There are a lot of books about pandemics out there. But The Stand is perhaps more panic-inducing than encouraging when you’re trapped at home with the risk of infection outside. Rather than stark dystopias about devastating outbreaks, we looked instead for books that offer hope, and especially humor. “Laughter is the best medicine,” said someone somewhere, and while it might not be a coronavirus cure on its own, it can certainly help lift us on some dark and stressful days.

List of 5 Motivational Books To Read During Free Time:

The Decameron by Boccaccio

You’ve heard of The Canterbury Tales, a series of twenty-four stories told by a group of pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. Boccaccio’s The Decameron predates it by several decades.
But Boccaccio’s cast of seven women and three men isn’t on the road—rather, they’ve sequestered themselves in a villa near Florence in hopes of escaping the Black Death. The hundred tales they tell each other during your free time span the gamut from witty to tragic.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ask someone for literature about pandemics, and Love in the Time of Cholera is one of the first books that come to mind. Hey, “cholera” is right there in the title!

In fact, this book is about more than just cholera. It’s about love and relationships that span decades, and it asks if maybe love isn’t the real disease.

If coronavirus quarantine is your opportunity to revisit the classics you missed in high school and college, this is the perfect book to start with. Or, if you want to say things like “literature in the time of coronavirus” with more knowledge of the source for your clever reference, read this.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

You’ll be hard-pressed to find more fun and entertaining read about the end of the world. With their signature darkness, satire, and clever twists on mythology, Gaiman, and Pratchett created a wild tale of the apocalypse.

Agorafabulous!: Dispatches from My Bedroom by Sara Benincasa

What if you weren’t stuck in the house because of a virus, but because you couldn’t make yourself leave? That was the case for Sara Benincasa, who faced down agoraphobia, depression, an eating disorder, and panic disorder.
Ultimately, she’s become a standup comedian, a far cry from her days of never leaving her college dorm room. Her memoir is a humorous beacon of hope that whether the illnesses we face are mental or physical, we can still find ways to thrive, and one day, even opens the door.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

The bad news is, 16-year-old Cameron has mad cow disease. It’s incurable, and he’s going to die. The good news is, he’s going to have the adventure of a lifetime first—even if it’s all in his head. Plus, there’s a wacky road trip, so you can travel in your imagination.

At once morbid and hopeful, Going Bovine is an inspiring challenge to find wild adventure and satisfaction even when our world is closing in on us. If you’re not interested in reading about terminal illnesses right now, this isn’t the book for you.