Hiatus End: Stress & Comfort Reading

Stress & Comfort Reading

What I've Been Reading While Finishing the Semester

 

I'M BACK TO BLOGGING I'M BACK TO BLOGGING I'M BACK TO BLOGGING I'M BACK TO BLOGGING!!!!! 

 

I know this effects probably like, a less than zero amount of people other than myself, but I am so excited to be writing a new post. This semester has been absolute craziness, and I am so glad that I officially took a break until now. Not just because I clearly needed to relieve myself of that pressure, but because it is making ~this moment~ so much sweeter. As a general semester update, I'm actually not done yet. I thought I would be, but I have one more final that I'm planning on taking tomorrow. However, I still feel like I can break my hiatus today and write up a post because I have been studying nonstop so I (a) have earned these hours of blogging, and (b) need to remind myself that I have other activities outside of school. 

 

To get back into things, I thought I would share how I stress-read and what that means for me. Because even though I was horrifically busy this semester, I still turned to books for escapism and stress relief. And I think this highlights a very specific lens through which we view the use of books, and it's a use of reading that we've all gone through. Stress reading our comfort books is a wonderful, wonderful thing because not only do I think it is literally therapeutic to distance ourselves from the sources of stress, but also because it reminds us of why we love reading. 

I'm going to be tying this stress reading post in with a Blog Prompt from Bookending Winter 2020, which I signed up for over a month ago knowing I wouldn't be able to start participating until today. Maude from @ Psyched About Books created this one and here is a link to her original post. Here's the prompt:

Comfort Reads by the Fire

Winter is the season for warmth and comfort, reading books by the chimney in your favorite armchair. What are your top 5 comfort books to read / reread during this season?

 

Random side note: I love the logo that comes with these prompts and BEWinter20.  

My small twist to this prompt is that I'll be talking about other things I've read so far this semester while stressed out. Here we go!

Here's what I've read since I went on hiatus... keep in mind, a lot of those series are complete rereads so I flew through them. 

The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Happily Letter After by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Iron Fey trilogy (first 3 + novellas) by Julie Kagawa

Midnight Breed 1-5 by Lara Adrian

 

For me, I have a couple of go-to authors when I'm stressed out, like Jennifer L. Armentrout. Her writing is so easy to fall into and the characters so sympathetic. There are times when I'll literally just reread specific scenes because I know the books so well at this point I don't need a refresher as to the context of the scene. Another go-to author would normally be Sarah J. Maas for me, but I know that if I were to start rereading ToG or ACOTAR that I would not crawl out of my bed for days while I was reading.

Other comfort books I'll read when I'm stressed are just general rereads, even if they're middle grade books from way back when. Sometimes I think its just nice to revisit something that reminds you of a different time in your life.

 

The top 5 of these books (or others) I would pick to recommend 

to others for warmth and comfort would be:

 

1. Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova

This was an unexpected delight. It's not perfect, but I still was able to just read through it and enjoy the process of reading it. I actually only gave it like, 3 stars on Goodreads, but that was mostly for technical stuff. In terms of enjoy-ability, it was a good book and I could totally see myself or anyone else curling up with this while it's snowing outside.

 

2. The Iron Fey trilogy by Julie Kagawa

It was so interesting to reread the original trilogy of this series. I first read these books back in I think my freshman year of high school. It was so long ago I don't even have the date marked on Goodreads because I didn't have Goodreads at that point. It might have even been middle school that I read these. I can't really remember. Anyway, to me this series was such a comfort read because it was such a loving throwback. Have my taste as a reader evolved since? Yes. And that meant that I wasn't obsessive with reading these books this time around, but because I have such a strong memory of adoring these books, I still love them. If you haven't read this series, I recommend it. Or, in the alternative, picking up a book you loved in middle school / early high school and rereading that.

3. Anything written by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jennifer L. Armentrout may be one of the most addictive writers I have ever met. I don't think there is a single book of hers I've picked up and haven't given at least 4 stars. There's the Lux series, the Covenant series, the Wicked trilogy (currently being made into a movie), the Blood and Ash series... and so much more. Anything. Literally anything by Jennifer L. Armentrout will be a comfort read to curl up with.

 

4. The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward

One of the genres in general that I turn to for comfort reads, especially when I'm stressed, is romance. As you may have seen from the list of books I read during the semester, if it wasn't a reread, it was a romance. Romances are captivating in a way that is quick, strong, and feel-good. This series by J.R. Ward is also addictive like JLA's stuff, but it is definitely an adult series. If you are old enough for mature content, I'd say give this series a whirl. It's like the adult version of Twilight, but mixed with the Avengers.

 

5. Relentless by Karen Lynch

This series is sort of the definition of fluff, but it's also urban fantasy. It's a bit of an easier read than JLA (who also writes some urban fantasy fluff), but the thing that I like about this series is the concept seems original to me. The themes are not, but they're the same themes that we all (at least me lol) love, like the protagonist is uber special for some reason, there's a soul/bond connection, there are classic sassy/broody/comedic characters interwoven. The original bit is that the characters have a sort of demon inside of them, and the way that symbiotic relationship works is what appears unique to me. 

Why am I not putting SJM or Holly Black or some of my other favourites on this list? Well.... here's the thing, and I kind of touched on this earlier... for me, while high fantasy and deep complex fictional stories are some of my absolute favourite books of all time, I also find that I will get so wrapped up in them that I cannot do anything else. And that isn't to say the books listed above aren't deep or complex -- some of them really are -- but there's a different levity that I get while reading those books for whatever reason than I do while reading, say Throne of Glass. 

So there you have it-- what I've been stress reading and what I recommend as comfort reads! I'm really looking forward to taking this final test so that I can fully participate in the Bookending Winter 2020 events. Hell, I'm looking forward to finishing the semester so I can fully blog again. That will be such a fun relief to be fully back into things!

 

Thanks for reading!