Quarantine days have freed up plenty of time to pick up that book collecting dust on your nightstand—that book you kept telling yourself you’d read one of these days yet still haven’t touched after ordering it off of Amazon nine months ago. Use this time of isolation to read a book or two, preferably from the 10 listed below. 

1. All the President’s Men

All The President’s Men, written by journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, follows their investigation of the Watergate Scandal during the 1970s.  The co-authors were investigative reporters for The Washington Post when Nixon’s presidency fell apart.  Their recollection and attention to detail makes for a captivating read and a really good movie to go along with it.

2. The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury explores a futuristic society that moves to Mars, eventually destroying the Martian race and leaving their once beautiful planet in war-torn shambles.  If we are going to live in what feels like the apocalypse, it seems only appropriate to read about it as well.

3. Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is one of those life-altering novels that is ruined by your classmates in freshman English.  This classic takes place in a dystopian world where books are burned by firefighters. Bradbury ponders the power that comes with knowledge through protagonist Guy Montag as he discovers the reality of the world he lives in.  Fahrenheit 451 deserves a read outside of the classroom at least once, so give it a second try.

4. The Hunger Games 

In honor of the fourth installment of The Hunger Games series coming out in May, the original trilogy by Suzanne Collins has to make this list.  Before The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes hits the shelves, re-read the trilogy or maybe realize what you’ve been missing all these years if you haven’t.  Plus, you have a movie to watch after each book.

5. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone

If you have yet to read the Harry Potter series, stop what you are doing right now, go to Amazon Prime, put Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling in your basket, and proceed to checkout.  This might sound dramatic, but you have not lived until you’ve read at least one Harry Potter book.  Even if you have already read the series 11 times, read it again; it’s worth it.

6. The Impossible Climb

The Impossible Climb by Mark Synott provides a deeper look into rock climber Alex Honnold and one of his greatest accomplishments: free soloing El Capitan.  Free soloing is when climbers do not use equipment in their ascents. Needless to say, it’s extremely dangerous. Honnold free soloed the 3,000 foot El Cap in 2018, and there is also a documentary following the climb titled “Free Solo”.

7. That Was Then, This Is Now

S.E. Hinton is known for her classic novel, The Outsiders, but it seems that everyone forgets she wrote a plethora of heart-wrenching novels. That Was Then, This is Now, one of her underrated works, follows two friends that are practically brothers as they begin to delve into the messiness that is young adulthood.  Just a forewarning: grab a tissue box—you’ll need it.

8. The Selection

The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first book in a five installment series.  This series is extremely unique in the fact that it takes place in this post-apocalyptic, dystopian world, but it also feels like one of those guilty pleasure reads because it’s basically a reality television show.  The Selection follows a teenage girl, America, as she enters into a “The Bachelor”-like competition to win the prince’s proposal while also conflicted with the love she left behind at home.

9. Flowers For Algernon

This one is a tear-jerker…No, really: grab a box of tissues.  Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keys follows a mentally challenged adult man, Charlie Gordon, as his life becomes a human science experiment foreshadowed by fellow lab rat and companion, Algernon.  As the experiment continues, you get to see how the world changes in the eyes of Charlie with increased intellectual awareness.

10. Kill All Happies

Kill All Happies by Rachel Cohn feels like a weird fever dream when you read it, but it’s oddly entertaining.  This book follows a group of teens in an uneventful town throwing an incredibly strange party in an old amusement park with a biker gang that appears out of nowhere.  Hopefully this synopsis is vague and strange enough for you to take a day or two to read this rollercoaster of a story.