Collection: COVID-19: HOW IT STARTED & HOW IT'S GOING

Probably the last thing you want to do is read a book about the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, we've gathered a few titles published since this pandemic started that either directly or indirectly address the current crisis.

Everything we've read suggests that more pandemics are coming. Perhaps we can and should be prepared--both materially and spiritually--for what's on the horizon.

There are several books here that show us how communities come together in the midst of a crisis to support those in need. There are others (like Don Fitz's book about the Cuban healthcare system) that show us what governments can accomplish when politicians have the requisite will to care for the people.

Then, there's Fabian Scheidler's epic (pre-)history of the disastrous logic of endless capital accumulation and perpetual growth. Scheidler is a writer for theatre and opera and The End of the Megamachine reads like a Greek tragedy, which will at least communicate the epic scale of the problem--even if we don't come away with an easy recipe for change.

And if none of that sounds appealing, there's a collection of poetry here, too: one of the weirder artifacts of the past year, perhaps. Still, some great poets contributed to Four Quartets and if you like poetry you likely won't regret picking up a copy. Who knows? You might end up reading it again during the next pandemic--or maybe the one after that!