Sarah Addison Allen and the Comfort Reads.
Like I mentioned before in my previous TTT post - I spent some time in the hospital this past fall. Afterwards, there was quite a bit of time to heal up from the experience. Contrary to what you might think - it's like really hard to read when you're actually in a hospital bed with like a gazillion tubes attached to your limbs and your chest and neck. Plus, you know, my physical health was being all perilous and that can be exhausting. I spent most of my time watching the Hallmark Channel, sleeping, and listening to my Grammy read to me (a book I'll post about as soon as I find it and finish it for myself! We only got about a third of the way through. lol). Most of my reading happened in the after - when I was released.
The phrase 'Comfort Read' comes to mind. That's what one does when one is healing up from a interesting if not Grey's Anatomy Shaming health crisis. And because it's me and I have a ready arsenal of comfort reads lined up on my bookshelf - I turned to one of my favorite authors. Sarah Addison Allen.
I visited a lot of my favorites the past few months. Sarah Addison Allen novels were some of them. Happy endings, food, beautiful imagery, and relatable and unique female characters. Basically a good recipe for the literary version of the Netflix Binge. And also - comforting reading.
I've recommended this book in connection to Practical Magic often. Sisters, magic, love. However, I find this so much a brighter read than Practical Magic. This is something you want to pick up when you want your heart warmed. When you want to read a grown up fairy tale with real people touched with a bit of not so real but completely believable magic. Plus sisters. SISTERS. I am a huge sucker for stories about sisters. There is also an adorable little girl who I grew quite fond of. The best thing yet? SHE WROTE A SEQUEL. First Frost (featuring said little girl as a little more grown up). I love when sequels happen. :)
Basically this is like reading a cup of hot chocolate while wearing a favorite, warm fuzzy red sweater on a snowy, cozy day. Like...literally. There's a bit of a twist that still sort of surprises me when I wander back to my well-loved paperback copy. I also appreciate the unique twist on Josey's character. Or more so - her past. I think so many authors want to make their heroines complex yet perfectly relatable. I couldn't relate to certain aspects to her background but I felt for her. I felt for her hard! I rooted for her from the beginning.
The idea of comfort reads, to me, is subjective to the reader. When I was a pre-teen I went through this interesting phase of reading these paperback teen horror books in the dark of the night because... it was comforting? That was my version of a comfy read. A spooky, suspenseful read. I have no idea why except that maybe they weren't that scary in hindsight. It actually seems kind of cute to me as an adult looking back. Either way - point made. What comforts me might not comfort you. You might like a good romance (if so, I'm right there with you). You might like a epic long historical series with finite detail to historical accuracy (if so, you have my admiration).
So don't take my recommendation too seriously. To each their own! But, definitely give her a try if her stories sound intriguing because the writing holds up, the plots are steady, and the characters unique.
Happy comfort reading!
Jessica
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