No one has tagged me for this meme so I’m tagging myself because I cannot resist weighing in on a topic so near and dear to my heart. This is the HISTORIC FIRST MEME at The Bitter and the Sweet.

Name five books you read (either present or past tense read) when in need of consolation. They can be fiction, nonfiction, poetry or other. (Seen at New Kid on the Hallway and, in slightly different form, at Ferule and Fescue.)

I am a big believer in the use of literature as a comfort during sadness, illness, or nights of insomnia. I have read all of these books multiple times under adverse conditions and they never fail to remind me that it’s worth waiting to see what the next day will bring — hopefully something better, something beautiful.

1. My Number One Go-To book for sleepless nights is Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword. One of the best fantasy books ever written, takes the familiar formula (young girl discovers magical powers and saves the world from evil) and elevates it through an innovative setting (British colonialism, anyone?), wonderful characterization, and beautiful writing. I must also mention two other favorites by McKinley: The Hero and the Crown (prequel to The Blue Sword) and Beauty (a smart, wry retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story — long before Disney got its icky, saccharine hands on it).

2. Anything written by Mary Stewart, but especially her 1960s girl adventure novels such as: This Rough Magic, My Brother Michael, Thunder on the Right and especially Madam, Will You Talk? Love the international settings, the bold but ladylike heroines, the romance with a dash of mystery … Again, Stewart elevates the familiar storylines through her amazing skills as a storyteller. I also like Stewart’s retelling of the King Arthur/Merlin story but my late-night preference is for these shorter entertainments.

3. Guy Gavriel Kay’s A Song for Arbonne. Or, also top contenders, his Fionavar Tapastry series and Tigana. Another fabulous fantasy writer who steeps his stories in richly imagined historical environments.

4. The complete oeuvre of Rosamunde Pilcher. As comforting as a rich cuppa, a scone warm from the oven, and a kindly grandmother knitting by a crackling fireplace.

What’s the common thread here? These are all books that I first read when I was younger — so perhaps they transport me back to simpler times. They’re also all works of formula fiction that somehow transcend their genres — so perhaps its the pleasurable juxtaposition between the familiar and the innovative that I enjoy. At any rate, I have intense gratitude for these authors for writing the kinds of books that can provide comfort during times of hardship. I suspect I will read these books many more times in my life and always find something within them to help me survive.

I’m fighting off the need to conclude with some defensive statement about the fact that I do, really, read “serious literature” too. The fact is, while I love, admire, learn from, and teach a lot of “serious literature,” it’s not what I turn to when my heart is broken, my stomach aches, or I cannot sleep.