Personally, I’ve been making my way through Albert Camus’s The Plague—did you see this piece in the New York Times from Laura Marris, a literary translator working on a new translation as the coronavirus began its spread?—because WHY NOT TORMENT MYSELF???? It’s simultaneously fascinating and horrifying. The most moving piece about COVID-19 that I’ve read is by Patricia Lockwood, author of Priestdaddy, who wrote about her experience with the virus for the London Review of Books, aptly titled “Insane after coronavirus?” Seriously, if you only read one piece, make it this one. But let’s get to the fresh books about COVID-19. We have essays, poetry, and a few anthologies containing both, alongside a picture book.
Books About COVID-19
For more books about COVID-19, check out this list of free children’s books about coronavirus and these picture books about coronavirus procedures. For a more general look at pandemic lit, we’ve got a few: this master list of pandemic literature, and this essay about pandemic lit giving hope. We’ve also been keeping up with COVID-19 updates from the bookish world since March.
