Comfort reading recommendations

The world can feel pretty challenging at times, and we all have different ways that help us to cope.

For some, it’s getting out in nature, calling a friend, or dancing in the living room; for others, it’s getting cosy with a favourite book.

We asked our librarians what books they turn to when seeking comfort. Read on for their reading recommendations, or pop into your local library to chat with our friendly staff.

John – Birkenhead Library

Fables by Bill Willingham is my favourite comfort read as it has amazing art and a compelling story about fairy-tale characters coming into the real world, it’s a fantastic detective-esque story with great characters that’s fun to read over and over again.

Ineka – Reading Engagement

 My pick is My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.

This classic memoir is by renowned English naturalist Gerald Durrell. It recounts his tween years when his family shifted from rainy England to the idyllic island of Corfu in the four years before the start of World War II.

With a large assortment of family and friends, each with their own favourite obsessions and quirks, it is packed with funny stories, fresh air and freedom, and simply unforgettable characters. Bright and vivid, this book will give you those endless summer holiday with the whānau vibes anywhere, anytime!

Over the years, it’s also had numerous TV and film adaptions, the most recent being four seasons of ‘The Durrells’, which inspired my photo – Mrs Durrell vibes with a Mediterranean-inspired manicure.

Greer – Birkenhead Library

My go-to comfort read is Addressed to Greta by Fiona Sussman.

I read this a month or so ago and found it to be a perfect mix of escapism (travel abroad and within New Zealand), hopeful and ambitious and funny! So, a winning combo for a time when we all want to escape a bit!

Julie - Te Pātaka Kōrero o Waimāhia - Clendon Library

In times of stress, my sewing room or garden are often my places to escape to.  Being creative or just being outside with soil and plants and usually, a cat are very therapeutic. 

However, it’s not always feasible or practical to sew or weed the garden all the time, and this is where my great love of books comes in.

I always have a pile of at least 10 novels on my bedside table and probably almost the same number of cooking and gardening books spread around my house. If heaven forbid, I run out of new books to read, I do have a few favourites on my shelf at home that I have read many, many times.

My favourites would be:

• Hunting and Gathering by Anna Gavalda
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
• Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
• The Pyjama Girls of Lambert Square by Sara Donati

What makes these my favourite rereads?  I think it’s to do with the characters, the relationships and friendships they develop as they find their way/place in the environments they live in, the subtle humour in them, the evocative descriptions of the locations, you can imagine the faded grandeur of an old French chateau, or hiking in the Appalachian Mountains, and the feel-good factor of finding home, that place of belonging at the end.

Alison – Reading Engagement

My go-to comfort read is The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

It is a classic coming-of-age novel about teenage alienation, the human need for connection, and a young person’s desire to live an authentic life.

I have a paperback copy that I bought years ago. It is small enough to fit in my bag, and I carry it everywhere. I dip in and out of it, no longer needing to read it from start to finish.

Harry – Pukekohe Library

My pick is A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built is just like sipping a nice quiet cup of tea while sitting in your favourite chair. It has everything I love – a gorgeous setting, a lovable main character who feels like a friend, some gentle philosophising, and tea. So much tea. I love tea.

Anne – Helensville Library

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges

My oldest sister had a phase of buying me books as birthday presents. None hold a candle to this one – which I received for my 10th (ish?) birthday.

Published in 1946, and winning the Carnegie Medal that year, the book is steeped in fairy tale tropes, and characters.

But, it is so much more than that.

It is not a book to read if you are hungry (the food descriptions are beyond belief).

It is a book that will make you question the boundaries of reality and fantasy, as it inhabits both worlds comfortably.

Its lush, rich, evocative, descriptive language is something that dates it – there may be too much description, and not enough action, for some readers. But, that just means I can fall into this world, and be surrounded by the beauty.

I never wanted to be Maria, the main character, but I so desperately wanted (still want, TBH) her life.

Her BEDROOM! Seriously! A round bedroom on the top of a turret. Who wouldn’t?! A favourite author of mine, Garth Nix, is always hopeful (like me) to inherit Moonacre Manor.

Her animals (maybe even Wiggins). Definitely Wrolf! (Coincidentally, the name of the giant soft toy dog that was my Christmas present when I was five.)

Her family and friends. Oh, so desperately want to be cared about, by the Old Parson.

And, her happy ending.

Photo: Anne with her personal copy of the book, displaying her tattoo of the Moon Princess, the heading for chapter six in her copy.

Books and Beyond: Literary Lounge: Comfort reads

Listen to Ineka and Alison discuss everything they love about The Little White Horse with Anne in the Books and Beyond podcast.

Ngā Pātaka Kōrero - Auckland Libraries · Books and Beyond: Literary Lounge: Comfort reads

What books bring you comfort? Tell us in the comments below – we'd love to hear!