Ask the JamFam: What's the best thing you've read during quarantine?

Reading... we all say we're doing it. But here are some tailored recs, just in case.

elcome to Ask the JamFam, where we ask expert culture writers, seasoned couch-sitters, and members of the JamFam the most pressing chilling-adjacent questions on our mind.

Anyway, we swear we are reading stuff right now. Here's a shortlist of books that have helped us all get through.

Vikram Murthi: Warlock by Oakley Hall

‍Brianna Holt: All About Love by bell hooks

Alphonse Pierre: Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Larry Fitzmaurice: Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson

‍Dayna Evans: I read Robert Caro's book about writing, "Working." It made me feel like I *also* wrote four biographies of an American president and one thousand-page book about the architect of 20th century New York. It's good to feel accomplished for doing absolutely nothing.

‍Winston Cook-Wilson: Valeria Luiselli's The Story of My Teeth

‍Corban Goble: Wolf Hall trilogy but especially the closing sequence which made me feel like I was tripping balls

Joanna Rothkopf: Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Otis Blum: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

‍Hunter Harris: When Jada Pinkett Smith tweeted "There's some healing that needs to happen. I'm taking myself to the red table."

There’s some healing that needs to happen…so I’m bringing myself to The Red Table.
— Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapsmith) July 2, 2020

Paul Hinkes: Fiction: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. This book is nearly 70 years old but (sadly re: our culture) reads/scans as an incredibly modern piece.

Downtime is brought to you by Jambys, a company that makes really comfortable clothes. Use code downtime for 15% off your first order, and we'll use that money to hire more cool writers and make more cool stuff.