By Laura Day

You may have been asked the question: ‘If you were marooned on a desert island, what things would you like to keep you company?’ It’s all fun and games until a pandemic turns the light-hearted question into an alarming reality.

Times of momentous change unwaveringly give rise to a particular literary genre; the Industrial Revolution saw a surge in science fiction sales, while the French Revolution inspired the growth of Gothic literature. COVID-19 certainly qualifies as a momentous change, so what books would we bring to our desert island and what genres can we see expanding? According to Teads, an advertising firm that reaches out to publishers, books concerned with health, careers, and home gardening saw the largest surges in popularity. There was also an increase in demand for books concerning literal and metaphorical isolation, such as Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. Non-fiction sales also sky-rocketed, with those who had more time on their hands eager to learn more about the world they once considered so familiar. Re-reading also grew in popularity, with readers finding comfort in travelling well-worn paths, escaping insecurity, vagueness and uncertainty for a few precious moments of clarity - you know how they start; you know how they end. It’s safe. It’s predictable. It’s what the new normal is missing.

During lockdown, when I wasn’t on Teams, writing essays, or trying to make sense of ever-changing restrictions and guidelines, I didn’t instinctively turn to books, despite my love of reading. Lockdown turned my life into a work of fiction, with each page bringing a plot-twist and, it seemed, someone else turning the pages. The void left by reading was promptly filled by disconcerting news articles, ceaseless e-mails and surreal government statements. It suddenly didn’t seem right to read for pleasure anymore, and it turns out I wasn’t alone. In fact, Nancy R. Gough, PhD spoke of her love for reading being buried under COVID jargon, grasping her phone instead of a book and losing the concentration needed to read. ‘It is all coronavirus all the time’, she wrote.

Perhaps reading has become less of a hobby and more of an essential coping mechanism for the tumultuous times we find ourselves in. Many turn to books for answers or to explore their faith, and it seems this has only become truer during lockdown. Christian bookstore Eden reported a 55% increase in Bible sales. But the wonderful thing about reading is that it can be whatever readers want it to be – a search for meaning or a moment of solace.

Although, sometimes, we cannot relate to fictional characters anymore – everyday scenes of teeming coffee shops and infuriating quotidian traffic now alienate the reader. Perhaps we now use them to reconnect to times untouched by COVID, to experience mass gatherings, international travel and perhaps a sense of normalcy, through their imaginary experiences.

As cases begin to rise again throughout the world and further lockdowns are being re-imposed, reading habits will continue to evolve and I have no doubt the books which emerge from these times will certainly be an interesting read!

In such uncertain times, one thing remains unequivocal - literature’s function as an unlimited ticket to escape reality has never been so vital.