Reversing a Reading Rut
plus: motherthrillers, carefluencers, and a Wordle wedding!
Happy Friday, I hope you’ve had a good week! “Spring” continues to toy with my emotions, delivering grey, cold, rainy weather all week…and snow yesterday! Oh, how the date changes my perspective: I joyfully welcome the first snowy day in December but bitterly curse it in April.
It’s not only the weather making me cranky: I’ve been in a reading rut for months, utterly failing in my quest to find a great new novel to read each evening and distract from my weather-related woes. After excitedly starting several books that have received glowing reviews, only to be nonplussed and underwhelmed, I finally admitted defeat this week and decided to follow the wise advice of author Elizabeth Goudge:
“In times of storm and tempest, of indecision and desolation, a book already known and loved makes better reading than something new and untried...nothing is so warming and companionable.”
The seven books in the Narnia series by CS Lewis were the comfort reads of my childhood, and so this week, I returned to that magical place, starting with The Magician’s Nephew, which tells Narnia’s creation story. The familiar tale of goings on in a bucolic, unpolluted, and idealistic young world has been a deeply soothing antidote to my modern-day worries about climate, technology, and politics. And children’s books are short: I quickly finished The Magician’s Nephew and have happily moved on to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Feeling nostalgic, I also indulged a craving to re-watch St. Elmo’s Fire, the 80s movie classic about a close-knit group of friends navigating life after college graduation. I was worried it would not hold up to the march of time but was delighted by the universal themes (unrequited love! the search for purpose! enduring friendship!) and vintage 80s music, fashion, and interiors. I had forgotten how ubiquitous multi-strand pearl necklaces and Princess Diana-inspired hairstyles (on men and women) were and that stylish apartments in 80s movies (see: Wall Street) all had photo murals covering entire walls.
This week’s trip down memory lane got me thinking about the other books and movies I find comforting. In addition to the Narnia books, I love returning to Laurie Colwin’s novels (populated by upper-crust New Yorkers in the 80s), coming-of-age movies set on or near college campuses (Pitch Perfect, Good Will Hunting), and wedding movies like High Society, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Steel Magnolias, and The Princess Bride.
I’d love to know: what are your comfort books and movies - the ones you can rely on when you’re in need of cheering up?
📺 I don’t have any new TV shows or movies to recommend this week, but the shows I’m currently watching are all listed here.
In Case You Missed It: The Cut’s “viral” essay about a woman married to an older man - the juicy stuff is in the Comments // The McSweeney’s parody of the formerly mentioned viral essay // 7 tips from Bill Nye for a spectacular solar eclipse viewing: "Try to be in the moment. Do not focus — pun intended — on taking pictures. Try to just really be there. It's cool." // This is the bridge of my nightmares // A magical childhood spent at…the Playboy Mansion?! “We very rarely stayed at the Mansion after dark, not because anything nefarious was going on, but because it was very boring.” // The best books of 2024 so far according to Vulture // Carefluencers, a new kind of influencer // The glorious afterlife of Roger Federer // 11 Signs You’re Watching a “Motherthriller,” the TV show category I didn’t realize I was a huge fan of (via
) // A wedding announcement from…Wordle! “I’ve never loved any living thing as much as I love you, daily repopulating word sleuth!”👓Looking for something else to watch or read? More ideas here:
📆 April 2024 Recs // 📖 Books // 📺 TV Shows // 🍿 Movies
That’s it for me this week! Thank you for reading and see you next Friday! xo Amelia
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The way I *cackled* at "motherthriller"!
I've been reading lots of heady nonfiction lately, so taking a break with old favorites sounds extra-appealing. Such a fun suggestion! I've been looking at two box sets of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Madeleine L'Engle books on my shelf lately—you're inspiring me to dust them off.
My remedies for a reading rut
: read highly entertaining stuff that is short and not deep (think reality TV in book form) or re read your favorite book.