Following on from my post yesterday, a lot of people have been suggesting to me that I pick up a comfort read - something familiar and beloved, that I am able to read and yet not read at the same time.My main comfort read is David Eddings - fun, with little comedic flourishes, and a happy ending. Not a single challenge to be found within the pages. The good guys are good and the bad guys can be recognised by their black hats.
My question is: what are your comfort reads and why? Those books you return to in times of heartache?
Great topic! For me it is Wheel of Time books, for similar reasons. I like being *there*. And it helps that I started reading them when I was younger so I have a rose-tinted view of the series and helps me overlook any weakness in the writing. I would say that returning to something enjoyed in youth would be a pre-requisite for a comfort read - interested to read people's views.
ReplyDeleteGood question, David Eddings is a good shout, I love his stand alone novel "The Redemption of Althalus". Pratchett, Harry Harrison and Tom Holt all manage to make me smile. I am also very fond of Bill Bryson, one of the few non-fiction authors I will read...
ReplyDeleteI haven't really picked up a book as a comfort read for ages. I used to read Dune every other year. Now, it's more likely to be Good Omens by Gaiman and Pratchett.
ReplyDeleteThe Belgariad and The Mallorean are like a pair of comfy socks I keep going back too. I read them at least once a year. I also keep re-reading The Song of Albion trilogy by Stephen Lawhead.
ReplyDeleteUm *guilty secret* I have a battered, tear-stained copy of Gone With the Wind that always fills me with optimism and bravado "After all, tomorrow is another day!"
ReplyDeleteAnd another favourite is The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley (story of Cassandra of Troy), which is due a re-read. Also Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy is a comforting and familiar read for when my concentration isn't great.
And then there's the *whispers* Irish chick-lit collection... Marian Keyes, Sheila O'Flanagan, Cathy Kelly, Patricia Scanlon, Cecelia Ahern et al. Always handy to have in times of crisis ;-)
Anything by LM Montgomery or Maud Hart Lovelace are my main comfort reads. Also Dorothy Sayers, but that feels like cheating because she's my default read for ANYTHING - comfort, encouragement, exhilaration, discouragement, etc. In recent years I've found "Till We Have Faces" by CS Lewis to be extremely comforting in times of distress.
ReplyDeleteDiscworld all the way.
ReplyDeleteDiscworld works for me. Especially since there are so many stories that you can always find one that will comfort you.
ReplyDeleteBut I also re-read the Belariad and the Malloreon every year or two :-)
Discworld, Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables and all the Japanese manga I used to read as a child. And I also recommend Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody mysteries set in Egypt.
ReplyDeleteEddings for me as well. Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom. Those kids have lots of fun and it hard not to join in their enthusiasm for exploring and having adventures.
ReplyDeleteJennifer
The Wheel of Time is definitely a favourite of mine. I don't have to do much thinking when I'm re-reading the books, and that's just grand! Otherwise, I'll turn to Fables (Bill Willingham) or Guardians of the Galaxy (Dan Abnett). Comic books and graphic novels can have a wonderful effect if you're feeling overwhelmed by everything that's going on around you.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this seems obvious coming from me, but typcially any Star Wars novel would be comfort reading for me. I can usually pick up any new Star Wars novel (with exceptions for certain authors whom I just don't really enjoy) and know that I'll be wrapped up in it within a few pages and enjoying every minute of reading.
ReplyDelete'Sunshine' by Robin McKinley; 'Paladin of Souls' by Lois McMaster Bujold; and 'In Pursuit of the Green Lion' by Judith Merkle Riley. I've read them so many times I've had to buy several new copies. After all of the other stuff I read, it's like cleaning my brain-palate and they always put me in a better frame of mind when life gets crazy.
ReplyDeleteI had some crappy news last week which threw me into a "I don't want to read" funk, much like yours. I let myself stew with it for a few days and then, when I did read, it was something funny (terry pratchett). That helped more than anything. I needed to laugh again at that time.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope things iron themselves out for you soon.
I would have to say my first choice is WoT. Jordan's books were what caused me to want to be a writer myself in the first place. I've read the first 6 books 8 times at least, and have a very soft spot in my heart for them.
ReplyDeleteBut, being as someone has already picked that--and too many people have already mentioned Eddings--I'll go a bit of a different route and recommend the Thieves World anthologies. First off, an anthology might be a good way to go because you can always just skip the story you're on if you don't like it, and second, I remember loving Thieves World as a kid. Of course, I don't remember them being particularly "light and airy" which might be more to your tastes at the moment, but at least I didn't recommend R. Scott Bakker--my current most favoritist author. :)
When all else fails . . . bubble bath.
'Lint' by Steve Aylett has the power to always, always make me crack a smile at the very least, more often actually laugh. Powerfully funny stuff, and good cheerup fodder.
ReplyDeleteI often pick up one of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels when I want a comfort read. I've read most of them several times by now, but it's still a fun experience to go through one of them again.
ReplyDeleteTwo series hit the comfort read spot for me: Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat book and Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise books. I have read them all countless times and never get bored of them.
ReplyDeleteFor me, its Roger Zelazny's "Lord of Light". I think its because:
ReplyDelete1) Its a great book.
2) I've read it a lot of times (like ~20).
3) It is immersive and yet relatively short. I can get on and forget about the rest of the world.
My go to comfort reads are Robin Hobb and Dianna Wynne Jones. Dianna Wynne Jones is for much the same reason as David Eddings is for you I suspect. Entertaining fluff that's easy to read and engaging. Robin Hobb is not exactly cheery subject matter, but I know I will get into it easily, and I know she's on my wavelength. By which I mean to say - she's mad about the same things that make me mad, and she won't trip me up by forcing me to swallow sexist, racist or homophobic asusmptions. That makes her easier to read for me than so many 'lighter' works.
ReplyDeleteEddings for me too, also anything by Mercedes Lackey and the early Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. I own maybe 75% of the Sword and Sorceress anthologies edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I can pick up one of those and mentally melt away in an instant. Lord of the Rings is probably the ultimate in comfort for me though.
ReplyDeleteDo you still need me to answer this? ;P Mercedes Lackey of course, Eddings too and Anne McCaffrey too :) They're all familiar, comfortable reads which allow me to switch off and just sink into the book.
ReplyDeleteThe Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. They were my favourites when I was a kid, and I always feel a little bit better about the world after I've spent some time with Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's Mercedes Lackey's "Valdemar" books. There are few books in that series that can fail to lift my mood no matter how bad it is.
ReplyDeleteI also confess to reading the "Love Mode" manga over and over again for the same purpose.