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A Question of Comfort
Dec. 17th, 2006 04:29 pmOne of the things that I enjoy most in this world is discovering new authors, and reading new books. I love the delight of finding something different, and exploring a new story and a new style of writing, and anticipating the other books waiting once I decide I like an author I haven't tried before.
However, none of this stops me from being almost as avid a re-reader as I am a reader. As much as I want to find new things, I keep finding myself pulled back to the same stories again and again. Sometimes it's because I need a reminder of plot details before embarking on a sequel, sometimes it's just that I love a certain story or style of wordsmithing.
There are other stories, though, that I return to because they're comforting. Like a bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese, or a fuzzy bathrobe and mug of tea, they make me feel safe and reassured and at home inside my head. 'Gone With the Wind' is probably the first book I reach for when I need this, and I've fought off at least a few miserable moods just by reading the first few pages and burying myself in the feel of the words. And, though they're a fairly recent discovery for me, Zenna Henderson's stories of the People are almost like being wrapped in a blanket of caring concern. Or, when I just need to regress and wallow, nothing beats 'Arrows of the Queen' by Mercedes Lackey. I don't know if I even take in the words of that book anymore; it's a story that I know almost as well as my own.
So - what's your favorite comfort read?
However, none of this stops me from being almost as avid a re-reader as I am a reader. As much as I want to find new things, I keep finding myself pulled back to the same stories again and again. Sometimes it's because I need a reminder of plot details before embarking on a sequel, sometimes it's just that I love a certain story or style of wordsmithing.
There are other stories, though, that I return to because they're comforting. Like a bowl of homemade macaroni and cheese, or a fuzzy bathrobe and mug of tea, they make me feel safe and reassured and at home inside my head. 'Gone With the Wind' is probably the first book I reach for when I need this, and I've fought off at least a few miserable moods just by reading the first few pages and burying myself in the feel of the words. And, though they're a fairly recent discovery for me, Zenna Henderson's stories of the People are almost like being wrapped in a blanket of caring concern. Or, when I just need to regress and wallow, nothing beats 'Arrows of the Queen' by Mercedes Lackey. I don't know if I even take in the words of that book anymore; it's a story that I know almost as well as my own.
So - what's your favorite comfort read?
