One Day at a Time
Life is a little rough these days. We will get through it but it isn’t a great deal of fun. Why do stressful things always occur in bunches? The only thing to do is to get through one day at a time and the best way to do that is to get through one book at a time. When I am stressed I end up doing a lot of rereading. It is undemanding. I am not going to be suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with the death of my favorite character. It is a bit like a visit with old friends.
Lately, I have been rereading Mary Stewart and Georgette Heyer. They are authors I always go back to. I have read their books again and again. I wish I started tracking my reading years ago so I knew just how many times I have read their books. Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice; all of them are comforting books. They are books I can pick up and open at any chapter and sink into the story.
Frequently, it seems people feel we should be reading books to be informed, to expand our horizons, to read about people different than ourselves. All of those things are valid. However, sometimes I just want to read books to escape. I want to return to a familiar world. I don’t want to confront social issues or address the ills of the world. I want to retreat to a world where the girl solves the mystery, where the guy gets the girl, where the family lives happily ever after.
Right now, I want to live one day at a time with a pile of books, favorite books, by my side.
8 Comments
Claire (The Captive Reader)
It is difficult to beat Heyer when you need something comforting. I'm sorry to hear you're going through a stressful time but I'm glad you have such wonderful books to keep you company.
jllee656
Books are a great source of stress relief. Now, to choose which Heyer to read next…
Katrina
I hope things improve for you soon and you get back to something approaching normality for you. Meanwhile those comfort books are a necessity – enjoy them as best you can. I'm with you on all the books you mention.
jllee656
I hope so too! Life is just annoying sometimes.
Livia Rachelle
I've had a Mary Stewart and Georgette Heyer year, usually I reread, particularly LM Montgomery, but I have to space out my rereads. I'd tried Heyer earlier, didn't stick, but I've burned through her books, Stewart's, and M.M. Kaye's mysteries (I link those with Stewart's because I read several of them overlapping, and while not the same genre, still matched well) this year, I'm not sure how many I have left.
jllee656
Oh, I like M. M. Kaye too! I haven't reread her in ages. Maybe I will add those to the rotation.
Tanja/The Red Phone box travels
hope things get better for you. yes, reading is an escape and a window to so many worlds:)
jllee656
Thank you. Thank goodness for books when life gets stressful!