Today is September 9th. I have been in quarantine for 182 days. Virtually alone for 182 days. That is asides from the #podcat, who spends most of her days sleeping, as well as a couple of socially-distanced meet-ups. If there was ever a summer to lose myself in books, this was it. Reading during quarantine would become my connection to the world.
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March 2020: The Start of Quarantine Life
I flew home from New York City on March 12th, right when most of the state was going into lockdown and Toronto was only just starting to get scared. It was a weird experience being in a deserted airport with a fresh book and going home to an empty apartment after being away for 10 days, missing my friends, and my routines. Gen and I had to figure out how to record the podcast virtually. I had to figure out how to get groceries. No one had any idea that this is what we would be doing in 2020.
Words on pages and voices in headphones. Reading during quarantine has been a lifeline to the world, to fictional worlds, and to myself.
Reading through Quarantine: April was the Hardest Month
April was the hardest as I had to spend my birthday alone. My parents couldn’t fly out to Toronto as planned. There was no Easter dinner and I had to let go of all of my favourite annual events that typically take place that month:
Floating through the first month of quarantine was a learning curve for sure, but I had books. While I was grateful that I was still working full-time, it was hard to focus on anything else. Gen and I each walked half an hour just to stand six feet apart and talk for awhile (and exchange some books of course). For the previous 6 years, we’ve been used to seeing each other no less than a couple of times a week (if not 5 days a week) and now we’ve seen each other for 30 minutes in-person in over the last 6 months. I only managed to read one book in April because I was just trying to figure how to navigate this new world.
Finding my Reading Groove in May
May was when I found my groove. I made the time to read. Carving out moments and getting lost in a book. My balcony was set up with new flowers and greenery. It was a perfect reading sanctuary. I also started listening to audiobooks for the first time. I quickly learned that only certain tasks could be done while listening to books – things like doing the dishes and baking banana bread. It motivated me to do those tasks every day. Sea Wall/A Life took my breath away with every minute I listened. A recording of two monologues performed on Broadway, it was overwrought with emotion and it was an outlet for my feelings. I read 6 books.
- Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver
- Movies (And Other Things) by Shea Serrano
- Sea Wall/A Life by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne (audiobook)
- Pallbearing: Stories by Michael Melgaard
- You Are Not What We Expected by Sidura Ludwig
- Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear (audiobook)
Forming Healthy Habits while Reading during Quarantine in June
June was about more new habits after listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear. Focusing on my health with smoothies and Barre3 videos every day kept me going. Another month of reading during quarantine was thankfully helped by a new book club at work – The Classics. I have read so few classics that this was a way for me to dive into new worlds I had never experienced. Listening to The Great Gatsby narrated by Jake Gyllenhaal was the game-changer. How had I never read that book before? Inspired to write every day, I now have most of a short story collection ready for a second draft. 3 books read.
- The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (audiobook)
- The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan
July Reading during Quarantine: 2 Books
July was a blur. Gen and I had our recording method down over Skype. We had workdays where we would work alone (yet together over video) and get podcast stuff done. Toronto is unbearably hot in July and I don’t do well in the heat on a good day, nevermind when there is a global pandemic going on. I managed to read 2 books.
- Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
- Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck (audiobook)
August Reading during Quarantine: 5 Books
Thankfully, August ended up being a distraction because we had so many book club books and books from publisher partnerships to keep me focused and reading during quarantine. My balcony garden was flourishing so it became easy to make time after work to go out and read instead of watching reruns on tv.
Weekend mornings were spent perfecting my pour-over coffee routine and reading on the balcony until the sun came over my neighbouring building. I would then head inside but keep reading until lunchtime. Reading during quarantine had become a joy, a refuge, a solace. Without realizing it, I was making a routine and doing self-care. By creating a safe space for myself to exist and read during quarantine, I lost myself in the fictional (and non-fictional) world of my books. I read 5 books.
- From the Ashes by Jesse Thistle
- The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann
- The Imago Stage by Karoline Georges
- Fauna by Christiane Vadnais
- Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
Reading Goals for September and Beyond
Looking at the list of books I read during quarantine, I can see the waves of my mental state through the pandemic. Reading more when I was feeling good, reading less when I wasn’t. A mix of both during the times when I just didn’t know how to feel. Reading lighter things when I needed something easy and tougher subjects when I felt I could handle it. Reading during quarantine has been my lifeline.
Thanks to reading during quarantine, I’ve met my Goodreads goal four months early. I wonder how many more books I will read. I just finished reading Historically Inaccurate by Shay Bravo and I can’t wait to dive into some fall books.
Have you been reading through quarantine? Are you finding yourself gravitating to certain authors or subjects? Let us know in the comments below or e-mail us at hello@anotherbookontheshelf.com — we would love to hear about how reading has helped you this summer!
