5 books to read while in quarantine

MANILA -- We are now more than a month into enforced community quarantine to contain the spread of the dreaded COVID-19. For most of us used to going out for work or school, listlessness and boredom due to the bland tedium of enforced isolation at home must have surely settled in. We are probably running out of series or films to watch. Travel plans put on hold are making us long for the world outside.

If you have a bad case of tsundoku or book hoarding like me, then now is the perfect time to start working your way through that pile of unread books. If you have the following books in your stash, then I highly recommend that you start reading them now in this time of isolation.

1. 'The Lonely City,' Olivia Laing (2016)

Olivia Laing’s "The Lonely City" explores the intimate relationship between isolation and creativity while living in one of the world’s busiest and most densely populated metropolises, New York City. I guess many of us who are based in Manila or in other similar places can relate to Laing’s persistent feeling of loneliness despite being surrounded by glimmering skyscrapers and hordes of people in a city that hardly sleeps, if at all.

I think this book is perfect for those experiencing the all-too familiar pangs of loneliness more than a month into this forced isolation. Instead of dreading this feeling, like what most of us are inclined to do, we could welcome and be inspired by it. She asks that we recognize that loneliness will always be an integral part of being human, “Loneliness, longing, does not mean one has failed, but simply that one is alive.” Laing shows us that we should not be frightened of being alone, that solitude can be a most welcome friend, and that beautiful things could come out of it. Indeed, some of the best works of art -- from paintings to poetry, songs to stories -- were products of a deep desire to understand loneliness and all its intricacies.

2. 'Twisted Travels: Rambles in Central Europe,' Jessica Zafra (2018)

With both domestic and international travel highly restricted for the past few weeks and possibly in the next couple more, good travel books surely come in handy to whisk us away to places we miss or those that we haven’t yet crossed off our bucket list. One of the Philippines’ most distinctive literary voices, Jessica Zafra, is also one of the country’s most formidable travel writers. Her essays and short stories can surely take you places even without setting a foot outside your bedroom door.

Zafra’s follow up to her earlier collection of the same name, "Twisted Travels: Rambles in Central Europe" recounts her experiences in popular destinations that side of the world -- from return journeys to Paris and Venice to first time travels in Hungary and Poland. What makes Zafra’s travel essays different from and far more memorable than most is that they are not prescriptive. Don’t expect lists of things to do and see, you won’t find those in her book. Rather it is her observations told in only a manner that Zafra can, with her trademark wit, candor, and ruthlessness, that draws the readers in. Whose interest won’t be piqued by lines such as, “Paris is beautiful and filthy, like a supermodel with a PhD who doesn’t change her underwear”? Zafra with her timeless style, indeed, is the best companion in these days of restricted movements.

3. 'Without You There is No Us,' Suki Kim (2014)

There is no better time than now to read Suki Kim’s searing memoir "Without You There is No Us," not only because it is an intimate look into what life is like in North Korea, the most reclusive nation in the world, but also because it is an informative read after watching the recent hit Korean drama "Crash Landing On You" (which I assume many of you have already watched by now).

As an undercover missionary-teacher, Korean-born American writer Suki Kim spent six months teaching Pyongyang’s elite, and six months walking the thin line separating affection from abomination, love and disgust. Ultimately, despite their habitual lies and unquestioning devotion to their “Great Leader,” Kim finds herself falling in love with her students whom she tries to enlighten about the “outside world” to the best of her abilities. Her detailed recollections are unsettling reminders of how true evil is nothing like fictitious monsters, but that true evil can be found in the banality and the seeming ordinariness of everyday life.

4. 'The Gullet,' Clinton Palanca (2016)

The award-winning writer Clinton Palanca, one of his generation’s best writers and who sadly passed away last year, bequeathed us mere mortals with "The Gullet," a collection of some of his best essays. Palanca, with his background as a sociologist and fictionist, rewards his readers with pieces that go beyond describing food and reviewing restaurants. Every piece is a delight to read, every morsel of information worth savoring.

With special focus on Philippine cuisine, the essays feel like partaking in sumptuous lessons charting the history and evolution of Filipino food -- from the Malolos banquets to Spanish and Chinese influences on local food. His ruminations on life as a writer and critic inspire introspection among writers both struggling and seasoned. As a cosmopolitan writer, Palanca likewise takes us on a gastronomic journey across some of the world’s culinary meccas -- London, Morocco, China, and of course, the Philippines. If you’re missing the many culinary delights of the “outside world” while holed up at home, then this book makes for a perfect companion.

5. 'Convenience Store Woman,' Sayaka Murata (2018)

There are not a lot of books that are quite like "Convenience Store Woman." This strangely beautiful oddball of a novel from Japanese writer Sayaka Murata centers on the eponymous 36-year-old Furukura Keiko, a convenience store employee for exactly half her life, as she struggles to “cure” herself and become normal.

At times funny (as in Furukura’s attempts at being “normal”), at others poignant (when she struggles to understand the emotions of her sister), at certain moments chilling (when she toys with psychotic thoughts), :Convenience Store Woman" takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions while forcing us to confront the questions: “How far will you go to fit in?”; What does it mean to be ‘normal’?” Some questions worth reflecting on while we’re in forced isolation.