Ask Aunt Paige
by Aunt Paige, April 29, 2021 8:35 AM
Hello friends! I’ve been receiving a lot of mail from readers about how to “read happy,” especially right now when we’re all pressed down with worries, and since it seems like a defining element of “serious literature” is that it be depressing as heck.
I think there are a couple of things going on here. The first is a misunderstanding that a book that makes you feel good — whatever the genre or theme — is somehow “un-serious.” The second is that reading as a form of self-care, to make yourself feel better, is also somehow “un-serious.”
Well, abandon those preconceived notions, sweethearts. “Reading happy” is something I take very seriously, and I’m thrilled to get you started.
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Dear Aunt Paige,
What on earth can I read that is not depressing or scary but also not superficial, lightweight, or, you know, intended for children? I have no interest in those "book club" type books, but I also don't want to feel worse (more anxious, more depressed, more hopeless) after reading than before. Is it possible that "reading happy" is an unattainable goal for the discerning booklover?
Sincerely,
Well-Read and Weary
Dear Well-Read,
"Reading happy" is absolutely attainable for all booklovers. You don't need to sacrifice your appetite for profound stories in order to find books that also lift your spirits or provide hope.
Some of my favorite, soothing literary picks of the last few years have been the late-in-life love story by Kent Haruf, Our Souls at Night, which is graceful, benedictory, and a master class in pacing. Kazuo Ishiguro's The Buried Giant is similarly beautiful, with rich sentences to savor and a slow-building, slightly fantastical plot that reveals itself as an allegory for the cycle of life. Michel Faber's extraordinary The Book of Strange New Things, while melancholy, is so transcendent in its evocation of change, distance, longing, and renewal that reading it is a balm and a gift. These are vital, challenging works that nonetheless inspire peace within.
If you want to laugh while marveling at a writer's craft, look no further than Bernadine Evaristo's Mr. Loverman, in which an elderly, Shakespeare-obsessed British Caribbean man living in London tries to work up the courage to leave his wife for his lover of 50 years. Kristin Arnett's Mostly Dead Things is riotous and raunchy; Paul Beatty's The Sellout is a great satire on race in America (and marijuana farming); and if you just need a break from modern issues, there's nothing wrong with a little Jeeves and Wooster, especially if you imagine the scrumptious Hugh Laurie as you read. Ahem.
One last thing to consider is just switching the type of books you read. Have you tried the avant-garde fiction of the weird-but-accessible Paul Auster? (We like The New York Trilogy.) Or the hopeful honesty and lyrical prose of nature writers like Terry Tempest Williams and Robin Wall Kimmerer? Or narrative history from terrific writers like Jill Lepore, Isabel Wilkerson, or Robert Macfarlane?
Follow your interests and ignore other people’s opinions and you will find joy in what you read.
Love,
Aunt Paige
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Dear Aunt Paige,
I'm an adult, but I love to read kids' books — mostly middle readers, sometimes YA. I was talking with my cousins the other day, and they thought my reading habits were really weird and childish. Can you help me come up with a good retort for why adults should read kid lit?
Yours,
Mad for Max and the Midknights
Dear Mad for Max,
Reading kids' books weird? What hollow, rusted automaton would you have to be to not get your heart broken by E. B. White's Charlotte's Web? What bitter, shriveled-up mummy would you have to be to not laugh with delight at Ian Falconer's dryly funny Olivia? People who say kids' books aren't worth reading as adults... aren't reading kids' books.
Kids' and young adult books can be dark and complex (Kim Brubaker Bradley's Fighting Words) or light and joyful (Leah Johnson's You Should See Me in a Crown). They can be beautifully poetic (A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh). Some of the most imaginative world-building and skillful storytelling happens in kid lit. For a more in-depth look (and to fuel your next retort to your cousins), check out Bruce Handy's Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult.
Full disclosure, your Aunt Paige is a diehard picture book fanatic who believes that the efficient yet expansive tale-spinning of precisely 32 pages of pictures and words is a unique and wondrous art form.
So the next time your cousins tell you your reading habits are weird, tell them to go have their own pity party. Or better yet, invite them to yours. Gift them a copy of Kathleen Lane's Pity Party, a droll, insightful take on the anxieties of kidhood: perfect for any middle schooler — or anyone who has, at any time, ever been one.
Also? You be you, sweetness. Never let anyone tell you what you should and shouldn't read.
Love,
Aunt Paige
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Dear Aunt Paige,
Can you help me find some engrossing novels that are NOT heartrending? In this time of the pandemic and everything else, I'm up for some lighter reading. I have really enjoyed Kate Morton's books, just to give you an idea of the type of book that might suit right now.
Thank you,
Hoping for Happy Endings
Dear Hoping,
Books that engross us and sweep us away to another place and time — without breaking our hearts in the process — can be particularly therapeutic when real life feels overwhelming; and if there’s anyone who isn't feeling a little bit burned out or overwhelmed right now, your Aunt Paige would like to know what world they're living in so that she can join them.
Immersive historical fiction with well-developed characters and a dash of mystery or romance for added intrigue sounds right up your alley and, thankfully for our reading lives, a plot that is depressing or heartrending is not a requirement for good literature.
Try a novel by Lisa See, Paula McLain, Alice Hoffman, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Elizabeth Gilbert, Gail Tsukiyama, or A .J. Pearce. These are not authors who ignore the complications of the world. Their characters often live in challenging times and grapple with difficult, painful issues and themes, but they write stories that will engross you wholly and leave you feeling uplifted.
If none of those authors catch your fancy, there are other options!
Read a light, engaging book like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or Firefly Lane and then get engrossed all over again with the Netflix adaptation.
Dabble in YA. Plenty of books written for a younger audience are captivating, literary, and deeply enjoyable, even if, like Aunt Paige, you are perhaps just a few years past the young adult age bracket. [Cough] I recommend Elizabeth Wein or Ruta Sepetys.
Try a book with a contemporary setting. Maria Semple, Jade Chang, Gail Honeyman, and Fredrik Backman will keep you laughing and make your heart feel full.
Finally, give yourself permission to give up on books that aren't working for you, even if they are recommended to you by your book club, best friend, sister, or Aunt Paige.
Love,
Aunt Paige
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Aunt Paige is here to answer your questions about all things reading-related! Send your questions to [email protected] for a chance to be included in a future column.
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