BOOK LIST: Comfort Reads

1. Earthsea is gorgeous, meditative fantasy. Sparrowhawk is one of my all-time favourite characters. Pure escapism and a tonic for what ails you. - Becks

Other pure escapism reads - Diana Wynne Jones, Tiffany Aching/the Discworld series. 

2. And Catherine’s all-time comfort read would be The Dark is Rising series. 

3. Genre series like the Rivers of London books - Jane’s partner reads these because he knows what he’s getting and finds that sometimes that can be comforting.

4. Charlotte’s Web and re-reading other kids’ classics/childhood faves - as well as reading middle-grade/intermediate children’s fiction in general, which is often a good yarn, can be moving but, almost universally, ultimately hopeful, with no faffing about. - Jane

5. Poetry. Reading poetry can be a bit like meditation to me, forcing me to slow down and clear my mind. I don’t particularly seek out “comforting” poems, but some collections are warm and delightful, like Jay Nieuwland’s! - Jane

6. Short stories. Eamonn likes to go back and re-read some bangin’ short stories by the likes of Grace Paley and George Saunders.

7. The Thursday Murder Club and other gentle crime, like Ann Cleeves, Donna Leon and Louise Penny. - Catherine

8. Greta & Valdin - this proves that characters don’t have to be unrealistically perfect to still be delightful. Every character is a bumbling mess, but they are so accepted and loved, it turns into a completely delightful read, complete with LOLs, but clever too. It made me happy for months just thinking about it. - Jane

9. From the Centre by Patricia Grace and other memoirs from wise women - shout out also to Linda Burgess and Fiona Kidman. - Catherine

10. Oh, William by Elizabeth Strout and other smart, warm-hearted novels about the human condition, also Danielle Hawkins, Anne Tyler, Sigrid Nunez. - Catherine (we say Catherine’s books are perfect for this too!)