Inspiration . . .
About to smile. I think he's thinking of his muse.Look at that face. Even with stubble, he's amazing.
Stay away from the chocolate cake, love. It isn't worth it.
I try to explain to him why chocolate cake is always worth it, but Mr. Craig is unmoved. Write your blog instead, he says. He also has little patience with procrastination. Revisions? Yes. Do them. There's a lovely girl.
Really, his praise is even better than chocolate.
I just finished reading a book I read over and over in my teenage years. The mystery/gothic romance was written by the late Victoria Holt, a.k.a Eleanor Hibbert. She wrote from the sixties through the late eighties, and her work would be unfashionable in the literary world of today. However, I still like her books. To me, they are the hard bound equivalent of comfort food. Like warm homemade chocolate chip cookies and cold milk in print. As I read them, I remember what it was like as a freshman at Lincoln High School to go to the library and hone in on the H section. My father had recently passed away and my mother needed to work. As a result, I spent hours alone in a big, empty house, afraid of every creaking board or random noise, and I felt I had found a kindred spirit in this author at a time when I needed friends.
In my adulthood, I've found other comforting books, not because they offer messages of comfort per se, but because I like the way I feel when I read them. I turn to these books again and again. For instance, Good Grief by Lolly Winston, The Harry Potter set, Sophie Kinsella's Shopoholic series and any of her other books, Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and anything Jane Austen. If I'm really in need of a quick comfort fix, I'm never disappointed by Longfellow's poetry. This is a diverse list, I know, but I love them all. (Plus, they have no calories!)
What is on your list of comfort books?
If you ever get tired of Dan, please be sure to send him my way. I have a beautiful sticky toffee pudding waiting for him.
ReplyDeleteMmm, now there's a comfort food fix. The pudding, too.
My comfort books are Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Gone with the Wind. I read them over and over as a kid, so they feel nostalgic to me.
Nothing better than a piercing set of baby blues! You can send him my way too when you are done. ;-) I don't have any treats, but I'm sure I can think of something for him.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any comfort books. I like to read any good romance. Comfort genre, I guess.
~JD
I know this is weird but Stephen King writes many of my comfort books.
ReplyDeleteKeep listening to Dan! Seems like he's giving you sound advice. Great post! Thanks for sharing.
Agatha Christie. I can settle down anywhere with her books and am in my own little happy world. Also books I loved as a child - 101 Dalmations, Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Malory Towers series, The Borrowers... :)
ReplyDeleteMy comfort books are also Harry Potter, and the Shopaholic Series (as well as similar books, like Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble). I can read those in any kind of mood and always enjoy them. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, love TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD ... Scout just seems so, I dunno, me! And Victoria Holt was a favorite of mine, too, when I was in high school. I read a bunch of hers and Phyllis Whitney's books. Hadn't thought about either author in years.
ReplyDeleteMy comfort read would have to be, hmh, Dick Francis and Rex Stout. I love that good-guy can-do character Francis had as his usual leading man, and the yummy Mr. Craig, sans accent, would be a perfect Archie Goodwin in Nero Wolfe's world.
I read Jane Eyre about once a year, and I love rereading The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I agree, having a long-standing love affair with certain favorite books makes each time we revisit them magical.
ReplyDeleteMmmm, chocolate cake...
I guess it's the teenage girl in me, but I still like The Outsiders and Tex by S.E. Hinton. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for an historical romance, Julia Quick, Rosemary Rogers, Sabrina Jeffries. I can tune out the entire world if I have one of those in my hands. And on a rainy day, like today, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
ReplyDeleteYep, there's something about that shade of blue. I married a pair too. He's from Norwegian grandparents but was born in Virginia so he's got the southern accent to go with them. As strange as this sounds, my favorite "comfort books" are anything by Mary Higgins Clark and Christine Lynxwiler. They are poles apart in the literary world, but I love how these ladies transport me into their worlds. I can always count on a satisfying ending and I've found that a rarity in today's market. I'm thrilled to have found your blog! Thanks so much for visiting mine as well. And while your man is away, enjoy that chocolate! That's why we have treadmills!
ReplyDeleteLoved your post! Carole.
ReplyDeleteAwww Danny Craig - you can whisper to me how bad choccies and wine is for me anytime!!
ReplyDeleteEr... oh yes - comfort books - oh easy one for me - Terry Pratchett books. Always, always, always cheers me up no end makes me feel warm and cosy all the time..
Not quite Dan the Man type cosy but oh so close...!
Take care
x
Dan, *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI love reading comfort books. I do it all the time, in fact sometimes it's hard to find a new book that fits because I'm so attatched (spell check I need you!) to my old favorites.
Mine are Harry Potter and At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon :)
My comfort book is Pride and Prejudice. I usually read it once a year.
ReplyDeleteNo use for chocolate cake? For shame!
ReplyDeleteMy comfort books are diverse as well - LotR, Hobbit, The Giver, anything Star Trek, McCaffrey's Pern series, Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Julie Garwood... lots and lots :)
Like someone above me here said, I'm still a sucker for S.E. Hinton's books. My son had to read The Outsiders for school last year and I kept hijacking his book. It was awesome!
ReplyDeleteYou just might have the most gorgeous muse of anyone I know. :) I love To Kill a Mockingbird and Call of the Wild.
ReplyDeleteLet's see...The Secret Garden...Jane Eyre...Villette...Anything by Austen...The Thorn Birds...Jumpa Lahiri's short stories....Harry Potter....those are top of the list.
ReplyDeleteI just saw Daniel Craig in the Invasion movie with Nicole Kidman! Have you seen it? He plays a role that I don't usually see him in: being "the friend." I was like, "open yours eyes Nicole! How blind can you be?"
ReplyDeleteThe Music Lover's Poetry Anthology.
ReplyDeleteNorth of Hope by Jon Hassler
The alphabet murder series by Sue Grafton
Little Woman (when I was younger)
Can you have Danny boy give me a call and tell me I should get my hiney to the gym? It would be really helpful if he'd accompany me. Sheer pride would keep me running on that damn treadmill. Can't have those baby blues looking disappointed now can we?
ReplyDeleteComfort books? So many! I hadn't thought about Victoria Holt in ages. I read so many of hers in high school. I also love Jane Austen and Anne Rice--although I've no interest in reading about any more vampires. I'm blanking out now, but you're welcome to peruse the bookshelves if you ever happen to be in Iowa... ;)
(by the way, thanks for adding me today. I love your site!)
Ooh... comfort books. Mine are Jane Eyre, anything by L.M. Montgomery, the Series of Unfortunate Events and the Winnie the Pooh books. There's a wide range for ya :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing yours!
Thanks to your facebook update I have been clued into your blog. You are such a witty writer and I love it. I will now become a frequent visitor and look forward to reading what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteI like THE LORD OF THE RINGS series, The SHANNARA series, DRAGON RIDERS OF PERN, THE DARK TOWER. Hmm, I guess I go for comfort authors rather than specific books to unwind.
ReplyDelete......dhole
I'm glad you found solace in books. I did too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful idea to go back and read meaningful books from our youth. I keep hesitating to do it because the memory of the books and the impact they had is so powerful, and I'm worried they won't have the same impact now. Besides, my new books pile is huge!
Um, yeah I like comfort books, but I do VERY much like looking at Dan. Stubble or no.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite comfort books (although not very happy-like) are the book in HIS DARK MATERIALS by Philip Pullman. Love those.
My comfort books are by Lois Duncan. I love Down a Dark Hall and Locked in Time.
ReplyDeleteI have so many books that I consider comfort reading: Wuthering Heights, Gone with the Wind, Austen books, Ulysses by James Joyce, Charlotte's Web, Thorn Birds, Watership Down, Great Expectations...I've added the Time Traveler's Wife, and have read it a several times now... and when I need to laugh, the Steph Plum books, or the Sookie series are FAST, fun reads, and the first Bridget Jones Diary book.
ReplyDeleteIn my childhood I read the Narnia series many times, A Wrinkle in Time, LOTR trilogy, Judy Blume, Charlotte's Web...
and my all time, since childhood favorite comfort reads:
The Giving Tree, Jonathon Livingston Seagull, the Velveteen Rabbit, The Little Prince, Charlotte's Web.
Thank your for these entertaining comments, blogging buddies! I am happy to add a few new titles to my future reading list.
ReplyDeleteRoxy, I have only one thing to say: I need a muse. Can I borrow yours?
ReplyDeleteKaryn- My muse is your muse.
ReplyDeleteHe's my muse, too.
ReplyDeleteMy comfort books are the ones that I've read several times without getting sick of them. My comfort authors are V.C. Andrews and Clive Barker, to name a few.