolutely vital.
9.
Severance by Ling Ma. If Station Eleven is one of the books most often being referenced with respect to COVID-19, then Severance is the other. This book is everything: a coming of age tale, a commentary on millennial culture, a critique of capitalism, and a story about immigration and how people respond during extraordinary times.
It is satirical and tonally quite different than many other pandemic novels, while still offering plenty of bleak insight. We’d recommend this book at any time, but it’s more relevant now than ever.
The best books – novels and histories – about global pandemics and viruses to read during COVID-19 outbreak.
10.
Crisis in the Red Zone: The Story of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History, and of the Outbreaks to Come by Richard Preston. This is a compelling and devastating chronicle of the 2013 Ebola outbreak, which manages to capture the catastrophic effects of a pandemic that infected 30,000 people.
Preston is one of the leading writers on the topic, and this book is just as arresting as his previous one, The Hot Zone. This is a good time to try and grapple with the full scope of the horror of this disease, and Preston lays it all out so that it is easy to understand.
11.
Feed by Mira Grant. The first book in a trilogy, Grant’s fast-paced novel shoots off from an alternate-universe 2014: one where a computer-controlled virus has infected millions.
In 2039, two journalists attempt to untangle the mess of what changed their world forever. Grant’s novel is incredibly readable, with realistic dialogue and engrossing characters. If you want a book that feels escapist but on-topic, this is a perfect pick.
12.
Superbugs: The Race to Stop an Epidemic by Matt McCarthy. If you’re curious about the general scientific background of a pandemic, it doesn’t get better than this.
You will learn more than you ever wanted to know about what it means to have a virus or bacteria that resists all of the drugs we currently have in our arsenal, and how scientists are coping with this today.
The Best Novels and Histories About Global Pandemics
That’s it – our picks for 12 novels and histories that are perfect to read during this time of COVID-19 if you want to go deep on the topic of global pandemics. Maybe don’t read them just before you try to go to sleep, though . . .
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Abbie Martin Greenbaum grew up in New York City and currently lives in Brooklyn, where she drinks a lot of coffee and matches roommates together for a living. At Oberlin College, she studied English and Cinema, which are still two of her favorite things, along with dessert and musical theater. She believes in magic.
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For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.