What do you read when you’re struggling to read what you usually read?
Or to put it another way, what’s your junk food/comfort read?
I’m all in on Terry Pratchett or Hitchhiker’s Guide when I need a break. Pratchett especially is just good high fantasy and some humor mixed in.
Something like Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy
Anything by Stephen King, for me. I also like quick-paced techy/sci-fi novels for when I’m in the mood for something easier. I’m a re-reader, so I will sometimes pick up something I’ve already read and enjoyed before.
Fun, feel-good fantasy stories, like Legends and Lattes. Bonus points if there’s a heist, a fun group of quirky characters, or well-built romance story.
Agatha Christie is queen of fun, quick reads. Terry Pratchett is also perfect.
I usually go to short stories, or old sword and sorcery novellas. For the former my go to stories are Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, Robert E Howard’s Conan, and Isaac Asimov’s Robots. For the latter I prefer Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné, Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, and Jack Vance’s Dying Earth. If I’m feeling uninspired or experiencing a block, knocking out a few of these stories always sets me straight. They take next to no time to read and are great fun. I don’t get tired of rereading them.
Not mine but this YouTube video has a good list of books for getting out of a slump: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWAmcg_V6JA&pp=ygUTTWVycGh5IE5hcGllciBzbHVtcA%3D%3D
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach is a favorite shorter read of mine.
Sci-fi short stories
Trashy romance novels, particularly fantasy or occult (I normally read sci Fi and fantasy so this is the “I want to read but I can’t focus” side of that). Are they well written? Uh, no. Are they entertaining and easy? Yep.
The Last Unicorn by Beagle is word candy. Absolutely beautiful prose and imagery. But it is also a quick read, perfect for two days. Can’t go wrong.
I go to YA when I don’t want to be challenged. I love The Old Kingdom by Garth Nix in particular.
Kurt Vonnegut was one of the easiest writers to read for me. I’d recommend starting with Slaughterhouse-5.
My actual comfort reading, though, is William Gibson, but he is not easy to read.
Comfort maybe, def not junk:
Your local library probably has a subscription to the first, maybe even to the $econd. Granta’s a quarterly and I can’t say I’ve ever seen it in a library but its been around a long time and back issues are readily available @used bookstores.
This makes me sound like a total wanker but I reread my favorite Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. I find them both very comforting because generally nice people end up happy in the end.
Love Jane Austen! I feel a pleasant coziness when I re-read her works as well. I recently found annotated editions of Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey at a second hand bookshop that were really interesting. It offered a bit of historical context, explanation of games or dances the characters would do, insight into the daily life of people of that time, etc. I highly recommend grabbing a copy if you find one.
Definitely with you there on Jane Austen. I like that ultimately everyone gets married and is happy (even if that’s not my idea of a happy ending necessarily)
