Image courtesy of Saritza Hernandez

Regardless of party affiliation, November 6th is likely to be anxiety-laden for much of the country. For book lovers, introverts (and introverted extroverts) escaping into a good book can help ease some while in line. Here are some books to read while avoiding conversations in the queue at the polls.

Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow, we get up early, grab our sample ballots, our to-go coffee cups, meet our free Uber, Lyft, Lime ride and head to the polls ready to take change our future on election day. Pollsters are expecting long lines so it’s best to get there early if you can. But if you’re faced with a long queue and a bunch of chatty-cathys you’d rather avoid, grab a book on your way out or better yet, load a few ebooks or audiobooks on your smartphone and escape the chaos for a bit.

1. Past Tense: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child for everyone looking to lose themselves in an action-packed spy novel while waiting in line to change their future on election day.
   While on an epic trip across America, Jack Reacher sees a sign to a place he has never been: the town where his father was born. He takes the detour. At the same moment, in the same isolated area, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians had been on their way to New York City to sell a treasure. Now they’re stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. The next morning, in the city clerk’s office, Reacher asks about the old family home. He’s told no one named Reacher ever lived in town. He’s always known his father left and never returned, but now Reacher wonders, Was he ever there in the first place? As Reacher explores his father’s life, and as the Canadians face lethal dangers, strands of different stories begin to merge.
2. Leopard’s Run by Christine Feehan for anyone looking to lose themselves in a world of passion, romance with sexy cat shifters while waiting in line to change their future on election day.
   Timur Amurov’s purpose in life is to protect his family at all cost. With lethal skills honed from a violent upbringing, the leopard shifter sees any newcomer as a possible threat — and the petite blond barista his sister-in-law has hired to work in her bakery is definitely hiding something. While Timur needs to find out if Ashe is an enemy, he’s sure she is the only woman who’s ever calmed the beast within. Ashe Bronte’s aware she has a type: sexy, gorgeous and dangerous as hell. She’s aware Timur is all those things and more, but she’s in San Antonio for reasons that don’t involve the sexy leopard, and she can’t afford to make any mistakes. But he’s ignited something in her, and even though she knows she should keep her distance, every move he makes has her craving a taste.
3. Wakanda Forever (Comic) by Nnedi Okorafor for anyone looking to lose themselves in a world of strong women and people of color taking down colonizer oppression while waiting in line to change their future on election day.
   In the new Marvel series, the fierce group of women warriors, the Dora Milaje are leaping into action outside of Wakandan borders as they catch wind of a threat that takes them into Spider-Man’s world.
4. What If It’s Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli for anyone looking to lose themselves in an adorable meet-cute, rom-com of epic proportions while waiting in line to change their future on election day.
   In one of the most epic writing partnerships of 2018, Silvera and Albertalli take us through the awkward moments of a maybe-fated, maybe-not-so-fated, meet-cute that leads to Arthur and Ben possibly going on a first date after several do-overs and navigating life in the Big City where love is nothing like it’s shown on the Broadway stage, or is it?
5. Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America’s Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L. Carter for anyone looking to lose themselves in inspirational stories of heroes lost in history.
   In his poignant biography, the bestselling author delves into his past and discovers the inspiring story of his grandmother’s extraordinary life. A graduate of Smith College and granddaughter of slaves, Eunice Hunton Carter was a prosecutor in 1930s New York. Her legal strategy would bring down the most powerful Mafia boss in history, Lucky Luciano.
6. Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson for anyone looking to lose themselves among the stars while waiting in line to change their future on election day.
   It is thirty years from now, and we have colonized the moon. American Fred Fredericks is making his first trip, his purpose to install a communications system for China’s Lunar Science Foundation. But hours after his arrival he witnesses a murder and is forced into hiding. It is also the first visit for celebrity travel reporter Ta Shu. He has contacts and influence, but he too will find that the moon can be a perilous place for any traveler. Finally, there is Chan Qi. She is the daughter of the Minister of Finance, and without doubt a person of interest to those in power. She is on the moon for reasons of her own, but when she attempts to return to China, in secret, the events that unfold will change everything — on the moon, and on Earth.

Whether you like to carry a paperback with you, load your ebooks to your favorite e-reader or listen to an audiobook, you can do so while standing in line, ready to change the future on election day.