Although the COVID-19 pandemic can be very isolating, I have found solace throughout this time through literature and in hearing the human voices and perspectives of different authors. As someone that is always recommending books to friends, I’ve organized a list of books to read based on the zodiac signs that the novel reminded me of. If you’re into astrology, I would also recommend that you check out the moon and rising sign in your birth chart and maybe pick up a book that will appeal to those aspects of your personality. I hope you find a little bit of an escape with these novels just as I did!
- Aries: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
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So… where are my Percy Jackson lovers at? This action packed novel is perfect for the fiery Aries. This tale follows the classic mythological story of Achilles, but with an interesting twist as it’s told from the perspective of Patroclus. This underdog story will not only hold the relatively short attention span of an Aries, but will also motivate them to tap into their fighting and adventurous spirit in their waking life!
- Taurus: This Time Next Year, We’ll Be Laughing by Jacqueline Winspear
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This beautiful memoir captures the legacy of the Maisie Dobbs author’s family that gave her the gift of perseverance, despite the obstacles life throws our way. The author captures in perfect detail her tough loving mother, as well as her family’s stories of surviving through a time of bombings and warfare in Britain and living amongst gypsies. The tone of the novel will be perfect for the cozy Taurus to cuddle up with. The narrator’s tone sounds like a wise grandmother telling stories. The themes of history and family will motivate the Taurus to survive any of the challenges that the pandemic lifestyle is throwing their way!
- Gemini: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
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This novel follows a set of twins and explores themes of racial identity, family, and upbringing. Although Geminis get a bad reputation of being two-faced, this novel will appeal to their ability to look at things from new and fresh perspectives. The stories of the two very different twins told side by side will cause the curious Gemini to keep turning pages and to view the black female experience through a new lense. This novel will also shortly be turning into a HBO series, so in order to set the trend, I would recommend the Gemini to start reading soon!
- Cancer: This Close to Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith
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TW: this novel brings up themes of suicide.
This heartwarming story switches from the perspectives of a therapist named Talia and a stranger named Emmett. Themes of loneliness, humanity, and forgiveness are brought up when Talia saves Emmett from taking his own life and as he helps her cope with her divorce. This novel will appeal to the caring and romantic Cancer who would relate to the empathetic and giving Talia, who ends up finding comfort and healing of her own through her companionship with Emmett.
- Leo: Untamed by Glennon Doyle
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When I tell you I cried out of empowerment every time I picked this up, I’m not playing! This series of essays will make you rethink the decisions you make for yourself versus the decisions you make for others. It will inspire you to tap into your intuition and let it guide you in order to live your truest life. The fierce and trendsetting Leo will love the advice of Glennon Doyle, who chooses to create her own path and leaves a marriage that no longer serves her in pursuit of love for professional soccer player Abby Wambach. Glennon is always pushing boundaries and lets her audience know that tough decisions are usually the best ones. Her mantra, “We can do hard things,” is one that stuck with me through all the challenges that life has thrown at me and I hope this novel resonates with my sister sign, Leo, as well!
- Virgo: Dearly by Margaret Atwood
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This poetry book by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, is eloquently written and brings up themes of life, death, love, and all lessons revolving being human. “Salt,” is my personal favorite poem within this book. I would recommend this to any Virgo for the artistic style as well as the rhythm that the poetry follows. Virgos are also known for their overthinking, which, in my opinion, makes poetry a great form of literature for them to explore as they will ponder over every little word and the messages and themes this novel has even after putting it down.
- Libra: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
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Follow in the footsteps of our Libra queen Kim Kardashian and pick up this book if you are interested in themes of justice in the systems of the U.S. that promote mass incarceration of people of color. This novel is written by a black lawyer working in the deep South and it’s extremely eye-opening towards the prejudices that black people face, not only by the police but also by the judicial systems that disproportionately imprison people of color. This novel will appeal to the justice-oriented Libra and give a new meaning to the word mercy. I would also recommend the reader of this novel to look into Stevenson’s website, Equal Justice Initiative, to learn more about criminal justice reform and ways that readers can help create a more forgiving and just incarceration system.
- Scorpio: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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This dystopian novel will tap into the Scorpio’s intense curiosity regarding the twisted nature of humanity. In this novel, society dramatically shifts as a world war causes women to be subjugated by men and used as objects to provide life. This novel takes place in the city of Cambridge, which in essence will haunt a Massachusetts reader and make them wonder about what life could be like for females in the future. Dark and disturbing themes arise from this novel that will cause the Scorpio to question the ethics of mankind, as well as religion, and cause the reader to further push boundaries regarding their ideals of feminism. I would also recommend watching the Hulu adaptation after finishing the book!
- Sagittarius: Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
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The adventurous Sagittarius would totally fall in love with the story of Chris McCandless who leaves his monotonous life behind to explore the West Coast by backpacking and eventually surviving alone in the woods of Alaska. This novel is a perfect escape for anyone who may be experiencing cabin fever and may even inspire you to bundle up and explore the great outdoors, despite the cold New England winter weather. The experience-seeking Sag would love the themes of risk, passion, and nature that this novel has to offer.
- Capricorn: Solar Bones by Mike McCormack
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This critically written novel brings about themes of environment, love, marriage, and politics. Told from the perspective of a grounded architect, many hardworking Capricorns may relate to the narrator of this story and fall in love with his commitment to his wife who becomes very sick due to a parasite in their city’s water supply. This novel has the capability of making even the most cold-hearted Capricorns cry, but it is also embedded with a dry and sarcastic humor that may appeal to this earth sign! The politics and economics regarding the infrastructure of cities are sure to interest the money-driven Cap!
- Aquarius: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
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This inspiring memoir will appeal to the humanity oriented Aquarius. This novel tells the story of a group of Iranian females discussing literature in secret meetings run by a professor named Azar Nafisi. This bright group of females go behind the government in the pursuit of education and they form deep and life lasting relationships with one another through sharing experiences with novels. Literature becomes a form of healing for this group of women and this novel will inspire the waterbearers to use their intellect as a coping mechanism to endure challenges that life throws at them.
- Pisces: On Earth, We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
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Written by UMass professor Ocean Vuong, this prose-filled novel is essentially a long letter to his complicated and tough-loving mother. His mother and grandmother survived many traumas in Vietnam and they eventually move to Connecticut to try to make a better life for themselves. Vuong strays from his usual literary form of poetry to write this novel but holds onto the rhythm found in his poems which makes this read feel almost like a song. The emotional Pisces will love the different aspects of relationships that this novel explores. The sign is known to wear rose-tinted glasses, so they are sure to melt over the coming-of-age love story that Ocean reminisces over.
I hope you check out some of these novels and enjoy them as much as I did! Reading really is a great form of distraction, so I would recommend it to anyone trying to give more time to themselves. The lessons embedded will help humans connect with one another in a safe way right now and books really are a form of therapy!