The Coronavirus Quarantine Reading List [OPINION]

There was something to do when you were stuck in the house under normal circumstances in the month of March – you could watch NCAA men’s basketball and call your bookie to make it more interesting. But March Madness has been canceled along with all the other sports that kept your bookie in business.

Here is a list of interesting books you can read in place of watching sports:

City of Thieves by David Benioff – this novel is a wild ride based on the life and times of the people in the Soviet Union city of Leningrad during World War Two. The author used the stories of his grandfather and his imagination to create a page-turning book. You don’t have it that bad being stuck at home due to the Coronavirus.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - This novel is based on the writer’s own experience as a prisoner in the Soviet Union’s system of slave labor prison camps. This book is much shorter than some of Solzhenitsyn’s other books, but it is just as hard-hitting and it will put your confinement in perspective.

Night by Elie Wiesel – This short book is based on the experiences of the author when he was a Jewish teenager in Nazi concentration camps. If you have read it before you understand why it is worth reading again.

The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe – This is a novel based in New York City during the 1980s and it has lots in common with the world we live in today. Tom Wolfe was a great storyteller and you will enjoy any of the books he wrote, but I think Bonfire of the Vanities was his best.

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.