As a reader as well as a writer I have different moods.
Sometimes I’m up for a weighty, thought-provoking read, and at other times I
prefer something to simply sweep me away. Lately life’s stresses and sorrows—my
father died five weeks ago—made me want to escape with a good book into a world
where a happy ending is guaranteed. I ended up reading several of Lucy
Diamond’s chick lit books, which are not froth-only as they deal with some
weighty issues, but do so with a light hand and a happy ending, and they were
definitely the balm I needed.
There sometimes is an attitude in our culture that reading
to escape is wrong, a ‘guilty pleasure’ it is often called. I’ve met countless
woman who dismiss their reading choices as light or unimpressive with a shrug
of their shoulders and a downward gaze, as if they’re ashamed they’re not
reading War and Peace or the latest
nonfiction bestseller every other day. I’ve even found myself doing it—when
asked what I’m reading, I’ll pick the weightiest book I’ve read recently rather
than the bit of frothy fun I’ve just devoured. And even worse, I sometimes do
it as a writer, especially with some of the academic-types I meet living close
to Oxford and its prestigious university.
‘What kind of books do you write?’ someone will ask me, and
I will shrug my shoulders and dismiss my career as ‘the kind of book you find
in the supermarket’—as if that makes it a lesser thing.
One of my (many!) New Year’s resolutions is to stop this bad
habit of semi-apologizing for my reading and writing choices. Reading to
escape, and writing to offer that escape, is not only acceptable, it’s
necessary. 2015 was one of the most difficult years of my life and if I hadn’t
had the reprieve from reality offered through various novels—Harlequin
Presents, chick lit, and other ‘light’ books—I
think I might have exploded with stress. I’m grateful to the writers who
give me books that take me away from my current worries and leave me with a
smile on my face.
And if you’re looking for a new escapist read, you can try
one of my releases: The Emigrants Trilogy
is the kind of historical saga that hopefully sweeps you away, and my March
release, Falling Hard, kicks off a series set in small town Upstate New York.
Also if you a book you’ve read recently that you’d like to
recommend, let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear about it!
Happy Reading,
Kate
1 comment:
The Magician's Lie was good.
Denise
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