Okay . . . picture this (really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do (other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better. What do you read?
(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. Unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)
Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
My immediate response to this was “whatever it is I happen to be reading at the time,” since I don’t see myself starting a new book just because I’m having a bad day. But suppose I’m between books on that bad day – what would I choose to start?
No particular title comes to mind, because I don’t think I’d want to re-read something under these conditions – it probably wouldn’t distract me enough. Along those lines, I should start thinking about a “books to save for a – literal or figurative – rainy day” list. But since it doesn’t exist yet, I’d be most likely to choose something very plot-driven, so I get pulled into the story right away; something either light and diverting, like chick lit, or suspenseful and mysterious.
Chick lit makes us feel good. Most of the times, anyway!
Good question.
Years and years ago, I used to turn to “Gone With The Wind.”
During my divorce I spent nine months reading nothing but French history–absorbing enough to demand my full attention and their problems were always bigger than mine.
Of course, nothing beats the Sherlock Holmes stories for a nice comfy world to sink into. P. G. Wodehouse has also pulled me through many a bad moment.
Apropos of nothing, I just finished a book I found quite splendid: “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger. It had everything–an engaging voice, vivid setting, riveting plot, humor, pathos, faith, and love. I was blown away.
One I’ve always wanted to read, but haven’t had the stamina (or depression and melancholy!) for — Anna Karenina!
Working Girl – During the long slow decline of my first marriage, I read a lot of nonfiction myself (although not French history), since I could be a lot more objective about it.
PunditMom – I haven’t read Anna Karenina either, for pretty much the same reasons you mentioned.
Gautami – Sometimes I just crave empty calories.
our idea about “comfort food” is very similar – but i do see myself starting a new book if the need arose (and, in fact, have been known to do that).