Comfort Food Books: Which Ones Call You Back, Again and Again?

[CalamityBoPeep]

Hi Everyone!

I've been here on PreviouslyTV for a while, but never noticed this book forum until a few days ago. So many topics here that I just love! Y'all are clearly my long-lost siblings.

I'd love to hear about your favorite books... the ones you return to again and again, to re-read and savor when you want comfort food. A story that you love, that's captured your imagination, that never gets old. Which one is it for you? How often do you go back to it?

For me, the main one has to be The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. I first read it when I was visiting my Grandmother's house, at age 14. Every time we'd make the trip to visit, after that, I'd go upstairs in her old house, pull it from the shelves, and snuggle down on this ancient pink satiny wing-back sofa for a re-read.

In my late 20's, I had Waldenbooks do a search for a copy (heh, waaaay before Amazon!), and managed to snag a library's discard. Since then, I've read it again every few years. I don't know what it is about the first part that captures me so, but I still get lost in those characters. The last third isn't quite as dynamic, but the first part makes everything that follows worth the re-read. And I've grown to appreciate the middle section more as I've aged, appreciating the difficult mother-daughter relationship there.

I've read every book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series several times too, but I find myself skipping parts, and feeling like large sections are a slog, after the first reading. They require more of a time commitment too, so are less like comfort, and more like effort. The Mirror takes me a day or two, at most. I love the Jamie and Claire relationship in the Outlander books, and certain scenes positively sing, but... yeah... not an easy series to have on repeat, for me.

Anyway... glad to find you all here. But you've made my "To Be Read" stack even more top-heavy. So... Thanks? ;-) 

Edited November 5, 2016 by CalamityBoPeep

[WendyCR72]

It's not high art whatsoever and it is a romance novel, but I love to read and reread Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. There's romance, but there are also memorable characters, banter, and a good dose of heart and wit.

[Browncoat]

Anne McCaffrey's Pern books. Not the ones authored (or co-authored) by her son, but the originals. Her Crystal Singer set is another favorite. 

I also re-read Rebecca occasionally. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley..."

[CalamityBoPeep]

@WendyCR72 I love Jennifer Crusie books, too. I don't have a particular one that I go back to again and again, but sometimes I feel in the mood for her, so I'll pick up one that I haven't read for a long while. I really loved the books that she did with Bob Mayer too. Wish that partnership could have continued. He brought a certain gravitas to the heroes, that I think served the stories really well.

I've always loved the classics, but after reading one of the threads here, I realized that somehow I'd missed Rebecca, @Browncoat. That was one of the ones that ended up on my "To Be Read" stack, thanks to the people here. LOL

[Spartan Girl]

Harry Potter, hands down.

I also like the Meg Cabot books (specifically The Princess Diaries) and Philippa Gregory.

[SherriAnt]

I have so many authors that I reread, just off the top of my head...Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz, anything by Seanan McGuire or Faith Hunter, and the Mrs. Murphy mysteries by Rita Mae Brown.

[GreekGeek]

I can't think of much I've reread whole, but I do have favorite bits that I like to reread, like the Snape scenes and the Slughorn scenes in Harry Potter. Weirdly, I really like depictions of madness. There's an amazing account of a psychotic break in Antonia White's Beyond the Glass. I picked up Valley of the Dolls years ago on vacation and loved its depiction of the varieties of show business from the 40's to the 60's. There's a very well done "mad scene" there too, in the chapter about Neely in rehab.

I've developed a fascination with revisiting books and authors I read as a child. I recently enjoyed A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Mary Poppins Comes Back. Mary is as unpleasant as I remember, and I was better able to appreciate the mysterious bits, like an infant telling a starling the tale of her birth. I looked up Miss Hickory by Caroline Sherwin Bailey because I remembered it had a very strange ending that I didn't understand. I was able to satisfy my curiosity and learn that there were others who were freaked out by it. Anyone else remember this book?

[MargeGunderson]

Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache mysteries are my go to. Also Carole Nelson Douglas' Irene Adler series.

[AuntiePam]

Great idea for a thread!

I have two:  Eifelheim by Michael Flynn.  It's about the disappearance of a Bavarian village in 1348 during an epidemic of the Black Death.  The village should have been resettled but it wasn't.  A couple of scientists try to figure out why.  When I tell people there are aliens in this book, eyebrows are raised.  It sounds silly but it's anything but that.  Wonderful book.

The other is The Dollmaker by Harriette Simpson Arnow, the story of a Kentucky hill country woman who uproots her family to follow her husband to Detroit in the 1940's, after he finds work in a factory. 

(The dialect might put some readers off.  For example, Arnow writes "th" for "the" in some of the dialogue.  It was annoying for about a minute but then the story takes over.)

[auntjess]

Certain mysteries, including The Murder of My Aunt, by Richard Hull, Too Much of Water, by Bruce Hamilton, and some of the Miss Silver books by Patricia Wentworth.
In non-fiction, I like certain letters and diaries.

[zxy556575]

These two series are different on the face of it but share the same idyllic and charming ethos.

Gerald Durrell's Corfu trilogy about five years he lived with his family in Greece starting when he was ten. I love all three books and have read them many times, but the first, My Family and Other Animals, is dearest to me and the answer if I'm ever asked about my favorite book. There are no life lessons or transcendent moments, honestly. But as remembered nostalgically through Gerald's eyes, the books always transport me to a place of tranquil loveliness and humor. I feel kinder after reading them.

The same can be said of the James Herriot books about his life as a Yorkshire vet, starting with All Creatures Great and Small. I know every story by heart and love the animals and owners as fondly described by the author. The author's basic goodness and humanity shines through and the books a balm for me.

[Qoass]

As a child I read Harriet the Spy, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and A Little Princess over and over again.  As a rapidly aging adult, I resist the impulse to re-read my favorites because there are so many things I want to read that I haven't gotten to yet.  Instead, I have a number of poems, mostly Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg, that I revisit regularly with very little time invested.

And this one every year at this time.

[Browncoat]

Oh, how could I forget Narnia!  I re-read those periodically. 

[NewDigs]

4 hours ago, Qoass said:

As a rapidly aging adult, I resist the impulse to re-read my favorites because there are so many things I want to read that I haven't gotten to yet.  Instead, I have a number of poems, mostly Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg, that I revisit regularly with very little time invested.

I was never much of a re-reader for that ^^^ very reason.

So many books, so little time!

Instead of poetry I turn to essays. EB White is like putting on a favorite pair of shoes or a comfortable old jacket. He transports me in about the first paragraph.

And if I want a fun read I always also have a David Sedaris book, or three, ready to go. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is probably my favorite. His family observations are funny and poignant at once.

But now I need to read some poetry. Thanks for November.

[Browncoat]

I re-read primarily in the summer -- my public library's closed on Sundays, and sometimes I don't plan well and run out of book after they've closed on Saturdays.  Sadly, I can't afford to buy many books, so if I can't get one from the library, I re-read something I already own.

[SmithW6079]

It's not exactly "comfort food," but I read 1984 by George Orwell every year or so. I think I hope for a different ending each time I read it, but there's something about its dystopian depiction of society that speaks to me, especially in today's times.

Exile in Guyville, by Dave White. A gay writer/movie critic moves from Texas to LA with his boyfriend, and his take on their first year living in West Hollywood. I like White's writing style and I found his exasperation of living among Hollywood gays to be hilarious.

[proserpina65]

A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle.   I second Anne McCaffrey's Pern novels, and agree that the co-authored ones were a letdown.

I also re-read The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder for the first real snow storm of the winter.

[auntjess]

I need books where evil is punished, and good triumphs today especially.
Maybe some John R L Anderson mysteries.
 

[Snow Apple]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. There was even a period of time where I read the same scenes every single day.

The Secret Garden. What is better than children roaming around in a big old house and garden?

Fifteen and Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary. Just fun books from my childhood.

[Athena]

Harry Potter for me as well. Certain Narnia books.

Jane Austen particularly Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.

[glowlights]

I re-read Nancy Drew books every so often because I refuse to grow up. :)

And I read A Christmas Carol every year at the holidays, along with some other classic holiday stories.

I have returned to Absalom, Absalom several times.

[NewDigs]

On 11/7/2016 at 4:41 PM, Browncoat said:

I re-read primarily in the summer -- my public library's closed on Sundays, and sometimes I don't plan well and run out of book after they've closed on Saturdays.  Sadly, I can't afford to buy many books, so if I can't get one from the library, I re-read something I already own.

I have a tendency to check out more books than I think I will read. For variety. But I have a generous library-loan structure. Can check out up to 50 items for a month. I think it's close to overly generous but will take extra titles just in case. I sometimes feel guilty if I don't read a checkout but I've pretty much always got a read.

30 minutes ago, glowlights said:

I re-read Nancy Drew books every so often because I refuse to grow up. :)

And I read A Christmas Carol every year at the holidays, along with some other classic holiday stories.

I have returned to Absalom, Absalom several times.

I used to reread Wind in the Willows for same reason. Have I gotten, gasp, too old? Actually might be a nice gentle little read right about now.

[Haleth]

I read The Silmarillion and LotR every couple of years.  They call to me when the weather starts to turn cold.  

[glowlights]

20 hours ago, NewDigs said:

I used to reread Wind in the Willows for same reason. Have I gotten, gasp, too old? Actually might be a nice gentle little read right about now.

Wind in The Willows sounds like a great choice right now. :)

50 items a month? Wow! Now I have to check what my library will let me get away with. lol

[MichelleAK]

My main "comfort" books are the Saint-Germain novels by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.  Not all of them; there are about 7-8 that are my favorites, so they get re-read more frequently.

I also periodically re-read Wolf Hall (adore this book!), The Lord of the Rings, and The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough.

[Melgaypet]

I re-read To Kill A Mockingbird at least once a year. The Westing Game is one of my favorite books of all time and I don't know how many times I've read it. Probably dozens.

On 11/4/2016 at 10:32 PM, CalamityBoPeep said:

I've read every book in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series several times too, but I find myself skipping parts, and feeling like large sections are a slog, after the first reading.

I've read all the Outlander books and a few more than once, but the ones I love to re-read are the Lord John books. They're shorter, for one thing, and somewhat lighter and faster-paced, and well, just more fun. It helps that Lord John is my favorite character in the whole Outlander universe. In fact, I think Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade is Gabaldon's best work.

Is it weird that there are a few biographies I just love to go back to again and again? David McCullough's John Adams and David Starkey's Elizabeth I: The Struggle for the Throne. They're both well-written and fascinating, and neither feels dry in the least.

[festivus]

On 11/4/2016 at 11:32 PM, CalamityBoPeep said:

For me, the main one has to be The Mirror by Marlys Millhiser. I first read it when I was visiting my Grandmother's house, at age 14. Every time we'd make the trip to visit, after that, I'd go upstairs in her old house, pull it from the shelves, and snuggle down on this ancient pink satiny wing-back sofa for a re-read.

When at my grandmother's house I always read Anne of Green Gables. I could not even tell you how many times I read that book. When I was in high school and I had money I bought the rest of the set although I haven't read any of them near as much as the first one.

On 11/13/2016 at 0:27 AM, Melgaypet said:

I've read all the Outlander books and a few more than once, but the ones I love to re-read are the Lord John books. They're shorter, for one thing, and somewhat lighter and faster-paced, and well, just more fun. It helps that Lord John is my favorite character in the whole Outlander universe. In fact, I think Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade is Gabaldon's best work.

I haven't made it all the way through the Outlander series yet, only through book four but I've re-read the Lord John parts of Voyager many times and I've read all the Lord John books twice. He's my favorite character too.

 

I LOVE Tanya Huff's Smoke trilogy of books. I read them about twice a year and I could probably quote them from memory. I just love all the characters in them especially the main character Tony Foster. Books about wizards are just my thing.

[DeLurker]

Anything by Carl Hiaasen and Christopher Moore.  I always have to re-read The Stupidest Angel in December.

Also, The Spellman Files (any of the books) by Lisa Lutz.

[tenativelyyours]

I love re-reading but have way too many new books on the pile to do it anymore.  But when I had more reading time than new unread books, I usually jumped into Colleen McCullough's first three books in her Rome series or Dorothy Dunnett's Nicolo Rising series.  When I was younger and Robert Jordan was still alive, I used to plow through the series whenever a new installment was due.  It wasn't so much a refresher as simply wanting to immerse myself fully in his style and creation and whet my appetite for the main course when it hit the shelves. 

 I also used to re-read the Witching Hour by Anne Rice about every other year.  It was a bit cheesy, especially the ending, but the main two thirds of the book that focuses simply on the quiet opulence of the Mayfair family sprinkled with the history I just found a nice enthralling retreat.  But that was also when I was still in school and hasn't gotten to read the descent into really bad writing that Rice had already taken. 

I tend to read mostly fiction so I would say my "comfort" reads in genre are probably history.  I like settling into books about various dynasties and their dastardly doings.   I have a new book on the Cavendishes of Devonshire I'm saving for a cold wet day I simply want to dig in and have that great mix of laze and immersion. 

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 0:44 PM, MichelleAK said:

My main "comfort" books are the Saint-Germain novels by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro.  Not all of them; there are about 7-8 that are my favorites, so they get re-read more frequently.

I also periodically re-read Wolf Hall (adore this book!), The Lord of the Rings, and The First Man in Rome by Colleen McCullough.

I've only read one of the Saint-German books - Tempting Fate.  It was very good, and for some reason (!) it kind of resonates this last week or so, but it was so depressing.  Maybe that's why I never got around to any of the others.

[Bastet]

I find fiction more suited than non-fiction to comfort reading, so because my reading list is almost exclusively non-fiction, there isn't a lot I re-read as comfort books.  But every once in a while I pull out my childhood favorite, Harriet the Spy (Louise Fitzhugh).  Sometimes also Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret (Judy Blume) and The Girl With the Silver Eyes (Willo Davis Roberts), my runners-up on the childhood favorites list.  I pick up Foxfire (Joyce Carol Oates) from time to time, as that's a novel where I tend to develop at least one new train of thought with each read.

On the non-fiction side, I do frequently re-read Katha Pollitt.  And I semi-frequently revisit passages of Myrna Loy's memoir Being and Becoming.  And What's the Matter With Kansas (Thomas Frank), Backlash (Susan Faludi), and Nickel and Dimed (Barbarah Ehrenreich) only become more frustratingly relevant as time goes on, so I go back to those sometimes. 

[Browncoat]

I love Harriet the Spy and also The Phantom Tollbooth.

[Bastet]

Quote

also The Phantom Tollbooth.

When I did my final whittling down of childhood books (in my early twenties, probably) to donate most of what remained and just keep a few favorites, I kept that one because I remembered that I liked it, but couldn't remember anything about it.  I still have it; you may have inspired me to finally re-read it and see if I still like it.

[Browncoat]

Oh, do re-read it!  If you like clever puns and wordplay, you'll still like the book.

[Lovecat]

On 11/7/2016 at 8:14 AM, lordonia said:

The same can be said of the James Herriot books about his life as a Yorkshire vet, starting with All Creatures Great and Small. I know every story by heart and love the animals and owners as fondly described by the author. The author's basic goodness and humanity shines through and the books a balm for me.

Funny story:  I was recently talking with a friend who had had surgery to repair a prolapsed uterus, and all I could think of was the scene with the sugar.  I'm sure you know which one I mean!

On 11/7/2016 at 11:36 AM, Qoass said:

As a child I read Harriet the Spy, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and A Little Princess over and over again.  As a rapidly aging adult, I resist the impulse to re-read my favorites because there are so many things I want to read that I haven't gotten to yet. 

It seems like a lot of us re-visit books we loved as children.  For me, it's the Trixie Belden series.  I have almost all of them (the last 5 or so were published while I was in high school and I never bought them--now they're rare as hen's teeth and expensive to boot, grrr!), and will periodically curl up and read a few in a sitting.  They're short and simple, and I practically know them by heart, so I can zoom through them like a warm little snack.

I've also read Erich Segal's non-Love Story books (The Class, Doctors, Acts of Faith, and Prizes) multiple times.  I'm a sucker for a plot that follows a group of people through the triumphs and tribulations of life, from childhood maturity, and the characters in those books have become like friends.

I've also read The Stand several times.  A bit of a time commitment, but a damn good yarn.

[Bastet]

Quote

For me, it's the Trixie Belden series. 

Trixie Belden was my jam!  My best friend and I each had either the whole series or something close to it, and read at pretty much the same speed, so it was a like a two-member book club. 

[Wiendish Fitch]

I re-read Robin McKinley's Beauty every few years. It's so lyrical and lovely, and it's also refreshing that the titular Beauty actually has nice sisters with whom she has a good relationship. 

Whenever I'm feeling blue, How Not to Write a Novel cheers me up. In fact, even if you're not an aspiring writer, it's one of the funniest and most insightful books ever, especially if you're bothered by bad writing conventions that need to go. 

[BookWoman56]

I used to read LotR every four or five years, but haven't done so recently. A couple of years ago I went on a binge of re-reading books from my childhood, and so revisited some Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, etc. There are a few Stephen King books I've re-read periodically, including The Stand, ditto with the Anne McCaffrey Pern books, and I occasionally re-read at least parts of the HP series. I am planning a re-reading next year of Marion Zimmer Bradley Darkover novels, especially the ones focusing on the Renunciates, because I can identify with the women who have chosen to take a very different path in a patriarchal society. Most recently, though, I was in a serious post-election depression and needed some comfort reading. For some reason, I found it helped me a lot to re-read some Dick Francis mysteries. There is a scene in Banker, which is probably my favorite of his, that always makes me feel good because the main character has taken a chance on someone, and that person succeeds in a big way. I also re-read Longshot, another fave in which the main character is a writer struggling to make ends meet while working on a second novel. I find Francis comforting because while bad things happen of necessity because they are mostly murder mysteries, the stories are calm and things mostly get resolved in ways that make sense. It doesn't hurt that I can see a definite arc in his writing ability, and so while I like some of his early books, it's interesting to see him improve over time. Not sure why murder mysteries are my go-to when I'm depressed or anxious, but there are a few Agatha Christie mysteries I periodically re-read as well.

[nodorothyparker]

I tend to revisit a lot of things when I'm sick or just not in a particularly great place mentally or emotionally.  Spending time with Scout and the gang in To Kill A Mockingbird or Harriet in Donna Tartt's The Little Friend, for example, is like revisiting old friends where you know things may not go great but it'll be mostly okay in the end.

I reread The Long Winter from the Little House series every winter about the time the winter doldrums set in, maybe to remind myself of just how much worse it could be.  Depending on my mood and what else I have going on, this may or may not turn into me skimming at least a couple of other books in the series as well.

I also hit The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson every year around Christmas time.  I'm not at all religious anymore so that particular aspect of the story doesn't really do anything for me, but it's a nice nostalgia trip with the Herdmans (aka the worst kids in the world) back to being a kid when my own mother and her church lady friends would force us into the annual church pageant.

Edited November 26, 2016 by nodorothyparker

[festivus]

On 11/25/2016 at 3:06 PM, nodorothyparker said:

I also hit The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson every year around Christmas time.  I'm not at all religious anymore so that particular aspect of the story doesn't really do anything for me, but it's a nice nostalgia trip with the Herdmans (aka the worst kids in the world) back to being a kid when my own mother and her church lady friends would force us into the annual church pageant.

Oh I loved this book, and I still have it. I need to read it again. Not religious anymore either, but I'm sure I'll still love the book.

[stillshimpy]

I have a couple of weird ones that I love.  Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons is wonderfully funny.  The movie of the same name is fun also, but the original book is very funny and smart.  There are a lot of truly clever things in it, it's a satire that takes on the work of a lot of the popular novelists of the time but not in a mean-spirited way, including Thomas Hardy's work which oddly delights me, as I met my husband while I was reading Jude the Obscure (which is almost satire in and of itself....the meeting, not the book which is one of the grimmest books every committed to paper). 

Then I love Good Omens, another laugh riot that has a very kind heart at the center of it.  Perfect for times when you wonder, "Is everything going to be okay?"  while needing to laugh until you cry. 

Then this one is a book that is, again, hopeful in the final analysis.  David Mitchell's Ghostwritten.  It was his first novel and it has one of the most genuinely surprising endings I've ever seen.  It's a story told from multiple perspectives and can make you rethink loneliness, individuality, and basic kindness in an uncertain world.   GIANT spoiler for the book to follow

 

it's the story of the transmigrating spirit that is almost crushing and yet hopeful.  The spirit is that of a 9-year-old boy who was an apprentice to a monk during a revolution.  The monk dies trying to save him but in particular, his soul, to give him another chance in life and the ending and what the spirit does with that gift makes me cry to even think about.

 

 

So that's a good one for anyone that needs hope and doesn't mind shedding three or four pounds worth of tears to get there.  

Edited December 3, 2016 by stillshimpy

[Haleth]

I'll have to look for that one, Shimpy.  I like David Mitchell's writing but haven't read that one.

[stillshimpy]

It was his first novel, Haleth and it does have a couple of the pitfalls of a first novel, but mostly, it's just really wonderful.  

[Schweedie]

I have a bunch of books that I re-read regularly, but I don't think all of them count as comfort books (The Secret History and Never Let me Go? Nope.) But some of them are definitely that: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Pride & Prejudice, and Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. Chicken soup for the soul, particularly the last one for some reason - even though it's about four depressed people (not even sympathetic ones, all of them) who accidentally meet on a rooftop where they're all planning to commit suicide, it's, well. Comforting, in a weird way. And it has this: “When someone uses the phrase ‘the prick one’, and you know immediately that this is a synonym for the word ‘metaphorically’, you are entitled to wonder whether you know the speaker too well. You are even entitled to wonder whether you should know her at all.” It's not for everyone, but I love it.

Good Omens as mentioned above might end up on this list for me, too! Only read it a little while ago and loved it.

[SherriAnt]

On ‎2016‎-‎11‎-‎25 at 2:06 PM, nodorothyparker said:

I reread The Long Winter from the Little House series every winter

I do this too, and have this weird guilty feeling every time I turn up the heat or get a snack, lol.

[AuntiePam]

8 hours ago, SherriAnt said:

I do this too, and have this weird guilty feeling every time I turn up the heat or get a snack, lol.

I get the same feeling after watching the Bastogne episodes of Band of Brothers.  Those men didn't sleep indoors for a month, in winter, while being shelled by the Germans. 

That's one of the many good things about the Little House books -- it gives kids an appreciation for central heating and running water.

[nodorothyparker]

I had that reaction the first time I ever read how the Wilder family heated and filled a tub of water in the kitchen and then one by one the entire family bathed in it.

[SherriAnt]

On ‎2016‎-‎12‎-‎05 at 7:30 PM, AuntiePam said:

I get the same feeling after watching the Bastogne episodes of Band of Brothers.  Those men didn't sleep indoors for a month, in winter, while being shelled by the Germans. 

I know, I cry every time.

On ‎2016‎-‎12‎-‎06 at 4:10 PM, nodorothyparker said:

I had that reaction the first time I ever read how the Wilder family heated and filled a tub of water in the kitchen and then one by one the entire family bathed in it.

They did empty and refill between every use until Father, then it sat until morning.

[BooksRule]

Like a couple of others have posted, I tend to escape back into my childhood and re-read some of my favorites.  I mainly re-read my 'Trixie Belden' books (I still have most of the ones I owned as a child and have added a few here and there).  I also like to re-read the two series that were written by Lenora Mattingly Weber,  the 'Beany Malone' series and the one featuring the 'Belford' family.  They had been published for decades when I came along, but I still love them.  Oh, and Eleanor Estes' books about the Moffat family ('Rufus M.', 'The Middle Moffat', etc.) and Elizabeth Enright's 'Melendy' family books.  ('The Saturdays', 'The Four Story Mistake', 'Then there were Five' and 'Spiderweb for Two: A Melendy Maze')

Edited December 11, 2016 by BooksRule
Because it's 'maze', not 'mystery'.

[aradia22]

I like romance novels so that's it for me. Part of the reason I don't get through more new books is I keep re-reading the old ones. They really are like rom-coms or comfort food. I know all the beats, to the point where I remember what the characters are going to say but I like reliving it anyway. A really good romance novel gets a reaction out of you and the great ones can elicit those feelings no matter how many times you've read it before. All of my favorites are like that to some extent... I can still get sucked into having to read a book even though again, I know everything that happens. One I really love going back to is The Fortune Hunter by Diane Farr. I've graduated to sexier books but that one still gives me feels when I let myself start reading it again.