Every devout reader knows that just as there are comfort foods, there are also comfort reads. And just like comfort foods, we don’t all have the same ones and they are often tied to childhood nostalgia.
I do a number of posts about the books I like to read, Gentle Reader, partly because it’s one of the questions I get a lot. Partly because I’m a voracious reader. And partly because I want to share the love.
Recently, on Twitter, I was asked what I read for comfort. I realized I’d never specifically addressed this kind of book her in the blog. The kind I reach for in times of worry and trouble. The one I wrap around my imagination like a warm fuzzy blanket. I tend to reach for different ones under different kinds of emotional stress, so I will try to tease that out for you.
Without further ado, here are my comfort reads…
Unadulterated Escape from Reality
Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts
The world building (and the vast and complex cast of characters) in these books is utterly transporting. For me this is the ultimate epic fantasy. You can keep your Game of Thrones, I will reach for this trilogy once a year, sometimes more, probably for the rest of my life. (Ladies & gentlemen it’s finally coming out in digital form this month! I am over the moon. Along with the other two in the series. )
I Just Want to be Loved
I don’t know why this book. But it is this one. There is something about the way Vaughan writes culture conflict that rivets me. I love a good romantic misunderstanding (a GOOD one, mind you). I can read this particular story over and over again.
Nostalgia for Days
Pretty much any of Tamora Pierce’s Tortall stuff will do although I have a particular soft spot for Alanna and Kel. I put McCaffery, Lackey, and McKinley into this same basket. But, in all honesty, it’s usually Pierce I reach for if I want to dwell for a while in my own past.
I Just Want a Hug
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala
At it’s heart this Sci Fi (light BDSM) m/m romance is a story about discovering exactly where you belong in the universe. Wrap that up in a big purple softie and his fantastically well done alien culture and I find myself rereading this book a lot. Especially if I feel displaced and out of whack.
I Just Want a Good Cry
The Lion and the Crow by Eli Easton
This is your knights of the round table find each other instead of the chalice. Whatever, I’m losing my metaphors here. But it’s great. It’s romance so I give nothing away by saying the knights end up together, but the book then follows the men through the rest of their lives. Which means you get to see how they die. Which makes me cry.
Similarly The Song of Achilles fills this niche. But it makes me cry too much, so I don’t reach for it as often. If you’re looking to cry over het romance, try The Deep End of the Sea for modern meets ancient Greek fantasy, or the Theirs Not To Reason Why series for space opera.
Here is my: 10 Books to Read When You Need a Good Cry
I Want To Be Reminded There’s Good in the World
Strange that I should reach for a BDSM book when I’m looking for proof of goodness, right? But that’s what I do. There is not only good in the story but good in the writing of this book. Some of Hall’s sentences are almost painful. I will read anything written by this author for that reason alone, but For Real is by far my favorite.
I Don’t Want to be Myself
Calmes is a prolific writer and I’ve read most of her stuff, but for me, these are her best. I find her better at full length stand alone than series or shorter works. Since she writes in first person (not generally something I gravitate towards) her style really takes me out of my own head.
Gimme a Happy Ending
This is a straight up redemption m/m romance. (You should know by now that most of the romance I read is m/m. We can delve hard core into my psyche sometime over drinks, if you like. But there it is. I just find the gay boys more romantic because of how I was raised. Anyway, where was I?) This is one of those good man is horribly wronged by the system and then forges and new identity through love sort of stories and I adore it. Adore it. I’d have a hard time explaining why, since there are so many other books like it. But it’s this one.
More recommended reads from Miss Carriger?
- Recommended Books to Escape Reality
- Lesbians in Genre
- While You Are Waiting ~ Books To Read While Gail Types (stuff similar to the Parasolverse)
- Books About Women Who Dress As Men
Why We Need Queer Escapist Lit from The Lesbrary
So what’s your comfort read?
{Coop de Book: Gail’s monthly read along for July is The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.}
NOW IN DIGITAL, PRINT & AUDIO!
The Sumage Solution: San Andreas Shifters #1 by G. L. Carriger. Contemporary m/m paranormal romance featuring a snarky mage and a gruff werewolf. Hella raunchy. Super dirty. Very very fun. Spin off of Marine Biology.
Can a gentle werewolf heal the heart of a smart-mouthed mage?
“I love that Gail Carriger is moving out of the Victorian Steampunk universe in such an amazing way, magic is explained scientifically, but it’s still magic. The two main characters are wonderfully done, I believe them, I sympathize with them, I can see the area where they are, and I love even the secondary characters.”
V’s Reads says:
“I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot, because it’s fantastic and so very different, but I want to mention that it’s got the same fast-paced, witty movement as all the other books I’ve read by the author. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”
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When I need to read for comfort, I tend to delve into RegRom. The ultimate comfort read for me, when my soul needs salving is any RegRom by Marion Chesney (MC Beaton). If I can’t find any of those, Georgette Heyer will do, but she’s a bit sharper in her wit than Chesney.
I’ve never even heard of this!