I don’t think I am speaking hyperbolically (or indeed controversially) when I say this has been pretty much the worst year ever. Between the Grim Reaper taking away every musician and actor you’ve ever loved, the refugee crisis, and the literal worst election in American history, I think some escapism is in order to keep complete insanity at bay.
Now, I read almost exclusively for escapism anyway, but in extreme cases such as these I have a special recommendation strategy to ensure maximum disconnect with reality.
1. Re-read a time-tested favorite: I don’t mean a book you liked but haven’t read for a while; I mean a book you get lost in every time even though you know every turn of the plot, most of the dialogue, and every problematic thing about characters and storyline. I mean a book you could practically recite and have a hard time summarizing to others because, “It’s just not that simple!”
My picks: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, anything by Guy Gavriel Kay
2. One word: FANTASY: And serious swords and sorcery fantasy at that. There should be a lot of magic, good should be fighting evil and winning at the end, dragons are a bonus but not required. This is not your Game of Thrones complicated characters and motivations read that almost makes you feel worse about people than when you started. You want Samwise Gamgee, not a Lannister.
My picks: Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Iron Druid Chronicles (series) by Kevin Hearne
3. YA and Middle Grade: New to you or from your childhood. As stated above, well-loved books are a great escapist read and that can often mean going back to Narnia or having a riddle-off in a goblin cave, but there is A TON of great YA and middle grade books out there that are fun, fast reads to make you laugh and dive into a new world.
My picks: Harry Potter (obviously), Rick Riordan’s entire mythology-based oeuvre, Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
4. Romance: The obvious, tried-and-true escapist option. People have been reading romance novels to escape for generations, support the tradition!
My picks: The Duke by Gaelen Foley, the Spindle Cove series by Tessa Dare, the Sugar Maple series by Barbara Bretton
5. Cozy Mysteries: When I say cozy mysteries, I mean the slightly ridiculous books that center around librarians and home decorators, not actual detectives: Miss Marple not Philip Marlowe. They’re usually funny, the murders are under weird circumstances, and the supporting characters make a series.
My picks: The Bibliophile series by Kate Carlisle, the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
6. Something Just Weird: Something so out there you will completely forget the real world exists because this fictional one is taking all of your concentration to sort out leaving no room to process what is happening outside.
My picks: The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, Undermajordomo Minor by Patrick DeWitt, Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann
To Avoid: This is just as important in your escapism strategy. You do not want to find yourself reading something which reminds you so much of current events you enter a cycle of browsing news sites and crying. Now is not the time to read the classics, or anything you “should” be reading to better yourself. It is not a time for books with a heavy focus on serial killers and/or psychopaths (read: politics in general, fictional or non). This is an escape plan to trick yourself into thinking the apocalypse is not nigh.
Good luck.
Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any emotional damage upon your re-entry to reality. I recommend just staying in fiction.
