Reading sci-fi thrillers is a good way to wait out the pandemic that’s keeping everyone at home right now.

The United States and the rest of the world are dealing with a pandemic like no other. Governments, as well as medical institutions across the globe, are trying to come up with a vaccine and a cure. In the meantime, people are advised to stay inside their homes and avoid gathering in public places. While it may take quite some time for things to go back to normal, there are several activities we can do to pass the time. Reading sci-fi thrillers is one. Below are 5 great works we recommend while being stuck at home.

Inferno (Dan Brown)

Professor Robert Langdon finds himself in the middle of a bioterrorism plot stage by an unknown client of a shadowy group named The Consortium. The book features codes, symbols, and puzzles similar to Dan Brown’s other works. What makes Inferno different and timely is that it deals with a virus that is meant to infect the whole world. Inferno takes readers to various places and times in history such as Il Duomo, and Venice in Italy and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul where Langdon discovered the virus that cause sterility in one-third of humans. Inferno carries the Dan Brown trademark of excitement, historical tour, art lessons, and science. Overall, a delightful read.

The Brotherhood of the Wone (Len Stage)

Len Stage’s The Brotherhood of the Wone is an adventure sci-fi thriller with a blend of archaeology. It follows the story of Lon, a smart and creative handyman who lives in a small town. Lon’s simple life is disturbed when he gets a visit from a certain Jean Conway. Conway is the owner of their town’s museum and has connections with people in the field of archaeology. Together with Jane and her husband Bill, he goes to Belize where an unexpected discovery changes their lives forever. The Brotherhood of the Wone is Len Stage’s first book. A pleasant mix of Indiana Jones meets magic sci-fi thriller, The Wone is a short but entertaining read.

World War Z Books (Max Brooks)

Who doesn’t love zombie literature? People might be more familiar with Bradd Pitt’s 2013 blockbuster movie but World War Z is based on Max Brook’s World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie as well as The Zombie Survival Guide published in 2006 and 2003 respectively. The novel World War Z is a collection of individual accounts as narrated by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission in the aftermath of a devastating global conflict against a zombie plague. What makes the book interesting is how Brook’s creates a post-apocalypse scenario of various governments and institutions worldwide.

Cat’s Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut)

 Kurt Vonnegut is known for his satirical commentary on modern man and his madness and Cat’s Cradle is exactly that. In this book, we meet John and the children of the late Felix Hoenikker. Cat’s cradle is an apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and bleak but funny vision of what the future could look like. The book deals with the issue of free will and our relation to technology. It is one of the twentieth century’s most important books and one of Vonnegut’s classic works.

Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse (Victor Gischler)

Not all post-apocalypse novels are grim and dark. Victor Gischler’s book about a recently divorced man who got holed up in a cave and emerges nine years later into a whole new and bizarre landscape. Mr. Tate woke up to a different America- abandoned automobiles, electricity is generated by indentured servants operating stationary bicycles. Civilization goes on in a little strip club called Joey Armageddon’s Sassy A-Go-Go strip clubs. There the beer is cold, the lap dancers are hot, and there are bouncers armed with M16 rifles. If you are looking for a post-apocalyptic read that is hilarious and with gravity, read Victor Gischler’s Go-Go Girls of the Apocalypse.