Autumn weather is already here, with wind and rain testing the strength of my windows. I’m wearing a hoodie and tea isn’t far away. I know autumn is the favourite season of a lot of book reading people. Not mine, and that’s okay. I usually get sick, even more than during the summer. On those days, I’ll often go for one of my comfort reads. The books I know will make me feel good. The books I know by heart and which I can read when my brain doesn’t want to cooperate.
The Wicca Series by Cate Tiernan
The Wicca series by Cate Tiernan is very season appropriate since most of it takes places during the colder seasons, and it has witches. The whole series consists of fifteen books, with some books following different characters. I’ve met Cate Tiernan twice, and she signed a few of the books for me, which makes this series extra special to me.
If you’re into witches and like interesting YA, definitely check this series out.
Summary
Something is happening to me that I don’t understand. I see things, feel things in a new way. I can do things normal people can’t do. Powerful things. Magickal things. It scares me. I never chose to learn witchcraft. But now witchcraft is choosing me.
Sixteen-year-old Morgan is not who she thought she was. But in that case, who is she?
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus is still one of my favourite books. It feels like a home away from home, giving me the comfort I need when I’m feeling a little blue. The circus is filled with wonders and mystery. It teases my senses and inspires. Even when it only exists in a book (and an interactive game!), Erin Morgenstern uses her magic to make it feel alive. It’s a night out, but I can stay within the comfort of my own home. I’ve yet to find a book as enchanting as this one.
Summary
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.
Abarat by Clive Barker
I’m not a big horror fan, but Abarat will always have a special place in my heart. My library had the illustrated edition, and I fell in love with it. I knew I wanted a copy years later, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. Just one copy (mint condition) on ebay. Of course I had to have it. Now I own all the available Abarat books (three in total) as first illustrated editions. Clive Barker painted over 400 oil paintings to support his Abarat series, with the fourth and fifth book not out yet. The paintings make all the difference. I read the not illustrated version later, but I didn’t feel as immersed as I did with the paintings. The text on the page is beautifully decorated with what seems like random doodles of fish, clouds, and strange creatures. Some are horrifying, others utterly adorable.
If you’re planning on reading this, go for the illustrated version. It’s so much better. Check out some of artwork on his site.
Summary
Candy lives in Chickentown USA: the most boring place in the world, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future may hold. She is soon to find out: swept out of our world by a giant wave, she finds herself in another place entirely…
The Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of the island of Midnight, ruled by Christopher Carrion.
Candy has a place in this extraordinary world: she has been brought here to help save the Abarat from the dark forces that are stirring at its heart. Forces older than time itself, and more evil than anything Candy has ever encountered.
Do you have any comfort reads? Which books are your go-tos?
