Comfort Reading

Jay Mandal

Jay Mandal

You've heard of comfort eating - well what about comfort reading?

Do you read when you're depressed? Or when you're happy? Or whenever you can?

And what sort of books do you comfort read?

Isabella King

Reading IS the comfort - as a choc bar is to some people, so reading is to me. It would have to be easy reading though and at the moment I'd choose Dean Koontz or Stephen King.

dorothyd

always. I am reading Richard Llewellyn's How Green Is My Valley and losing myself in the richness of his writing and the pathos of the story.

Jay Mandal

I always get that muddled up with The Corn is Green; and Le Ble en Herbe.

elizabeth

maybe i should try reading and not eating when am upset lol.

boredrobots

Definatly works for me. Many times i've escaped into a book, had a little time to live as someone else...in fact i may go for an escape right now. mmmm books

Aegean

Yeah it can work. A well crafted book can be sheer escapism ,sometimes most of us need to just that.

ana

I must read that Dorothy; it was a comfort film for me (in the days of Sun afternoon feature films, along with National Velvet - also a good book). Little Women is my favourite comfort read.

Crazy Horse

When I was in Harefield waiting for my heart valve replacement I read continuously to blank out what was happening

Kangaroo

Sometimes I'll read a murder mystery, or poetry, or short stories.

Lauren

This might be a little embarrassing to admit to, but my comfort book is "A Knight in Shining Armour" by Jude Devereaux. Its a slushy historical romance that is pure escapism, and I love it. Whenever I've got a cold or am a little down it always cheers me up.

Neph

I usually have about three books on the go, reading whichever one suits my mood, but I always make sure I read something daily.

Jay Mandal

Tales of the City, second book in the series.

Carol

I've read that Lauren, and enjoyed it, but I always turn to her 'Sweet Liar'. In fact my copy is falling apart.
I really thought it was different to her usual Montgomery/Taggart stories as it has flash backs at the start and end, which work so well.
Have you read it?

bochok

Any book in the medieval murder series by Michael Jecks.

I also like Stephen King's short stories.

And Writing Magazine.

amboline

My comfort reading: anything by Beth Webb, especially "The Dragons of Kilve". The cutest bedtime story book since Winnie-The-Pooh :)

Soobdoo

My comfort reading is poetry.
I have a small pile of poetry collections by my bedside and whenever I feel blue or unwell or just too tired to concentrate I flip through the pages until I find something that helps.

Tessa Tangent

When I'm sad, I read the Star newspaper (ha ha, it makes a writer feel GOOOOOOOD) - when I'm happy I read about the war and those who died so that I can live now.  OK, you might think I have a thing about it but that's nothing to be ashamed about.  They should never be forgotten, even though I hate war (and don't use the word hate lightly) but they thought they were doing A Good Thing in WW1 particularly.  At very young ages.  Younger than my kids are now.  There is no excuse for sending our boys out to Iraq/Afghanistan now but I still feel for them and their families.  I would never have done that.  So give me a white feather...

The other one is the Beano.

Lauren

Carol, yes I have read "Sweet Liar" which was also very good. I think I always go back to "A Knight in Shining Armour" though because it was the first Jude Devereux novel I ever read. There aren't many books I would read over and over, but this is one of them.

If you like books with the flashback element have you ever read "Kingdom of Shadows" by Barbara Erskine? Another very excellent book that I've read more than once.

Carol

I've never read any of hers, but I will certainly have a look at it. Thanks for the suggestion.