In case you’re reading this years in the future, let me just say that the spring of 2020 is one we will most likely choose not to look back upon with fondness. A frightening pandemic swept the country, while calls to stay home and “flatten the curve” were, by all too many, ignored.

Some in self-isolation rediscovered the joy of reading. Gary and I settled in, each with a pile of books, to stay safe and healthy.

And well-read.

It helps to be an introvert when the government calls for a national quarantine. It also helps to turn off the TV news.

Before I move forward into the four books I read in March, here’s a story from my brother Bill.

My younger brother – who’s definitely not an introvert – lives in White Plains, just a few miles from the epicenter of COVID-19 in New York. Bill made a quick run to the store the other day to pick up needed provisions for his family.

“The woman ahead of me in the check-out line threw a fit when the cashier asked for ID before selling her cigarettes.”

Apparently, the previous person in line was a same-aged friend – and wasn’t carded. So this second woman was outraged and launched into a loud tirade about how “we’re the same age – we have kids the same age – our kids have the same teacher” and other protestations.

In her furor, the woman turned around and faced Bill, proclaiming, “This is ridiculous!”

Well. This was the first time he got a look at the woman. “She was about five-feet-two-inches tall, wore a large face mask, huge sunglasses, and had a hood pulled up over her head.”

You know, like the Unabomber, but with a mask.

I never did hear the end of the story, as Bill and I were too busy laughing about how ridiculous people can be.

Of course, Bill-the-non-introvert could have chimed in and been helpful: Now that I see a few square inches of your face, I can see you’re definitely old. You look much older than your friend.

Stay safe, Bill. We have years of mocking ahead of us.

Meanwhile, here are the four books this introvert read in March:

Week 1: The Last Seven Months of Anne Frank by Willy Lindwer

This book is a companion piece to a documentary by the same name produced by the Dutch filmmaker Willy Lindwer. He interviewed a number of survivors who knew Anne Frank and her family.

The book is, of course, sad. But these are stories that need to be told over and over. They are stories of survivors, but also stories of those who perished before liberation took place. Anne’s diary didn’t include the Frank family’s horrific life at the Nazi death camps, but this book does.

Week 2: How to Make a Jewish Movie by Melville Shavelson

Here’s another book that is an accompaniment to a movie.

The movie? Cast a Giant Shadow.

I must confess that just a few days after we watched Cast A Giant Shadow, its star – Kirk Douglas – passed away. I know it’s not my fault, but I still felt a little guilty. Irish-Catholic guilt is not quite as powerful as Jewish guilt, but it’s a strong contender. Sorry, Kirk.

Gary and I really enjoyed the movie and were surprised to read later that it wasn’t a box-office success. As I was reading reviews and such afterward, this book popped up, so I ordered it.

The author was the producer/director of Cast A Giant Shadow. He tells of his often humorous quest to create a film about the story of U.S. Colonel Mickey Marcus’ heroic place in Israel’s history. It’s fascinating and a study in how not to take “no” for an answer, no matter what the language.

Week 3: Voyage of the Damned by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts

Apparently, the theme for this month is non-fiction books and their movies, ’cause here’s another one. This one, though set during Nazi terror, has an eerie relevance to today’s world.

I read the book before watching the movie with Gary (he read the book years ago). Both were well worth it; the book was far superior.

In short, the Voyage of the Damned was a ship full of Jews who were promised freedom from the camps by signing on (and paying) to emigrate to Cuba. It was all a trick by the Nazi propaganda machine, which arranged for the ship to sail in 1939 and then spread anti-Semitic messaging in Cuba so that the ship was no longer welcome. America wouldn’t accept the refugees, either. Then the Nazis could shrug their evil shoulders and say, “See? No one wants them!”

As the story rolls out, we see the best and the worst of people. The ending will keep you up past your bedtime to finish the last several chapters.

Week 4: An Embarrassment of Riches by Gerald Hansen

March couldn’t go by without reading at least one book about Ireland, albeit a work of fiction.

This was a Christmas present from James, my fellow introvert. He’d searched online for “The Derry Girls,” a hilarious TV show on Netflix, and came upon “The Derry Women” series of books.

If you like dark comedy and don’t mind learning what seems to be an entirely different language (there’s a handy glossary, thank goodness), this is a grand book.

Although I appreciate the humor and the rollicking storytelling, “An Embarrassment of Riches” was a bit too much like “The Real Housewives of Derry” on steroids (or Ecstasy, if you follow the plot line) for me to curl up with a lovely cup of tea and enjoy during this agitated time of COVID-19.

The plot involves a Derry family eaten up with jealousy when one member wins the lotto. Each character is worse than the last as they drunkenly roar at each other, celebrate the entrepreneurship of a teen selling drugs, take over grandma’s home to make it a flop house for undesirables, as one in-law secretly plans to escape the Emerald Isle.

The worst character of all is an eight-year-old colleen who’ll stop at nothing – nothing – to get her dream First Communion ensemble. Bless us and save us, Saint Patrick!

It looks like at least one more month under quarantine for those of us deemed “non-essential.” Here’s hoping there’s at least a bit of introvert in you to help calm the way.

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