Nostalgia effect books, new stories for old memories 7 Comfort Books for when reading becomes a comfortable retreat
We are in a period of overwhelming nostalgia, in which everything that comes from the past and reminds us of our childhood, generates in us a sense of tranquility mixed with euphoria. From the sequels of the movies we loved, such as The Devil Wears Prada, to the anniversaries in which TV series aired a decade ago, such as Hannah Montana, are celebrated. One day nostalgia will get the better of us, and we'll find ourselves watching Friends for the umpteenth time wondering why they don't do more series than they used to. But why does all this happen? Are there any alternatives?
Because we are looking for nostalgic stories and comfort books
We search entertainment for stories that we already know because we live in a perennial state of alert that makes us doubt the present and the future. If our days are accompanied by bad news, alarming statements, work stress, economic uncertainties, we want to have control over at least what we watch and read. The reason that drives us to look into the past is the serenity in knowing how the film will end, the certainty of not being disturbed by unpredictable epilogues and the reassuring perception of being able to return to where we know we had a good time.
Yet, in all this looking back, we risk missing something: new voices that can activate our curiosity, provide us with pleasant stimuli and make us feel good. For this reason, we want to recommend new books with safe patterns. We are not talking about pure innovation, about stories never seen and heard, quite the contrary. We are talking about authors who resort to already widespread collective imaginaries, to too many recurring ones and stories with a happy ending with the aim of making us feel in friendly territory, in a safe area. This kind of book can be defined as a comfort book, it overcomes the preconception of “Guilty Pleasure” books and allows us to claim the right to read light things without feeling intellectually inferior. Some reading tips for you.
If You Miss Twilight: Read Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Team Edward or Team Jacob? That was the dilemma, nothing more. Now we have taxes to pay, yet another wedding to choose the dress for and the fridge that doesn't fill up on its own. But if you want, at least for a few hours, to return to a world inhabited by vampires and werewolves, you should definitely read Bride by Ali Hazelwood. This Romantasy opens with the trope of forced marriage: she, the daughter of the leader of the vampires, will be forced to marry him, the leader of the werewolves. The goal is to bring peace between two species in eternal struggle. Let's stay in territories already explored but decidedly revisited in this updated version of Twilight.
Game of Thrones in soft version: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Of Game of Thrones, the TV series inspired by the novels of George R.R. Martin, in the end we especially liked Daenerys Targaryen's hair and her being a Khaleesi, Mother of Dragons. Well, if more than political intrigue you are interested in following a young woman to make room in a context populated by dragons, you must read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. In this book, we follow Violet as she trains in an academy designed for those who want to become dragon riders. The focus of the book is on the romantic tension that will develop towards one of the older students.
Romantic comedy wanted: Better than the Movies
They don't do love comedies like they used to be and, even if you know that's not entirely true, the temptation to rewatch 10 Things I Hate About You for the millionth time is great. In this case, a book that may be right for you is Better than the movies. Better than in Lynn Painter's movies. In this novel, the protagonist, an American teenager, loves romantic movies just like us so much that she lives her life always imagining the perfect soundtrack. She and her neighbor don't exactly get along and often fight over parking space, but the tension between the two seems to take them in a direction impossible to avoid.
If you love The Devil Wears Prada: try the contemporary chic lit
At some point in the 2000s, we were overwhelmed by a wave of chick lit comedies (chick literature), see The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. It is a literary genre born in the 90s that tells the lives of modern women, often single and in careers, struggling with love, work and social pressures. The stories, usually light and humorous, are set in large metropolises and the focus is above all on the growth of the protagonists, who overcome moments of personal crisis after which they find themselves. From these books, iconic films have been drawn, such as The Diary of Bridget Jones and I Love Shopping. You probably already know these stories, so I recommend The Truth Is That I Don't Hate You Enough by Felicia Kingsley, a novel in which the protagonist reminds us a lot of Paris Hilton, but who fell into disgrace. Due to a bad situation, in fact, the rich heiress has all her funds blocked. She will have to live a different life than the one she is used to, more resigned and having to share a house with a charming but rough and uncompromising FBI detective.
Books set in the office: from Ugly Betty to A Warm Greeting
Even the workplace remains a favorable setting for comfort TV series, such as the beloved Ugly Betty and The Office. Sharing the dynamics of survival in a toxic and competitive work environment, where appearances and pleasantries collide with the reality of the facts, can be reassuring if we find the right story told in the right way. This is the case of A Warm Greeting (but I Can't Stand You Anymore) by Natalie Sue, a novel that ironically deals with office stress, loneliness and overcoming your trauma, showing how you can slowly learn to open up to others.
If you miss Camp Rock: Read Wildfire by Hannah Grace
If the afternoons of your adolescence were marked by the vision of Camp Rock, you know exactly what it means to dream of the perfect summer between loves that are born and singing challenges. Today, the only real summer challenge is to frame the August vacation with office colleagues and hope that the air conditioning won't break, but the nostalgia for that rivalry that turns into chemistry remains. If you want to rediscover those atmospheres, you should definitely read Wildfire by Hannah Grace. In this book, we abandon the musical camp to move to a summer camp for children, where the two protagonists, Aurora and Russ, find themselves working as animators. The good one? The two already know each other: they have an intense one-night stand behind them that ended decidedly badly.
Rivers of coffee and indissoluble bonds: the comfort of Book Lovers
If peace of mind rings in your head like the theme song for Gilmore Girls, the perfectbook to rediscover exactly those vibes is Book Lovers by Emily Henry. Your desire is probably to live in an eccentric town where everyone knows each other, the municipal bulletin board is a political ring and coffee is measured in liters. If in Gilmore Girls the main relationship is the mother-daughter relationship, in Emily Henry's novel we follow two sisters, Nora and Libby, whose bond is the real beating heart of the whole story. Nora is a ruthless literary agent from New York, a one-piece woman who would do anything for her younger sister. When Libby convinces her to pull the plug to spend an entire summer in Sunshine Falls, a tiny and picturesque North Carolina town, Nora finds herself projected into an atmosphere that is very reminiscent of Stars Hollow.