Do you have a stack of comfort books? Books you return to time and again, especially in the winter months when your body only wants to crawl beneath a cozy quilt and read, read, read? Or it that just me?
I call these my macaroni and cheese books, rich and satisfying to the soul, and as comfortable as an old pair of jeans. I can easily slip into the pages and lose hours. Much like comfort foods, comfort books satisfy some deep craving. The good news? Books are fat free (unless you snack on chips while reading). In fact, you’ll burn calories while reading. I know because my Fitbit tells me.
The best news? You’ll feed your brain and expand your world.
Yes, I have stacks and stacks of new books to read, so I may not re-read all my comfort books each winter. But even reading a few paragraphs or chapters allows me to tap into a special place. Especially during the cold, cold night.
Here are a few of my favorite comfort books… I believe if I studied the list long enough I could come up with an overall theme incorporating nature and history and the search for something great and real. Or maybe I just like books with covers in shades of red and blue?
- To Kill a Mockingbird. What can I say? I love Scout and Atticus. Always will. Her voice and curiosity, his morality. This book is impactful.
- To Dance with the White Dog. This story is gentle and bittersweet. It affected me like no other.
- Bird by Bird. I find anything by Anne Lamott to be comforting, and this is my favorite of her books.
- The Secret Garden. I remember exactly where I was when I read this one. The Secret Garden was the first book I truly got lost inside.
- Little Women. I wanted to be Jo.
- From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. If I couldn’t be Jo, I wanted to run away and live in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art like Claudia Kincaid.
- The Choiring of the Trees. Incredible tale written by one of Arkansas’s best storytellers, Don Harington. Why isn’t this a movie?
- Cold Mountain. Beautifully written story set in the Civil War focusing on things we all desire—love, comfort and hope for the future.
Tell me about your comfort books. I bet you have a few, too.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
[tweetthis]Tis the season for reading comfort books. @RoomtoRead @getreading @deepsouthmag @SouthernAuthors #readloveshare [/tweetthis]
Musical Pairing:
In the Cold, Cold Night, The White Stripes
The books I consistently read over and over again are the Narnia books. I’ll bet I’ve read them 20 times each. As soon as I open the page and smell that slightly musty odor, I’m basically IN Narnia. And, to be honest, if I were to open a wardrobe and find a doorway to Narnia in my own house, I wouldn’t even hesitate to walk through it. 🙂
I love The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe too. I remember the first time I read it. I thought it was simple magical. Maybe that’s why I have a thing for old armoires?
I do have some comfort books. I retread The Secret Garden not long ago.
🙂
I have a new book that I’m reading now — My Southern Journal: True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg. Truth is, I’ve read many of them before; I have a drawer containing ripped out pages from Southern Living, saved for rereading later. As you say, comfort reading is like being with family and old friends, usually sharing familiar stories and food. I guess you could say that Rick Bragg is a master of comfort writing!
I’ve always enjoyed his stories in Southern Living. And Southern Living in general:)
I love your list of comfort books! Mine are the Narnia Chronicles. 🙂 Can we say, I won’t grow up?
Blessings, Talya!
Thank you, Martha! I need to make a return trip to Narnia:)
One.
In Silence: Growing up Hearing in a Deaf World, but Ruth Sidranski
Written by a hearing woman who was born to deaf (her word) parents and did not learn speech until entering school. Before that she signed.
An amazing look into another culture, the special trials and victories and humor and delights of people living right alongside us, unheard, because of unspeaking, because of unhearing.
How her daddy taught her words, how her mama taught her cadence.
If it is possible to write American Sign Language in English, Sidranski has done it–fingers that used to fly and flutter like feathered wings, stop and stoop and still themselves to write to us in English as a second language. I cannot read one page without wanting to grow up to write like her.
Wow. What an endorsement. I definitely need to read this book. Thanks, Katherine!
I forgot the best thing: Now, in her 90’s she is issuing a second edition. How great is that!?
And: May you go there, someday!
Adding to my goodreads list!
I must re-read To Dance with the White Dog. I really liked it and I got on a Terry Kay kick after that but none compares to White Dog. Your gift to me of The Choiring of the Trees was another great one. It would make a great movie. For now I will try to be patient until I am able to read The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee.
Yes, White Dog is so so special. Can’t wait to get your thoughts on Accidental Salvation. 20 days!
I have to say as avid of a reader as I am, I’ve never re-read a book! I guess it’s because I have so many new ones I want to read. I’m reading Bird by Bird now. You might want to check out Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. The tagline is something along the lines of “a real life To Kill a Mockingbird.” I couldn’t put it down.
Oooh, thanks for the recommendation!
Doing some blog reading catch up this evening. 😉 I was OBSESSED with From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler when I was a kid. Good choices. And some I’m sure I need to read if they are in that stack. 🙂
I still love that book so much.