I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog!
Today is a genre freebie over on Top Ten Tuesday, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put together another list! First, I hope everyone is staying safe out there, wherever you are. PLEASE don’t leave the house if you don’t have to, and if you are in the health care system or work in one of the essential businesses these days, please take care. I’m trying to stay as positive as I can, but you know how that goes. For now, the company I work for is closed, which means I’m temporarily out of a job. But I know others out there have it worse than I do, so I’m not going to complain about it. I’m finding lots of extra time to read and you can bet I’m taking advantage of that!
Instead of going the route of “hey let’s come up with a positive reading list,” I’ve decided to meet COVID-19 head on, so may I present to you my list of ten books about pandemics/apocalypses/hey the world as we know it is over, which might make you feel better about our situation (or not, this list might backfire on me completely!) I’ve read all of these and LOVED them all. I’m including links to my reviews if you’re interested.
1.
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. Wendig’s post apocalyptic story is particularly timely, since it’s about a fungal infection called White Mask that is decimating the world’s population. Sound familiar? This could be us if we don’t start taking social distancing seriously. Read my review here.
2.
A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. Years from now, there are barely any humans left on the planet, due to an event called the Gelding. Even so, a family living off the coast of Scotland manages to survive, until a stranger steals a beloved family dog. This story is more hopeful than most post-apocalyptic stories, and if you’re a dog lover, you MUST read this! Read my review here.
3.
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. This isn’t your typical end of the world story, but if you haven’t read it you really should. The book is narrated by a joyful, human-loving crow named S.T., and the story takes place in Seattle, where humans are suddenly turning into flesh-eating zombies. S.T. joins forces with his best friend, a bloodhound named Dennis, to try to save his beloved humans. Hollow Kingdom is hysterically funny, terribly sad, exciting, nail-biting and ultimately hopeful. One of the best books I’ve ever read. Read my review here.
4.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Years after reading and loving this book, I still think of it occasionally and wish I had time for a reread. Most readers might not remember that this is actually a story about 99% of the human population dying because of a terrible flu. But Mandel focuses more on her characters and their attempts to navigate the aftermath of the pandemic, which makes this story beautiful and hopeful. Read my review here.
5.
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey. The sequel to The Girl with All the Gifts, this book set in a world where almost everyone has become “hungrys,” or zombies. A research team is sent out into the wild to try to discover a cure. I loved this book even more than the first one! Read my review here.
6.
Our War by Craig DiLouie. In this story, you won’t find killer viruses or zombie-causing fungi, but you will find something just as terrifying: humans turning violent and overthrowing the political infrastructure, which leads to a second civil war in America. This is a chilling vision of what our future could look like some day. Read my review here.
7.
The Genius Plague by David Walton. Ah, another evil fungus story! The Genius Plague was really fun—although terrifying in places—and if you’re looking for big entertainment value with your pandemics, then this is a good choice. A fungal infection that causes extreme intelligence doesn’t sound very dangerous, until Walton gets his hands on it! Read my review here.
8.
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker. I chose to include this book because it strikes a chord with something very current at the moment: social distancing. In Pinsker’s future, cities all over the United States are brought to their knees by a series of bomb threats. As a result, large gatherings of people, including music concerts, are forbidden. Sound familiar? The way the musicians and music lovers in this story handle the situation is what makes this book so special. Read my review here.
9.
Ration by Cody T. Luff. The future in Ration is very bleak indeed. There simply isn’t anymore food left, because of climate change and the devastating pollution of the oceans. It’s a chilling concept, and this story doesn’t pull any punches. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone, but if you are looking for a hard hitting sci-fi/horror mashup, this might be the book for you. Read my review here.
10.
The Stand by Stephen King. And of course, no list like this would be complete without mentioning The Stand, the granddaddy of viral pandemic stories. Before you can rewrite the world, you have to thin the herd, and that’s exactly what Captain Trips does. (Sorry, no review for this book!)
I toyed with this approach for today, but… I don’t think I have it in me to read pandemic stories at the moment so I went in another direction for distraction 🙂 Great list – Station Eleven remains one of my favourite books of recent years (although I might not rush to reread it right now…)
Hope you and yours are holding up okay. We’ve just got into full lockdown; we were already behaving as if we were (unlike the rest of the country, apparently), but it’s funny how being told “you’re not allowed to leave your home” hits you. On the flip side, someone walked past my window this morning telling their companion ‘now more than ever it’s important to smile at people’ and WOW that’s a big shift in London (where “don’t make eye contact” is practically a religion 😉 – so there’s hope!
We’re not in full lockdown – yet. I suspect if some of the morons who keep ignoring social distancing keep it up, we will be soon:-/
Thank you for sharing this!
My pleasure!
I am not a big fan of Station Eleven, sadly, but to be honest this is a genre that is not my favorite to start with so… It was expected. But I hope to read A Song for A New Day soon!!!
A Song for a New Day is really good, and it wasn’t what I was expecting at all. Very hopeful and mostly upbeat:-)
Great list! I’ve heard wonderful things about A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World and Station Eleven, I need to check them out. I’m probably not in the mood for anything apocalyptic right now, though!
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I totally get it, not sure I could even read any of these right now!
I’m gonna keep these books in mind for when this is all over. I think they would freak me out too much. xD
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Ha ha, I know what you mean.
Great list. I’d add Age of Miracles and The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. Without a lot of the violence — she’s great at the slow creep of disaster, sort of like what we’re experiencing now. Then totally at the other end of that spectrum, The Road by Cormac McCarthy…
Thanks Robin! Age of Miracles is a great one, I had forgotten about that. And I thought about adding the Road but I felt like it was TOO gloomy:-)
The Stand – it will forever haunt me! So I love the way you went with this list. I actually did books to lose yourself in so I guess you could say I did the opposite. Yet funny enough, I added Hollow Kingdom too. I’ll use any excuse to promote that book. I can’t stop thinking about everyone losing their job. Our boss deemed us essential yesterday which is good in one way but I still worry about being out (thank heavens it’s only a 2 person office in my area). Stay safe my friend!
I love that Hollow Kingdom made both our (completely different) lists, lol. Stay safe, Barb!!
I, like everyone else, loved Station Eleven! I actually picked up The Book of M right before things really picked up as far as social distancing/hoarding, etc. and don’t know if reading it now is the best idea for me as far as mental health, but I can’t stop because so far it’s super good!
I’ve heard such great things about The Book of M, it’s definitely on my list:-)
Both Wanderers and Station Eleven were strongly recommended to me by a trusted friend, and I intend to read them one of these days – possibly when I’m able to do that on a park bench under the sun… 😉
Jokes aside, I’ve read a few of the books in your list, and they are all good, solid reads that should make everyone’s list of “must reads”. Thanks for sharing!
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Station Eleven is definitely more on the positive side, more of a reflective story without any direct scary stuff. If I didn’t have so many books to read, I’d do a reread:-)
Ha ha, I started working on a list with the same and then got too depressed! Maybe I’ll finish at some point. My list would include a lot of the same as yours (The Stand, Wanderers, Boy & His Dog, Station Eleven…), and then I’d add in the zombie apocalypse caused by viruses books like World War Z and Feed… and Mira Grant’s super disturbing short Apocalypse Scenario: The Box. Fun topic!
Ha ha! I totally get that. I can’t believe I haven’t read Feed, I must get to it one day:-)
The Stand was a great story. Have you seen the 90s miniseries based on it?
My TTT .
Yes, I thought the mini series was pretty good, although I hear a lot of people trash it, lol.
I’m continuously curious about Wanderers, I’ve seen so much love for that one! One day when I have room for a tome…
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It actually goes by pretty fast. I never felt like it was a slog to get through.
This is a kick-ass list! I added The Genius Plague to my list a while back and then completely forgot about it. *smacks forehead*
And now I’ve just heard one too many people I admire say that Station Eleven is great – I will read it as soon as I can.
Hope you and yours are all OK. *hugs*
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Thanks Mayri! Genius Plague is SO good!
I don’t think I could read these. I’m freaked out enough as it is!
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Yeah, I get it! Having read all these before coronavirus, I’m not a hundred percent sure I could pick one up right now:-)
Really nice list. Glad you enjoyed them. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/03/ttt-032420.html
Thanks Patrick!
I couldn’t think of any additions to the list, and that had me realizing I’ve not read many books about pandemics and end of world scenarios. I guess I have some catching up to do! 🙂 I have, though, read the classic in the list, The Stand, and absolutely loved it. And based on your reviews in the past I’d picked up A Boy and His Dog… and Our War, so I have something to look forward to.
I recommend any of these. Some are better right now just because they’re more on the hopeful side, I’d stay away from Ration if I were you!
Lol, I’ve been skipping apocalypse stories just for this pandemic reason. I cannot BELIEVE you’re doing the exact opposite!
Ha ha, I know it’s odd. But for some reason I can’t stop thinking about how many stories are out there!
Bwahaha, okay, I love this post! Yes, meet COVID on its own turf. I was actually talking about this with someone the other day. If I had time in my reading schedule, it’d be the perfect time to pick up Wanderers. I keep forgetting to grab Hollow Kingdom from my library! Every time I see someone mention it, it reminds me. I should make a note lol. I’m reading The Last Human right now, so … that sort of fits the theme, right? Or at least the title does.
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I’m curious to hear what you think of The Last Human:-) Wanderers is intense, so you do have to be ready for it, not gonna lie!
We might have picked the same topic – but I like your take on it a lot better! The themes of social distancing and political upheaval.
I will say- I find all the apocalyptic stories weirdly comforting right now? Like How there are still humans in most of these stories pulling together one way or another for survival. I’m strange I know.
Ha ha, thanks Sarah, but I really loved all your choices too. And I’m the same, it doesn’t bother me to read apocalyptic stories either, I feel like most of them are worse than what we’re dealing with, maybe?
Heard of a couple of these and the only one I read (The Stand) I didn’t like…lol. 🙂 I do want to try Hollow Kingdom at some point.
I think you’d like Hollow Kingdom:-)
I still need to read The Boy on the Bridge. Very appropriate choices. 🙂
Thanks! Boy on the Bridge is totally worth reading!
I think it was your list that encouraged me to join in this week with my own similar list! The Stand was one I picked as well. Otherwise I haven’t read any of these, although a few are on my TBR! You can check out my Top 10 in the link below!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: End of the World Books I Recommend
Station Eleven seems like a perfect read for now lol. Plus I did want to read it but never got around to it. All of these sound great though. Ration especially sounds super hard hitting but intriguing!
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Station Eleven has a great ending, so I would say it’s fine to read now, without freaking you out:-)
I’ve been seeing Station Eleven pop up on a lot of these lists so maybe it is high time I got around to reading that book! I also really like Parable of the Sower by Octavia E Butler which is post apocalyptic and towns become isolated and need to stay inside their barriers – which kind of makes me think of the quarantine situation!
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Parable of the Sower is a great one! I haven’t read it but I really should.
A disconcerting list for sure, considering! But great list!
And there are a lot more that aren’t on this list. I love how everyone is so afraid of pandemics, and here we are:-/
I really need to read Station Eleven! It’s high on my priority list as soon as I get through some of these obligated books. 🙂
It’s such a beautifully written book. I’d like to read it again:-)
I’ve always said that dystopias were never my thing because real life was enough of a dystopia (and I used to say that onnly half tongue in cheek) — and now it really is!
It’s crazy, right? Every day I wake up I feel like I’m in a movie or something:-/
I have several of these on my TBR but will probably hold off on reading them until we’re on the other side of our own pandemic, lol.
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Hey, makes sense!
Great list!
I’m currently reading Station Eleven right now. I’m really enjoying it 🙂
Oh good, I loved the ending!