The Necessity of Comfort Books

I don’t know if a definitive definition of comfort books exists, so here’s how I define it: light, easy reads that you can return to whenever you’re in need of comfort. Bonus points if the story itself brings you comfort, whether you are actively reading it or not. 

My comfort books are the Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter. I originally read this series when I was either in late elementary school or early middle school, and I reread them an embarrassing amount over a short period of time. I have no idea how many times I checked the series out of the library. I grew so familiar with the series I could read the entire series two or three times, plus any other books I checked out, before I had to return them. I think my mother might have been slightly concerned, and a tad perturbed she had to take me to the public library so often just to get books I’ve already read. I remember her not letting me buy the series to own, because she said I would grow out of them soon. 

I can unashamedly confirm she was wrong. I read the series again recently, and I devoured them with a sense of nostalgic joy. I don’t have the same urge to reread them immediately, but I still enjoyed them, and they will always have a place in my dream library. 

Despite not having actively read the novels in a decade, the characters and story have remained a constant in my imagination. I’ve expanded on the story, altered Carter’s ending, made it my own, and inevitably made it darker than a middle grade series would allow—I’ve basically daydreamed Gallagher Girl fanfiction almost every day since I read it. 

When asked why they enjoy reading, people often provide this answer: books are an escape from reality. And it’s true. Losing myself in a book was my only source of comfort when I originally read the series, and while it’s not my only source of comfort anymore, it’s a most viable option. Every time you read, it’s like you enter an alternate reality where you and your struggles don’t exist. 

I don’t know why the story of the Gallagher Girls decided to implant itself in my mind, but it’s the alternate reality I choose to live in when I can’t bear my own. 

I’ve never asked anyone if it’s normal to be constantly daydreaming—and to be constantly daydreaming about a story I read in middle school no less—and I’m sure that some will say it’s unhealthy to be evading reality to such an extreme, but I’m sure I’m not the only one. 

And just to clarify: it’s not the only thing I daydream about. I also write my own stories in my head (as any writer obviously does), and I make up scenarios in my head that are relevant to my real life (as anyone with anxiety obviously does). But it is the only published story that has stayed in my mind whether I am currently reading it or not. 

I suppose I used to be a bit ashamed of how and why I evaded reality—I’ve certainly never admitted it before—but now I recognize the necessity of it. At night when my mind is overactive and I can’t sleep, I simply slip into my alternate reality, make up a story in my mind, and let the familiar characters lull me to sleep. Whenever anxiety is rising up, I force my mind to think about where I was in the story in my mind, and I disappear into it. It’s a harmless defense mechanism, and one that keeps my imagination active. 

Do any of you have a story that stays in the back of your mind? One that you’ve read or watched; one that you build on and make your own? I would be interested in seeing if it’s only avid readers from childhood that experience this, or if it’s rare that a particular story permeates rather than a story someone is currently reading or an entirely original story.