Reading during the pandemic is challenging – as is everything else. But today, I was thinking about what I wanted to read next, and I happened on an article in the Washington Post that states that Americans are reading dystopia, social justice, and steamy romances.
I must admit I found that an intriguing combination. I can’t help but wonder if some are reading all three or if each person is reading mostly in one genre
Steamy romances are of no interest to me. Every book club I belong to is reading social justice, and about half my writer friends are writing dystopia. Interesting. Those facts seem to be right on track with the trend. So… I took a look at my most recent reads and found I, too, am reading a bit of this mixed bag.
The last book I read was the new Jodi Picoult, The Book of Two Ways. Maybe it is a bit of a steamy romance, but the amount of fascinating Egyptology included in the book kept my mind off the characters having sex. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I did. It was a good read full of characters with relationship problems. Problems caused by choices the characters made that altered the course of their lives. There was a lot of steamy sex – but I mostly skipped those pages.
Prior to that, I read Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler reading this book during the pandemic makes it a dystopian novel, but when it was written, in 1993, it was considered science fiction. Because of the parallels to events happening today, the pandemic, racial tension, global warming, social media, to name a few. Reading this may give me points for both dystopia and social justice
Louise Penny’s All the Devils Are Here – number sixteen – in her Chief Inspector Gamache series – proved to be an excellent read. The shadowed corners in Paris, the City of Lights, are a perfect hiding place for secrets, danger, and corruption. As a Penny fan, this book had it all, and for a pandemic read, one could say that it is a reflection on our current norms. I just think it is a great thriller! It didn’t fit in any of the three most-read categories.
As for what is next, I’ll be reading the books on my nightstand. When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole (social justice), https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sarah-healy/the-sisters-chase/ (dysfunctional families), Down the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick (true-life adventure) and, of course, anything else that catches my eye.
No steamy romances, however.
Happy Reading, T.
