I read The Shining every October. I'm not sure why, but it's something I've been doing ever since I was thirteen. I'm not even a Stephen King fan; just something I do for unknown reasons. Like you, I rely and look forward to reading it every year. It definitely is comforting. I also read Animal Farm every year.

I also read a Stephen King book every fall, Pet Cemetery. I don’t remember exactly why I started doing it but I do know why I continue. It was the first book my dad bought me, and he has since passed so it makes for another reason to keep this book tradition

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I’ve re-read The Lord of the Rings something like 20 times on paper or on a screen, and 4 or 5 more times as an audiobook.

I totally agree with you on the feeling; if I’m feeling overwhelmed by life it’s incredibly comforting to immerse myself in a familiar story.

I’ve read The Outsiders more times than I can count! I actually had to buy a new copy of it a few years ago because my first one was literally falling apart. It’s an easy read and only takes a few hours so I know I can get it done in one sitting. I often read books that I’ve already read.

Love the Bone Clocks. Re-read loads of books - LotR most regularly. Terry Pratchett, Julian May, AS Byatt... Getting into seasonal re-readings - re-read The Dark is Rising last Christmas, and this Christmas had the BBC World Service podcast. Re-read my Terry Pratchett collection after my sister died - needed something comforting and wise with no unpleasant shocks.

I love Matilda by Roald Dahl. I loved it as a kid and I still love it to this day. It's probably one of my comfort books to read. I even love the 1996 film and the musical.

Most of James Clavell, especially like Noble House, Tai-Pan, Shogun

Several by Michener: Centennial, Chesapeake

Armegeddon by Leon Uris

Word of Honor by Nelson DeMille

Anything by Michael Connolly

For Westerns: It starts and ends with Louis L'Amour (although I just released a western, so stay tuned)

and about 50 others

I have trouble getting through it for the first time lol. It's a good book, but to me really boring at times

Ive built up quite a collection of comfort re-reads at this point. It started with stuff like Eragon and Age of Fire books when I was in my late teens. Now my go-to's are Mistborn, Stormlight, and Cradle, but I have several re-reads of The Cycle of Arwen, Red Rising, and Powder mage series as well that are lots of fun to come back too.

I want to try lord of the rings but it seems a bit daunting. I'm planning to first try the hobbit and see how it goes. I was wondering, are the books confusing/involve many characters to remember?

Hmm never heard of those authors! I might try them out given that I know very few people who know of/enjoy the bone clocks in real life :)

I'm sorry to hear about your loss, and I'm glad that you found a read that helps you cope/brings you comfort.

AS Byatt - Possession Julian May - The Pliocene Saga (and others) Terry Pratchett - you're kidding, right? :D Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising Sequence, and its second novel, set in the rural Thames Valley in England. - read it at Christmas though, from the 20th December. Don't forget Alan Garner.

Bone Clocks is brilliant - should be better known. Have you read his other stuff - Black Swan Green, Number9 Dream, Cloud Atlas?

What else have you read that you might recommend?

And thanks. It was 17 years ago now.

The Murderbot Diaries. I have read the print versions of all of them (new one coming later this year - squee!) But I listen to the audiobook versions repeatedly - especially to unwind or while I am doing some simple but dull task.

I don’t think it’s especially confusing. I first read it when I was 13 and I did ok with it even then. It’s among the most popular works of fiction ever so I think it must have fairly broad appeal.

Definitely start with The Hobbit though, it gives very important background. The writing style in The Hobbit is much more aimed at children however. The LotR begins with a somewhat similar style and transitions through the first few chapters into a more mature and epic tone.

Some people struggle to stay interested through the first few chapters of the LotR, my advice if that happens to you is to just press on until the end of chapter 10, book 1 (“Strider”). That chapter is where the LotR really settles into the tone that characterizes the rest of the story.

There are quite a few mysterious references to things in the history of Middle Earth that you will not understand. Don’t worry about them; Tolkien intentionally scatters these “textual ruins” through the story. These are meant to make you feel like the story you are reading is set in a world with a real history, but you as the reader are not supposed to understand them. The mysteriousness of these references is the point. You can read The Silmarillion (and the wiki) afterwards to understand the what these textual ruins are about.

It is written for a mid-20th century audience, so the pacing is definitely a bit different from what modern audiences expect.

Entertainment media today tends to be much faster paced (movies especially but books as well). But part of the reward of reading older books is getting a sense of what reading audiences of the past were into. After a bit of practice and immersion I think most people are able to shrug off the “present day bias” and enjoy the story for what it is.

If you press on to the end of chapter 10, book 1 the story picks up quite a bit and settles into the more exciting epic tone that characterizes the rest of the text.

It's not that. I've read some old books, quite a few from Agatha Christie, some stories from Poe, also S. Fitzgerald. They were a bit more fast paced.

I think for me it's the fact, that for over 100 pages they basically walk through the woods haha. I like their food breaks the most for now lol. I will keep reading, hopefully it will pick up that exciting tone you're talking about!

Get to chapter 10, it’s a pretty different story from there onwards.

I've read this several times, too! Love this book. First read it in 7th grade and I've had an obsession with it ever since.

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.

Thank you so much for the detailed comment. I'm definitely interesting in reading it but I often struggle to step out of my comfort zone for books, as I have this funny rule of needing to finish a book once I start (even if I've lost interest). Hopefully I will muster the courage to try it out!

Adore Ghostwritten to the moon and back. I had a bit more trouble connecting to some of the other books (I've read Black Swan Green, Number9dream, Cloud Atlas, Slade House, and The Jacob de Zoet one). Number9dream I loved the descriptions of Japan but I remember a pretty violent part that put me off. Slade House I remember enjoying but it wasnt exactly a "feel good" type of enjoyment. Black Swan Green I did not enjoy and Jacob de Zoet I found a bit confusing. Cloud Atlas I also found certain parts confusing. Ghostwritten might be my all time favourite book though.

I used to love Murakami books but a lot of the violent/sexual descriptions I now find off-putting and sadly ruined the books a bit for me. I do currently love After Dark though, and Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is very interesting and lacks overly explicit content (mostly). I did find a few parts confusing but I can reccomend. 1Q84 is absolutely masterful in my opinion, however, again there are some parts that I currently find too off putting to read it again.

I also used to really love this book called Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. However, now I find some of the explicit content a bit off putting. He also wrote a book called Anathem that I found confusing when I read it, but I'm thinking I might attempt it again.

A more "wholesome" read I've recently found is The Miracles of the Namiya General Store by Higashino. Beautiful little book! A bit short though.

Another book I recently read and very much enjoyed was Piranesi by Clarke. I do wish it was longer though, and had a hit more character development.

I cant seem to find a match to Ghostwritten and Bone Clocks. I think they will forever be my favourites. Just beautiful beautiful books.

And thank you for sharing your book list with me. I love books that describe England and Japan. Take care!

I love re-reading The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. As I age I find that life experience gives me a deeper view of the characters and their relationships. Pretty much any book by Carol Shields or Margaret Laurence also has this effect if I re-read them.

The first time I got my hands on The Lord of the Rings I read it once in just a couple of days (very little sleep), then immediately read it through once again. Then I had to return it to the library.

Since then, I got my own copy (actually I think I have three now), and read it again a few times. For the last 20 years I've kind of settled to reading it once every summer, slowly, enjoying it.

I'll note these down, thanks for sharing! Would you say that Margaret Atwood writes some books that might fit in the magical realism genre?

Hmmm, good question. I'd say the character of Zenia in the Robber Bride brings an element of myth (she's a witch, a monster, etc.) but beyond that I'm not too sure.

Hmm I like mythical elements.

Would you say that Atwood's books also have a good balance of character and world building?

Sorry for all the questions!