Comfort Reads: What do you like to read when you're stressed or anxious?

[Genesis]

Do you like to read new books in a particular genre, or do you go back to old favorites when you're stressed? What helps you escape your worries for a bit?

[Courtney]

Old favorites, for sure! I feel similarly when it comes to TV shows. When things are stressful and I need comfort, I need to already know what happens because the unknown in books or other media is just too stressful on top of everything else!

In terms of comfort books and re-reading, Deborah Harkness, Lucy Knisley, Alan Bradley's Flavia De Luce series, and J.K. Rowling (specifically the Harry Potter audiobooks read by Jim Dale) are all my go-tos.

[Allison]

Old favorites! My ultimate comfort reads are the books I loved in childhood-- the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace in particular. I also tend to go back to The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. (You'll find a lot of love for that series among Mission Viejo librarians... we're going to get EVERYONE obsessed with it eventually!)

[Allen]

I’m good, Allison :)

[Heather]

Howl’s moving castle is my ultimate palate cleanser. I definitely reread old favorites for comfort. Sometimes embarking on something new feels like too big of a challenge, not knowing what I will be getting. Humor is great for comfort reading. My dad introduced us to Douglas Adams when I was a kid so I return to him a lot. I love Jasper Fforde for surreal humor and lots of literary jokes.
Other habitual rereads are Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, depending if I want my Romance witty or dramatic.

[Allison]

Allen wrote: "I’m good, Allison :)"

But now's the perfect time to start reading The Infernal Devices, Allen! Victorian London, an automaton army, tragedies spanning generations, etc... you won't regret it. :)

[Lauren]

I go back to my favorites. Like Allison, I am obsessed with the Infernal Devices and just started re-reading it (for the hundredth time probably) because nothing gives me more joy than Jem, Tessa, and Will.

I also gravitate to favorite YA romance such as The Selection. It's just good, cheesy, "The Bachelor meets the Royal Family" reading.

[Genesis]

I'm also a big re-reader, and particularly when I am stressed or sad. Some of my favorite comfort reads are Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, especially the Night Watch books, Going Postal, and A Hat Full of Sky. I also love To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, which is a delightful historical/romance/science fiction mashup. I'm a huge Jane Austen fan, so any of her novels qualify as comfort reads for me, but especially Pride & Prejudice and Northanger Abbey. For romance I go back to Lucy Parker's London Celebrities series again and again.

[Sandy]

I don't typically re-read or re-watch things, so I guess I've just discovered that re-reading brings me comfort in times of great stress... Even though I'm notorious (at least to myself) for not remembering specific details of what I've read, I find comfort in knowing what is going to happen. I'm one of those people that don't mind spoilers - so you can always talk to me about the latest movie, tv show, or book without fear of ruining it. :-) I'm currently re-reading the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown. I started off re-reading it as a means to remember what had happened, who the characters were, etc. so that when I read the latest in the series, Dark Age, it would make sense, but I'm finding comfort in the familiarity of it.

[Sharon]

It's so comforting to me when a series that I follow has a new book. Alexander McCall Smith has a new '44 Scotland Street' book out now which is number 13 in the series. It's so nice to read about old friends. After 12 books, I feel like they're my neighbors also.

[Lauren]

Sandy wrote: "I don't typically re-read or re-watch things, so I guess I've just discovered that re-reading brings me comfort in times of great stress... Even though I'm notorious (at least to myself) for not re..."

Same. I love spoilers, especially right now when life itself has so many surprises. I like to know how things end so I can expect it. Though I have ALWAYS been that way - I tend to read the back of a mystery novel before I start so I know whodunnit...

[Maddie]

Cozy mysteries! I've read the last 2 books of Vivien Chien's Noodle House mystery series during stay at home! They're a fun distraction that doesn't require me to think too much when I'm already worn out.

[Allen]

Funny reads, for sure. Laughing in the face of stress and uncertainty is my defense mechanism, so I need stuff that makes me chuckle. One of them is the audiobook/radio production of the third Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book, "Life, the Universe, and Everything." The book itself is great but the Tertiary Phase production the BBC is fantastic because they brought back as much of the original broadcast actors and actresses, all of whom have great comedic timing. We've got all of the radio editions on Overdrive, wink wink!