Okay, so here in Chicago we’re pretty far away from Hurricane Sandy and the watery apocalypse prophesied for the East Coast – doesn’t mean we can’t get in the disaster spirit. Here are five books you can read for some storm panic solidarity.
1. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger – Sort of a no-brainer, right? What’s cool about The Perfect Storm is that it’s a true story, so you can really feel like you’re in the middle of the action.
2. In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick – It turns out that Moby-Dick was inspired by the real-life sinking of the whaleship Essex when it collided with a sperm whale. Read about the underlying historical events of the literary masterpiece. Or you could read Moby-Dick, but let’s hope the storm’s not long enough for you to get all the way through that.
3. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe – There are plenty of novels about shipwreck, but this is the grandaddy of them all. Alternatively, you could read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, because who doesn’t love pirates in their shipwreck novels?
4. Harbour by John Ajvide Lindqvist – A novel about horrors rising from the deep to attack a small seaside town – perfect! Great for Halloween and worrying about hurricanes.
5. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell – Finally, an excuse to sit down and read that book everyone’s talking about! Or if you really don’t want to read about hurricanes at a time like this.