Interview - Miriam Calleja Shaw

You have recently published a book called COVID-19and the Virus that Shook the World . It provides a sobering look at virus infections and pandemics, with particular emphasis on the COVID-19 strain. Presently, the cases have diminished in Europe but the spread has moved elsewhere. However, how safe is ‘safe’ at the moment? With the way things are evolving with the ’new’ coronavirus, it’s very difficult to answer this question. The WHO just last weekend warned that the worst may be yet to come. We are certainly witnessing an atrocious amount of deaths and illness in the US. We don’t yet know with certainty which factors are affecting the progression of the pandemic. Indeed we don’t even know about all the symptoms that appear with COVID-19 infection. The relative ‘safety’ is different for everyone, depending on the state of their immunity and certain other factors. For a person with average health who isn’t too old, the danger of getting severely ill may be low – but we need to

Robert's Recommended Reads: 5 Hopeful Novels

We're living in trying times and this pandemic seems to be here for the long haul. Most of us have been living a sheltered life, possibly without realising it, and the current situation appears to be rather dire. However the human spirit is incredibly strong and stories remind us of that. When we connect with each other, with the planet that we share with others, great things can happen. This is what these books in Robert's selection are fundamentally about.

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Yes it is 1000 pages long and is comprised of 1 sentence but dammit this novel has enough hope to charge a small city. The main plot concerns a housewife worrying about everything that's wrong in the 21st century from YouTube glamor culture to The Trump administration. However whittle it down and you have a tale about the power of motherly love.
Check out the rest of Robert's list over at THE BOBSPHERE.



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