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I've just finished Master of the Five Magics, by Lyndon Hardy. A book I reread every now and again as a comfort read. The same goes with pretty much anything by Harry Harrison, the 'juveniles' from Heinlein or the Lord of the Rings.
The same is also true of the Belgariad, but it comfort feeling wears off once my compulsive nature forces me to read the Mallorean too. After 10 books of witty badinage, my head aches...
I think they all qualify as 'comfort reads becasue they are familiar; the characters are old friends and it's more about going along for the ride rather than devouring the story to reach the conclusion. They are not just 'favourite books', I have many of those, but they a certian inexplicable something that makes them stand out.
What are your comfort reads?
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Anything by Lucy Maud Montgomery or Louisa May Alcott; Avalon by Stephen R. Lawhead; Sherlock Holmes; the earlier Marcus Didius Falco books by Lindsay Davis; Seventh Son.
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Ender's Game, anything in the Rigante series by David Gemmel, The Fellowship of the Ring, anything in the Mag Force 7 Trilogy
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If I understand your idea of comfort reads correctly, I have to admit that I don't have many.
Perhaps I could list 'Arendsoog', which is a series of cowboy adventures written for kids. I don't reread them, but after reading about thirty of them one could say that the characters have become familiar and the plotlines predictable. But nonetheless, whenever my mother hands me a new one for my collection, I'll happily spend two hours reading it.
Besides that, the only other title that comes to mind is "The Hippopotamus" by Stephen Fry.
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The Dark is Rising books, and the first four Harry Potter books. The Color of Distance by Amy Thompson, anything by Sean Russel. Those are the books that are falling apart on my bookshelf.
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I second the Dark Is Rising and the Harry Potter books. Also, everything by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld series pretty much qualifies as comfort reading for me. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams with it sequels does too.
Hmm... what else? The Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb, though it does have its depressing bits. (The two sequel trilogies to the Farseer books, The Liveship Traders and the Tawny Man are nowhere near as good as the original trilogy.)
The Moomin books by Tove Jansson. The first of the Moomin books (Comet in Moominland is the first one available in languages other than Finnish or Swedish, I believe) are just plain fun childhood adventures, but the subsequent books get darker and more melancholy... not darker in the sense that there's any violence and killing, but darker in the sense that the characters begin to question their existence and the world around them. Those last few books are totally different from anything else ever written.
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Hi Lisa - I've read The Master of the Sixth Magic once, a long time ago, but wasn't so taken in by the story. I didn't even realise there was a third until the day before yesterday...
In a bcouple of weeks I'll be in London and can forage in my favourite second-hand bookstore. Let's see if anything turns up!
(Bookmongers on Coldharbour Lane in Brixton, for those who are interested... )
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My grandfather died early Tuesday morning. He'd been in hospital for 3 weeks, and seriously sick for almost a week. And boy, have I been comfort reading!
My comfort reading for the last week has been;
- A Little Princess (oh, I love this book) - Trixie Belden (anything in the series I hadn't read); and - Ramona Quimby (in paricular, Ramona's World , which I hadn't read before)
Return to my childhood.
Other comfort reads - Most of Alcott (Little Women, Good Wives, 8 Cousins, Rose in Bloom); Goodnight Mister Tom (Michelle Magorian); The Tillerman Saga (Cynthia Voigt); L M Montgomery (though I only read her for the first time last year - crazy, huh?), books by Gillian Rubenstein & Emily Rodda (both Australian authors - both fantastic).
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Agatha Christie is my comfort reading. Also, Lucy Maud Montgomery and the Harry Potter books.
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quote:Originally posted by anti_maven: Hi Lisa - I've read The Master of the Sixth Magic once, a long time ago, but wasn't so taken in by the story. I didn't even realise there was a third until the day before yesterday...
You know, I have all three of them, and I haven't read them in forever. I should go and do that, after I get through my current pile.
Recent reads: Greg Iles: The Quiet Game and its sequel Turning Angel. Both phenomenal.
Joel C. Rosenberg: The Ezekiel Option and The Copper Scroll (sequels to The Last Jihad and The Last Day -- I have a weakness for "end time" books, even the Christian ones).
Greg Bear: The Forge of God, with the sequel Anvil of Stars on my to-read pile.
And I'm in the middle of OSC's Empire right now.
Greg Egan's Permutation City is on my to-read pile. But I think I'll go and grab the Hardy ones as well.
Comfort reads... Ariel by Steven Boyett, and Emergence by David Palmer (not the one who was president on 24). I just finished all 10.5 Belgariad/Malloreon books, too. Um... The Mirror of Her Dreams and A Man Rides Through, by Stephen R. Donaldson. And Prince Ombra, by Roderick MacLeish (I think). And The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub (which is going to be a miniseries on SciFi, and possible a real series after that).
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While i like all the books in the Enderverse, the original Ender's Game has been reread more than 10 times and is just a great story IMO. it qualifies as a comfort read for me. and while they may not be novels, all my Calvin & Hobbes trasuries are great comfort reading. i think i still have the last comic he did for the newspapers at my parents' house somewhere.
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