This weeks' events have been, objectively speaking, horrifying. Boston, the failed Senate vote for gun control, Texas, and now another earthquake in China... and these are just the events that I've heard of. Who knows how many countless other tragedies less public have occurred?
For sure, times like these are not meant to be borne alone. The blogging community is just one of the many communities each of us belongs to that can help us bear the weight of knowing how much evil or senseless wrongdoing there is in the world at times. But, being the bookworms that we are, we also know how comforting a good book can be when the world makes you want to cry.
Books serve many purposes. They can entertain. They can educate. They can comfort us and make us feel less alone by sharing with us characters who we relate to, who have gotten through the situations that we're currently struggling with with wisdom to share. And they can take us away when our lives, our emotions, our problems are a little too overwhelming for us to deal with for the moment.
Yesterday, while I continuously refreshed Reddit to check on the latest updates about the manhunt for the Boston marathon bombers, I kept one hand firmly on the comforting cover of my Kindle, glad to know that, at any time of day, there were always books for me to turn to. And that made me wonder the question that I'd love you to answer as well: In hard times, do you tend to read books for solace or for escape?
Me, I think I'm an escape kind of reader. In particular, when the world is going crazy and I need to take a break from it, I devour fantasies like no one's business. The more intricate the world-building--the more characters whose unusual names and social positions I have to remember--the better. (The Song of Ice and Fire books are great for this task.) The time I can take away from the world refreshes and energizes me for when I return to deal with it.
It's your turn now, because I'm curious. How do books help you through your tough times? Are they dispensers of advice through relatable characters and their situations, or are they a temporary refuge so that you can recharge? Does it differ according to the scenario?
It's really hard to watch the news these days. I was shocked after I heard about the tragedy in Boston and then later in Texas. Not to mention the situation in China.
ReplyDeleteI as you read to escape as well. The book-world is always easier to bear cause it's fiction.
I also read to escape the real world. It's like a nice little vacation from any negativity... This is probably why I can never imagine reading only contemporary novels. As much as I love contemporary, I cannot fathom a bookish life that isn't dominated by science fiction and fantasy, or at least something that isn't so realistic in our world.
ReplyDeleteI'm an escapist. As much as I care about others and the world I live in, I think that I'm infinitely more fascinated by the way we can eliminate or showcase the follies of our world in fiction. It's something special - the ability to leave behind our world and go into another created by a writer. It will forever be one of the few things that keeps me afloat even when I want to sink.
ReplyDeleteI totally read to escape sometimes. I think I also tend to pick up really happy books or fantastical books during week's like this. During the wedding planning I totally had to read to escape because I just couldn't handle though, in that case, sometimes it was SO hard to read BECAUSE of all the thoughts swirling around my head. I felt that way a little bit this week -- I found it hard to concentrate. So yeah, totally read to escape and get out of my head and away from the bad news of the day but sometimes it is SO hard to concentrate because of those things!
ReplyDeleteI usually do read to get my mind off other things, but yesterday was not one of those days. I live in Watertown, and all that transpired there is less than 2 miles from my home. I even responded to some random librarian on Twitter who was treating this day like a snow day, stuck and home and nothing to read, saying that no one in the area probably had the concentration necessary to read a book. That was true for me, as weird as it is to think it. I could just not concentrate, things were so tense.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I do read to escape, but not all the time, and it largely depends on the scenario. What are we trying to escape from, and should we be trying to escape or pay attention to our surroundings?
I always read books for escape. I'm one of those people who's greatest talent is in pushing aside negative situations and not thinking about them, but just moving forward in life. It often comes back to bite me, but it's just the way I cope and reading books helps me to take my mind away from my own life and delve into someone else's. I rarely reads books for solace, but I have one or two books I do pick up continuously when I'm feeling down. Even then, though, I feel like I'm more escaping than anything else. Lovely post, Steph!(:
ReplyDeleteI read for escape and for solace, especially before I go to bed. Reading helps me relax and debrief from the troubles of the day.
ReplyDeleteI read them for escape but sometimes they end up helping me deal with what I am escaping from. Not that a lot of bad happens to me, stress just kind of builds up, or like you are saying bad things are happening around us, and reading is a great way for me to not think about that. Problems in books are usually for a reason, and if we read fast and far enough we can see that it all works out in the end, or that it was for their good, or things like that and it is easier to deal with.
ReplyDeleteVery good question!
Love this post, Steph. I think I read for both reasons. A couple of years ago, when I first started reading YA in earnest, I was going through quite a stressful time. I'd had to move several times in the space of a few months, my car had broken down, work was awful.. it felt like everything was happening at once. I read a lot to escape thinking about things when I didn't need to. Sometimes reading was the only way I shut down the constant stream of anxiety over everything. I've always found reading relaxing, but this was probably the first (but not the last) time I used to deliberately to cope with a difficult time.
ReplyDeleteI'd say a bit of both, depending on the genre. Books offer so much, and finding the right one at the right time is pure Zen.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit of both for me, though I do definitely read to escape most of the time. A good book is perhaps one of the few things around that can take my mind completely off stressful or worrying events in real life. I love fantasy, especially, for that reason. And I struggle with contemporary books a lot of time too because of that. The less related a book is to my life or the lives of people I know, the better.
ReplyDeleteI've read for both, though I usually read for escape. Life's pretty hectic (for all of us) and, right now especially, it seems like the world's going crazy. Falling into a good book is the best way I know to reset things for myself.
ReplyDeleteI think this question has been on the mind of a lot of people lately. Victoria Schwab or Lauren Oliver brought this up on their panel at the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend and how the mainstream acceptance of fantasy books may be due to the fact that people need an escape from all the too real shit in their lives. I read mainly to escape but when a book gives me solace too... it's like being hugged from the inside.
ReplyDelete-Maggie
I've always thought of myself as an escapist reader, I find comfort in books because it lets me take a break from real life problems. But then I also enjoy reading realistic fiction and I love finding moments or situations that I can relate to in books. And you know that saying that goes, "You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read." That is so true. So I guess my answer would be I read for both reasons - to escape and to find solace.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading this post, Steph!
ReplyDeleteI primarily read sff - and I do think escapism is a big part. I have never felt the need to escape from any specific real life situations, however. Just life in general, and having the opportunity to experience things that aren't possible.
With that being said, family tragedy actually struck me last week, and I spent a good five days unable to pick up anything. Even now I just don't really feel the desire to read. I've been fortunate that I haven't experienced many personal or family tragedies in my life, but that means I'm not sure how tough times affect my reading habits. I wonder if the genre has an effect on how/when people read. I'm still trying to read my usual sff, but I wonder if a light contemporary would suit me better right now.
I don't have any answers or opinions to the questions you pose, but you definitely provided me with some food for thought.
I definitely read for escape most of the time. Not because I'm unhappy with my life or anything like that. I just love being able to pick up a novel and being swept away into another person's life and story! Of course there are also times when I just want to read something that I can relate to instead of escape with. And then there are also times when I read for nostalgia. In those situations I'll read something I loved from my childhood like The Boxcar Children or My Father's Dragon. There are so many wonderful reasons to read! :)
ReplyDeleteI've always known that I read to escape. I mean, reading is fun. Reading is inspiring. Reading makes me want to write. But reading was always my way of stepping out of the real world and into another world entirely.
ReplyDeleteI always turn to a book whenever I feel overwhelmed with the negative stuff going on in the world or in my life. Sometimes, I seek comfort with an old favorite. Other times, I prefer to see characters going through tougher circumstances and coming up on top (in spite of countless setbacks). And sometimes, I just need a character who knows what I'm going through, and who might, if he/she were real, understand. It always depends on what I'm facing and how I'm feeling about it.
I have been both an escape and solace reader. When I was little and would get upset, I'd turn to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and read it until I forgot what I was upset over. As I've gotten older, I often find solace in books, such as Every Day by David Levithan, which has ideas and emotions with which I can relate.
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