What makes a great comfort read?
Which book do you turn to when you want to switch off and escape? For me, it tends to be something I’ve read before that requires little brain power – not because it’s a simple plot, but because I know it so well. I don’t have to memorise numerous characters and their relationships to one another. I’ve re-read all of the following several times: Rebecca, Jane Eyre, The Talented Mr Ripley and - weirdly - A Christmas Carol. (I know, right?)
If I haven’t already read it, for a book to qualify as a comfort read I need to (sort of) know what to expect: a page-turner that’s smart but also highly entertaining. Both Patricia Highsmith and Stephen King are great examples. I can pick up any of their books and lose myself for an hour or so. Same goes for Queen of Creep, Shirley Jackson.
I love dark as a comfort read but not everyone does, and I have many friends who’d rather choose a Jojo Moyes or Jane Austen because, ultimately, they prefer joy in their lives rather than psychopathic killers (each to their own, I suppose). If in a non-fiction mood, I love funny, uplifting Nora Ephron or deadpan David Sedaris.
My friend, Kate, adores Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances. She’s read them all, and she will read them all again, probably quite soon. But occasionally, her mood dictates that she turns elsewhere and she chooses a werewolf book. I love this about her. See? Very different mood. Another friend, Marianne, loves a bit of fantasy. Or Mary Renault.
I have a large pile of books I haven’t read yet, that I keep meaning to get to. So what’s the allure of re-reading when there are so many new books published each week?
The anticipation of pleasure. It’s worked before and you know it will work again for you. A bit like ordering the same meal every time you go to a particular restaurant, even though you spend a good 10 minutes reading the whole menu you can’t help but come back to that lemon chicken and wok fried greens (you toy with the idea of the crispy beef, but what if it just doesn’t hack it?)
We all love revisiting familiar places, and the same goes for authors with a distinctive style. Even if what they offer involves death and destruction, it will all work out in the end so it’s safe. (It is safe, isn’t it?)
Occasionally a book isn’t as good as you remember. A bit like an ex you bump into and wonder whatever you saw in them. Right for you once, but not any more. Move along please.
Sometimes a comfort read means a different genre entirely. It may be book you wouldn’t normally pick up, but is exactly what you need right now and you save it for those special times. Let’s not fall into that ‘guilty pleasure’ trap, because all reading is pleasure and there’s nothing guilty about it. Ditch the genre snobbishness and just read whatever you fancy. For an articulate take on the whole ‘guilty pleasure’ thing, read best-selling author Erin Kelly’s excellent words here https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/05/why-i-m-calling-time-guilty-pleasures
What’s your favourite comfort read?
When do you turn to it specifically?
And why does it work for you?
I’d love to know what you think. And reading recommendations are always welcome.