Comfort Reading

I had a difficult Christmas, and have spent January in a bit of a daze, muddling through work, sleeping lots and taking each day at a time. As a result, my reading has been spotty, distracted and unfocused. I only read about 20% of January’s book club book, and I’ve been trying my best to stay engaged, given I’m aiming to read, on average, two books a week in 2024.

The strategy I’ve had for easing myself back in is to return to books I love, and new books that I find easy to read. These can be divided into two authors at the moment: Danielle Steel and Sally Rooney.

Danielle Steel is a prolific writer of romance novels, mainly focusing on affluent people who live in London, New York, San Francisco or Paris. They’re pure escapism and I have found it easy to read a book in one sitting. They’re comforting because they’re so unfamiliar, and while there’s always an obstacle or a tragedy for the characters to overcome, there’s real comfort in knowing that things will ultimately end up for the best.

Sally Rooney is a little more esoteric, but I always return to her as an old favourite. We’re of similar ages, and while I went to UCD and not Trinity, the familiarity of her novels that are usually based around English students in Dublin at a particular time is as comforting to me as the unfamiliar and opulent worlds of Danielle Steel. While my friends and I definitely didn’t and don’t communicate in as lofty ways as Sally Rooney’s characters do, there’s something nice about reading experiences that so closely mirror my own.

All of this is to say that it’s likely that my January post will be a short one. I’ve always been a bit of an overachiever and I’m trying to learn to be kinder to myself in all facets of my life. I’ve always striven for excellence and when I achieve something, I’m always looking for the next hoop to jump through, or the next medal to collect. 2024 is going to be my year of just being, and doing the things that make me really happy. Wish me luck!