You are stuck at home during the coronavirus outbreak. So are we. You have binged everything worth binging on Netflix and Hulu. So have we.

In which case, let’s all up our collective game and start reading books. For one thing, you have time on your hands — so no more excuses that you’re too busy to read. For another, few experiences are better for illuminating your precious mind — or at least killing huge chunks of time — than curling up with a good novel.

Here’s a list of 25 can’t-miss books, both fiction and non-fiction, broken down into a few categories and with two important distinctions: 1. We’ve actually read them all and can vouch for their greatness, and 2. They are all available for home delivery on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and/or Audible if you’re an audiobook lover (like us). Happy reading!

Books by New Jersey authors

"The Plot Against America," by Philip Roth.

“The Plot Against America,” Philip Roth (2004) — Now an HBO series, Roth’s alternative history of what might have happened if Charles Lindbergh launched a populist campaign and became President is chilling and eerily prescient.

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“Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret,” Judy Blume (1970) — The book that made the Elizabeth-born young adult author famous — and very controversial — about a girl of mixed faith adjusting to life in suburban New Jersey still resonates, and not just for kids.

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“Born to Run,” Bruce Springsteen (2016) — Even if you don’t profess to be the biggest Boss diehard, Springsteen’s thorough and graciously crafted autobiography is a stark portrayal of not only a rock star’s rise to fame but what it meant to be a New Jerseyan growing up in the shadow of the big city.

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“The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” Junot Diaz (2007) — Diaz, the Dominican author raised in Parlin, scored a Pulitzer win for “Oscar Wao,” a sweeping novel that tackles the immigrant experience through the wide eyes of boy from Paterson. Funny and stark, a dynamic read heavy with heart.

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The Frank Bascombe series: “The Sportswriter” (1986), “Independence Day” (1995), “The Lay of the Land” (2006), “Let Me Be Frank With You” (2014), Richard Ford — The life and times of a New Jersey sportswriter-turned-failed novelist-turned-real estate agent, starting in the mid-1980s and continuing through to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Poignant, funny and as crystal-clear an evocation of late 20th / early 21st America as you will find.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Plagues, pandemics and viruses, oh my!

"Severance" by Ling Ma.

“Severance,” Lina Ma (2018) — As the fictional Shen Fever slowly sweeps the Earth of its people, follow Candace Chen, a meandering millennial Bible publisher, through this dark comedy loaded with “yeah, that’s probably how it would happen” moments.

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“How to Survive a Plague,” David France (2016) — Both infuriating and inspiring, France’s non-fiction account of the forces that mobilized within the gay community to battle the AIDS epidemic is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand our public health policy mistakes of the past and how to avoid them again.

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“Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel (2014) — An eerie and very moving novel set in the aftermath of the “Georgia Flu,” a pandemic that sweeps the world and obliterates most of the population.

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“The Hot Zone,” Richard Preston (1994) — The classic of the genre, Preston’s non-fiction book describes how four deadly viruses, including Ebola, were first discovered and the global race to contain them. It’s perhaps the most gripping science book ever written.

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Breezy, brilliant fiction

"Beautiful Ruins," by Jess Walter.

“Beautiful Ruins,” Jess Walter (2012) — Immersive, transportative and heartrending, Walter’s novel about a forgotten Italian hotel and its celebrity guest bounds across generations. The story is at once a tale of love and a satirical snapshot of old Hollywood — a must for anyone who loved Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” film.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“Normal People,” Sally Rooney (2018) — The ascendent Irish author’s latest novel nails the fragility and volatility of young love, even as it possesses all-encompassing, life-changing power over its recipients. Rooney writes with rare candor and speed; if you’re hooked, you’ll read this one in a day.

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“Ready Player One,” Ernest Cline (2011) — Forget the movie (which was OK) and dive into the book (which is terrific)! In the near future, where America is a dump and everyone spends their waking hours in a brilliantly imagined virtual world, prepare to lose yourself in a story dripping with pop-culture references and plenty addictive for Nintendo nerds and non-gamers alike.

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“Where The Crawdads Sing,” Delia Owens (2018) — Yes, as one of 2019’s best-sellers, this book seemed to be everywhere last year, but this warm dip into mid-century rural North Carolina is worth the oversaturation. Part murder-mystery, part coming-of-age tale, it’s Kya’s world, we’re just living in it.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Big books you now have time to tackle

"The Secret History," by Donna Tartt.

“The Secret History,” Donna Tartt (1992) — If you love “The Goldfinch,” we beseech you to explore Tartt’s first novel, an encompassing, brilliantly penned murder story that isn’t so much a “whodunit” as it is a “how they got away with it.” The booming tale, which follows a circle of students at an elitist Vermont college, is simply magnificent.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“American Gods,” Neil Gaiman (2001) — Now a hit TV show, Gaiman’s titanic fantasy novel profoundly blends religious history and science fiction into an epic tale of war and worship. The labyrinthine plot, centered around ex-convict Shadow, defies simple description otherwise — you just need to read it!

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“Barkskins,” Annie Proulx (2016) — Perhaps best known for “The Shipping News,” Proulx outdoes herself on this expansive work of historical fiction, which traverses 400 years of twisting family business and the deforestation in North America. Required reading for nature lovers, but a brisk, deeply informative walk through the woods for all.

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“Mason & Dixon,” Thomas Pynchon (1997) — For our money, the sometimes impenetrable Thomas Pynchon’s greatest novel — a kaleidoscopic, picturesque fantasy that re-imagines that charting of the Mason-Dixon line. It will break your heart and quietly restore your faith in the grand possibilities of the American Experiment.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Addictive non-fiction

"Educated," by Tara Westover.

“Educated,” Tara Westover, (2018) — An entrancing memoir, “Educated” follows Westover’s early life, from a child of an eccentric survivalist family in rural Idaho to a path of higher learning that would save her life. Heartrending and often stranger than fiction, Westover’s reality is wild page-turner.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” Michelle McNamara (2018) — An opus for true-crime fanatics, McNamara’s search for the Golden State Killer — a serial rapist and murderer who terrorized California in the ‘70s and ‘80s — is equal parts obsessive and bone-chilling. McNamara died in 2016 before finishing the book; much of it was pieced together from her elaborate notes.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“The Devil in the White City,” Erik Larson (2003) — Larson is a master in weaving true-life historical narratives in such a way that the reader is left in awe: “wait, that all really happened?” “White City” is one of Larson’s best, a double-barrelled revisitation of the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago and the sinister presence — H.H. Holmes, the first modern serial killer — that laid roots there.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Crave-worthy thrillers

"The Chain," by Adrian McKinty.

“The Chain,” Adrian McKinty (2019) — A tip: Don’t start reading “The Chain” until you’re ready to sit there for hours, blazing through one Massachusetts woman’s quest to save her kidnapped daughter and stop an ingenious criminal scheme. “The Chain” grabs you on page one and refuses to surrender. So. Much. Fun.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“Dark Places,” Gillian Flynn (2009) — Yeah, yeah, “Gone Girl” gets all the love and “Sharp Objects” earned its fancy HBO miniseries, but our favorite Flynn thriller has to be “Dark Places,” a can’t-put-it-down midwestern massacre mystery fused with the Satanic cult hysteria the swept America in the ‘80s. Gruesome, vivid and totally unstoppable.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

“Ill Will,” Dan Chaon (2017) — Hailed by the Washington Post as its “scariest novel of the year,” Chaon’s propulsive writing leads the reader through two murders linked in one man’s mind — but what does he actually remember? Read this one during the day.

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“The Dry,” Jane Harper (2016) — The first of Aussie author Harper’s terrific Federal Agent Aaron Falk series, “The Dry” finds Falk attempting to solve a small-town murder of his childhood best friend. Oh, the secrets the Australian bush can hold.

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“The Woman in Cabin 10,” Ruth Ware (2016) — Few authors write modern mystery-thrillers better than the prolific Ware, and “Cabin 10” — set on a small luxury cruise sailing around the scandinavia where everyone is a suspect — is razor sharp, with all the twists and turns necessary to keep your mind buzzing with possibilities.

Find on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Christopher Kelly may be reached at ckelly@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chriskelly74. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.