Relax and Do It - The Joys of a Comfort Read

At times like these we must all be a bit more Frankie than Mike Reid and clearly that was a song about reading (impassive face) yes it is…As our normal schedules and routines are quite frankly up the wall and through the window I’ve noticed a lot of people I know saying their reading speed is quite down on usual. I am too finding this. I’m not on furlough and my workplace is one of the ones that unfortunately is very very busy so the days have got longer and more tiring and the two and a half hours I usually have for reading around my commute have vanished. Its easier to get distracted or pulled into the next teams meeting early.

Falling off the reading waggon is totally ok. We are living through a crisis and while for many reading is a way to relax for others you need to be able to create that space to allow a book to take over your mind. This may not be the best time to try and remember what happened in parts 1-5 of your latest fantasy saga or attempt some lovely experimental fiction (for some of you). Take your time you will read again I promise.

This gets us into discussing what gets us back into reading. As a blogger with an ahem larger than most TBR pile and a schedule it’s rare for me to go back to my old favourites. I usually prefer a short story anthology - lots of variety and good ways to build up 20-30 mins concentration or a novella which can be still an intense read but 100-200 pages means you can stretch your mind a little bit more. Comics and Graphic novels I also enjoy too as I can appreciate the artwork and the flowing story. It’s less rare for me to re-read these days I have so much new stuff to get to but as my own readalongs (which I promise I start next week again) have shown walking a familiar path both brings back memories and new perspectives. Comfort Reads can be dark or scary we all process stress differently and horror helps us process fear.

As often I asked the twitters for their favourite comfort reads and hopefully this list will help you find a book you’ve been meaning to revisit or perhaps discover for the first time. If you have more add them tot he comments

  • By far the most popular response was Terry Pratchett’s Discworld (one I definitely can say I’ve done too!)

  • Humour also popped up in Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy quite a lot

  • The work of Iain M Banks

  • Lord of the Rings and Hobbit as always has to appear in a list!

  • The Blue Sword and also The Hero and The Crown or Sunshine by Robin McKinley

  • The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay

  • Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

  • Don Calendar’s Mancer series

  • The Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson

  • The various Star Wars nobels

  • Diana Wynn Jones’ various works

  • The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

  • The Mangoverse Books by Shira Glassman

  • The Begariad by David Eddings

  • Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

  • The memoirs of Madame Clorinda Cathcart

  • Harry Potter by J K Rowling

  • Lamb by Christopher Moore

  • Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom

  • Jack Vance’s Dying Earth

  • M A R Barkers’s Man of Gold

  • C J Cherryh’s Union/Alliance series

  • The Horse Encycopedia

  • The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

  • Dandylion Wine by Ray Bradbury

  • The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher

  • Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith

  • Strange the Dream by Laini Taylor

  • The Tao of Pooh

  • The Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris

  • Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

  • The Protector of the Small by Tamora Perce

  • The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzal

  • The poems of Seamus Heaney

  • Fan fiction

  • Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

  • Rex Stout

  • The Riddlemaster Trilogy or Winter Rose by Patricia A McKillip

  • Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings stories were also quite popular

  • Elizabeth Moon’s Paksenarrion series

  • Ready Player One by Enest Cline for that 80s childhood fix

  • Seanan McGuires various works

  • Asterix books by Rene Goscinny

  • Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

  • The work of Charles de Lint

  • The Narnia tales by C S Lewis

  • The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner

  • A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’engle

  • Sagfa of the Exiles by Julian May

  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George

  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

  • The Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey

  • The Old Kingdom series by garth Nix

  • The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

  • Gormenghast by Melvyn Peake

  • David Gemmell’s Legend

  • It by Stephen King

  • Double Dead by Chuck Wendig

  • Mira Grant’s Feed tales

  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

  • Connie Willis's apocalyptic work

    Some people recommended various authors they love to get back to

  • Pema Chodron

  • The New Yorker’s Nawadin Electrician

  • Arthur C Clarke

  • China Mieville

  • John Wyndham

  • Agatha Christie

  • Diana Wynn Jones

  • PJ Wodehouse

  • Amal El-Mohtar

  • Lois McMaster Bujold

  • Georgette Hayer

  • Jane Austen

  • Ellis Peters

  • Kerry greenwood

  • Becky Chambers

  • Kelley Armstrong

  • Laura K Hamilton

  • Patricia Briggs

  • Caroline Stevermer

  • Dorothy Sayers

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womblingsMatthew CavanaghComment