# What are your read-for-comfort books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 15, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723 "2005-09-15T03:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/1 "2005-09-15T03:42:34Z")
I was thinking about this earlier today. I have lots of books that I’ve pretty much memorised: they’re the reading equivalent of comfort food. Depending on my mood, (for example, out of my long list of constantly re-read books) I’ll pick up any Robin McKinley, the _Recluce_ series, _The Fiery Cross_, or any Chaim Potok novel, flip it open randomly, and read a few chapters. It’s like having a warm bath, although if it’s _My Name Is Asher Lev_, it may be like having a warm bath laced with artistic melancholia and painful familial relations. What do you read when you’re too tired to read something new, or want to be briefly distracted, or just want something familiar? ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/2 "2005-09-15T03:54:18Z")
The Resident Evil book series, by S.D Perry. She’s not a great writer, and the books are kinda formulaic, but they’re easy enough that I can get through one in a couple of hours, and don’t have to think about it. Plus, zombies. My other go-to books are Snow Crash and The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/3 "2005-09-15T04:04:09Z")
Any Robin McKinley except for _Deerskin_, _The Hobbit,_ or _The Catalogue of the Universe_ by Margaret Mahy. I love _Deerskin,_ but it’s hardly comforting. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/4 "2005-09-15T05:05:52Z")
Clive James’s TV crits (originally in the _Guardian_) from the 70-80s. Letters and essays by CS Lewis. Like having a refreshing shower. ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/5 "2005-09-15T05:06:49Z")
Lonesome Dove. It’s my vote for The Great American Novel. Enders Game and Snow Crash are fave rereads as well. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/6 "2005-09-15T05:25:20Z")
The Final Encyclopedia, by Gordon Dickson. Yea, I’m weird, but I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/7 "2005-09-15T05:37:29Z")
For comfort: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem, any of the stories The chapters of the first Harry Potter book when he finds out he’s a wizard, shops in Diagon Alley, and arrives at Hogwarts The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden For joy: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Our Mutual Friend, David Copperfield, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen For electric bliss: Villette by Charlotte Bronte ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/8 "2005-09-15T05:41:32Z")
The Tripods Trilogy, by John Christopher. ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/9 "2005-09-15T10:14:50Z")
Anything by Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine. Or there’s _The French Lieutenant’s Woman_ - that always uplifts. Suprising choice I know. _The Pickwick Papers_ always puts me in a good mood. Curiously enough, I find that reading an _Atlas of Anatomy_ good calming-down/just-before-sleep reading. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - nothing soothes like the Islets of Langerhans. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/10 "2005-09-15T12:15:01Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The Tripods Trilogy, by John Christopher. I just read the first one and I have the others at home. I’m enjoying them very much. For comfort: Gone With the Wind (because I pretty much have it memorized), Watership Down, The Shining, and Jane Eyre. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/11 "2005-09-15T14:18:03Z")
> [@Purd Werfect](#): > > Lonesome Dove. It’s my vote for The Great American Novel. I’d give it my vote too. It’s way more than a “western”, although there’s nothing wrong with westerns. My comfort read lately has been **Gardens of the Moon** by Steven Erikson. It’s violent and challenging and full of incredible characters, sorta like Lonesome Dove, if Lonesome Dove were epic fantasy. I’m about to read it for the third time this year. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/12 "2005-09-15T14:31:48Z")
Stephen King’s _It._ Or _The Stand._ ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/13 "2005-09-15T14:31:52Z")
Robert Jordan’s _The Eye of the World_, Gabaldon’s _Outlander_ (though I often skip right to Claire’s first meeting with Jack Randall and go from there), any of the numerous Nancy Drews I have hidden at the bottom of my bookcase, or Eddings’ _Belgariad_ series. Things I almost know by heart, but never get tired of. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/14 "2005-09-15T14:53:12Z")
I will second _Lonesome Dove_ as a constant re-read for me, along with _Dead Man’s Walk_ - which is just as good, if not a little better. Gus & BigFoot Wallace are two characters that I think about often when I’m not reading about them. For some reason, I always come back to _The Godfather_ - I can’t explain why. Most of Jane Austen’s work- I think _Persuasion_ is just beautiful and never get tired of it- I identify alot with the main character, more than the other Austen heroines. Irvine Welsh’s work is probably the best for just picking up and reading bits of it- who needs a clear story when you have gorgeous language- even if the characters are pretty much the dregs of society? An old standby would be anything written by Taylor Caldwell - she wrote interesting stories, often historical with this kind of moral light on things. Her book, _Melissa_ is one of my favorite’s. Stephen King is just so readable- I go back to him when I’m missing Stu Redman, Andy Dufresne, or even Annie Bates & Pennywise. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/15 "2005-09-15T14:56:40Z")
Mercedes Lackey’s _Valdemar_ novels, and John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee novels. ---
**Author:** ![Innuendo\_Hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Innuendo\_Hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innuendo_Hunter)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/16 "2005-09-15T15:09:36Z")
[The ‘Big Book’ Series](http://www.greenmanreview.com/paradoxpress.omni.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/17 "2005-09-15T18:01:47Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The Tripods Trilogy, by John Christopher. Not really on topic, but I’m really glad somebody still likes these. I loved this series when I was a kid. Probably to get back on topic, I should read it again, for old times’ sake. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/18 "2005-09-15T18:13:39Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Mercedes Lackey’s _Valdemar_ novels Seconded. In fact, that’s what I’m doing right now-I’m in the middle of _Winds of Fury_, book three of the _Mage Winds_ trilogy. _Star Wars: X-Wing_ series, especially the ones by Aaron Allston _Harry Potter_ ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/19 "2005-09-15T18:27:02Z")
The Anita Blake : Vampire Hunter series. David Eddings Belgariad/Malloreon/Elenium/Tamuli. Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books. The Mile Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold. Honor Harrington series, Starfire series and 5th Imperium trilogy by David Weber. Belisarius series by David Drake and Eric Flint. 1632 by Eric Flint. Paksenarrion trilogy by Elizabeth Moon. Spellsong seris by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Amber books by Roger Zelzany. Hawk and Fisher books by Simon Green. Blod series by Tanya Huff.Garret series by Glen Cook. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723/20 "2005-09-15T18:29:12Z")
Just about anything by Kurt Vonnegut, but especially **The Sirens of Titan**. HP Lovecraft always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. The horror stories, not the dream crap. Occasionally I run through a string of Saki short stories, or maybe his **The Unbearable Bassington**. I guess I get comfort by being reassured that I’m not the only person who thinks the world is a nut house. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-read-for-comfort-books/321723.md?page=2)