Like any avid reader, I appreciate my keepers—and I’ve got a lot of them. Some I read once or twice; others I read over and over again.
But some keepers are special. Reading them got me through tough times in my life. Listening to J.D. Robb’s Born in Death while I was at work helped me get through a period when I was working significant overtime. Rachel Gibson’s It Must Be Love made me laugh and cry during an especially long flight, and I don’t like flying to begin with. And I read Jim Butcher’s Small Favor during my dad’s naps when I visited him in the hospital.
For these books and several others, there’s a story behind the story. There’s the physical book with words on a page that add up to a book. And then there’s the way the book affected me as I read it because of what I was experiencing at the time. It made the reading experience deeper, more meaningful, and more memorable.
I’m going through another of those times when I desperately need a book, a story to help me through it. I have a few books in mind to make things easier.
What books have helped you through the tough times of your life?
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I re-read all of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden novels and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels after Hurricane Ike. I didn’t have any electricity for two weeks, so I came home from work and read next to a lantern.
I re-read all of Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden novels, Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels and two of my favorite Jayne Ann Krentz books after Hurricane Ike. I didn’t have any electricity for two weeks, so I came home from work and read next to a lantern. It was comforting to spend time with “old friends.”
I can still read just about anything right now. If I can’t read, that’s a red flag that I’m sinking into depression.
I certainly hit my Keeper Shelf when I’m feeling down, but my favorites are from my childhood – the novels of Lucy Maud Montgomery and Laura Ingalls Wilder.
At the moment, ‘fresh and orginal’ and/or ‘fun and adventure’ are keeping me above the fray, preferably with a strong Romance, of course, to satisfy my runaway pregnancy hormones.
I reread Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee after a bad breakup.
Read Melissa Nathan’s The Nanny while my sister was sick when she was sleeping. Kept me from going crazy.
Yup, both authors and books have a place in my heart now.
I read Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells the week after my youngest left for college and my husband deployed to the Middle East.
The house went from busy, active, and full of men to, well…just me and the cat. Garden Spells, though, pulled me out of the doldrums so well that I find myself reaching for it again any time I’m feeling a little blue. It never fails to work its magic!
When I’m depressed, or stuck, or just floundering, I go back to the “In Death” books. Eve and Roarke always bring me around.
Nora Roberts The Reef is burned into my brain as I read it while my husband was hospitalized with pneumonia and I sat bedside.
Secret Life of Bees was probably not the best choice as I sat bedside during my mom’s last days.
For me it’s Madeleine L’Engle’s Circle of Quiet, which is nonfiction, but always helps me feel more centered and gain some perspective
I like to read something new when I really need a pick me up or a few hours to forget. I crochet when I sat with my dad in the hospital. I can’t pick up my yarn without thinking of him and the things he taught me. That’s a good thing.
During my mid-teens to early twenties, I pulled out The Count of Monte Cristo when I was in a funk. My friends would always know I needed some cheering up when I was toting it around again.
Now I’m partial to old Harlequins. Total comfort reading. (And I mean OLD, fifties-, sixties-era stuff. Lots of Burchells.)
I re-read a bunch of childhood fantasies, particularly Patricia McKillip, Anne McCaffrey (earlier stuff), and Nancy Springer. I find the bright, clear language, courageous heroes, and uncompromising justice comforting and inspiring in dark times.
Georgette Heyer brings me round, especially Frederica or Sylvester. I also love Jenny Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation and Eva Ibbotson’s books. Those are my go tos when the blue meanies hit.
When I was unexpectedly in the hospital overnight with nothing to read or do, I kept myself sane by remembering scenes from The Shadow and the Star, which I had read often enough to have pretty much memorized.
When I was making daily trips to the hospital and waiting for hours there, the Steele Street books by Tara Janzen really helped make the time go by.