image courtesy of greads.com
TGIF at GReads is a fun feature for answering a book-blogging question posed by Ginger.
This week the question is: Comfort Reads: Which books do you go to for comfort & familiarity? Is there a type of book you seek out when you’re needing that extra bit of comfort in your life?
Reading in and of itself is a comforting activity for me. There is really nothing better than curling up with a good book and escaping into another world. I often end up reading in the bathtub when I need to unwind and it almost doesn’t matter what I am reading. So to broadly answer this question: fiction! To more narrowly answer it, I suppose when I am looking specifically for something to perk me up I turn to romance and chick lit. Usually something like Jennifer Weiner or Nora Roberts or the Jessica Darling series. I turn to these sorts of books because they make me laugh and cry and because they promise a happily ever after. Usually they keep me glued to the pages and distract me from whatever it is I need distraction from. Also, the stories tend to be a little formulaic, but that is sort of reassuring, too. Most of all they are hopeful sorts of stories and that is a certain mood-improver for me!
Do you like to read for comfort? What do you like to read when you need a little pick-me-up?
Don't Take My Books Away 
I don’t do it too often anymore but Harry Potter. I’ve read the books SO many times but I still get new things out of rereading the books. The books are just like a big warm hug because I’ve read them so many times (each book at least 6-7 times).
Harry Potter is a good choice, of course! You know, I hardly ever re-read things any more because there are so many new books I want to tackle. I used to have a pair of books (Stardust and Time Windows) that I’d re-read as a kid/teen whenever I was upset. I think those books got lost in one of my mom’s purges, but they always made me feel better. I’d sort of forgotten about them when I started writing this post… eek.
I agree. Reading itself is a comforting thing. Not just because it helps you escape – I actually have a problem with people who think I read to escape. It’s not really escapism, after all.. But maybe that’s just me. *grin* – but because when you’re reading you are allowed to feel things to an extend that is often impossible in real life. You don’t have a safety net when you’re at work. You can’t say “Well, even if my coworker suddenly gets killed, I’ll just close the book and it’s over.” When you read you’re free to do that, and I think it’s a sort of therapy that really helps people a lot. 🙂
Patricia // My Hop
I didn’t mean to imply that reading is entirely an escapist exercise. Though sometimes for me it really is a way to just ignore/distract myself from other things (I read on my lunch break to get away from whatever is going on at work, for example). Other times reading is entertainment. Sometimes (the best times) reading is, like you say, a way for me to better understand myself and the world around me by experiencing the emotions and events in a fictional world. In all those ways, reading is a comfort, I suppose!
I love Jennifer Weiner’s books and you’re right they do make for perfect comfort reading! I agree with you though, the act of reading itself is a comfort to me and it’s what I turn to after a bad day.
Here’s my TGIF post!
(also, love your blog theme, it’s the same as mine!)
I’m looking forward to starting The Next Best Thing soon. I just love that Jennifer Weiner makes me laugh and cry and feel things a little keener.
haha, this is a pretty good theme… it feels very bookish to me 😉
I completely agree about romance and chick lit – they provide a lot of comfort to me too! And you’re absolutely right; reading is definitely a comforting activity in and of itself.
Happily ever afters are pretty great, huh? Thanks for stopping by!
I pick up romance for comfort too, especially if I’m looking for a quick read. But I also pretty much like any genre fiction.
I think I need to reread Jessica Darling … it’s been a while. But you’re right, books in general are comforting. I just always have a nook handy, and lately, it’s 4 or 5 at a time! 🙂 ~dixie