Escapist Literature
Nope, not talking about it. I hope you’re safe, I hope you’re well, and I have faith you are doing all you can to protect yourself, your loved ones, and total strangers. That said–I’m gonna talk about escape books. A reader once told me that mine is the book she reaches for when she needs a break, when she needs to get out of reality for a while. (This one, specifically–Knight Errant.) It made my day, and continues to make me happy. I never wanted to write a world-altering novel–I just wanted to make people as happy as many a book has done for me. So. In no particular order–my escape books. I’m not linking them all, but here’s Indiebound if you’d care to go look for any. None of these are exactly new, but hey. Spoiler warning. If you don’t want spoiled for a title (probably just a little,) don’t look at the paragraph that starts with that title! The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien I first read The Hobbit in 8th grade (so, 12-13 years old.) It was a very bad time for me, but The Hobbit took me away so magnificently, I reread it about eight times in a row. Even after that, I still carried it for months, rereading bits, and especially the chapter Flies and Spiders. Poor Bilbo, lost and alone in Mirkwood, but then he found his courage, and rescued his friends! It was a time I needed courage, and Bilbo finding his, gave some to…