Shelter in Books

So I saw a little Buzz Feed article the other day about Harry Potter, and it included Tweets from people who said HP books helped pull them through difficult times, they were feeling hopeless and hurt, and they immersed themselves in the HP World until they felt better.

I think that Narnia has that power as well -- when as a young adult I had pretty much messed up my life and made myself stressed out and physically ill from partying too much and working too hard and other destructive habits, I had to take it easy for a little while after surgery ... and found the Narnia books a kind of doorway to a pleasant, quiet, healing place?

Has anyone else had this experience of sheltering yourself or finding hope or solace in a book or series of books? Now, as an older person, I can see that I return to Jane Austen books often for the familiar happy endings ... for a while it was Star Trek books, I could escape to another world and rely on a satisfactory ending.

But Narnia was the best, most immersive, I think, at the time I needed it most.

Anyone have similar experiences?

I found that with many books and series. I remember while I was at college I felt a lot of stress and anxiety. I decided to take a break from school work and immersed myself in some of my favorite book series like the "Little House" books, Anne of Green Gables series, Harry Potter, Narnia and LOTRs. I also went back to other favorite classics like Alice In Wonderland, the works of Charles Dickens, The OZ books etc... Books always make me feel happier when I am having a down day. There's just something about delving into another world that makes me forget about my troubles or whatever I am going through that time, and brings a slice of happiness into my life.

Shelter in books? Oh absolutely.

Books are thoughts like mine and yours that originated in someone's mind. But unlike our ordinary musings, the thoughts in books are worked over to make them deeper and broader than a simple imaginary journey. That's a distillation process similar to the one that turns spring wine into hard booze...

Yeah, that does conjure up a strange mental image of someone who stayed awake all night reading LWW and has a hangover...reading a couple of chapters of Prince Caspian to get warmth from the hair of the talking dog that bit him.

LOL ES! (Nice to see you here, BTW) But you are exactly right! They are distilled, the best books, to perfection to provide you with an imaginary escape from your troubles. And yah, if you do an all-night bender with LWW you just might start the day feeling less than 100%.

NBw, yes, that is what I was thinking about when I remembered turning to Star Trek books (the cheap Ripple of feel-good literature!) and Jane Austen ... they are familiar, safe and promise a happy ending. It's stress relief.

Books have always been what I turned to in times of trouble. They have faithfully transported me to other worlds and away from my own problems for as long as I can remember.

Narnia didn't help me when I was consciously in trouble, but my 9-year-old self had no idea how much she needed that world in her life. When I was little I was terrified of literally almost everything. When my parents took me to see LWW in theaters the fear started to lift- much like the 100 year winter curse had when the Pevensies entered Narnia. I think the books fully broke the curse, and allowed me to begin to become the person I am today. I have certainly never read a series more eagerly or loved one longer, or more passionately. Since then, Narnia has always helped me find my courage and I am forever grateful to Lewis for writing them, and to God for leading me to them.

Wow, what a great story! I am so glad Narnia has been there for you.

I think this is what drew me into reading. Oz provided me fun adventures with very warm characters when I was shunned in public schools, Narnia and fairy tales has always provided me a sort of escape into a more sensible and warm place where I don't feel so alone. Alice always gave a frustrated ironic release into my inability to understand how nonsense driven the world is, as well as providing a play ground for my brain to delve into. Books that mean something to me either always have an intelligent or emotional connection.

Soldier of Aslan said:

I think this is what drew me into reading. Oz provided me fun adventures with very warm characters when I was shunned in public schools, Narnia and fairy tales has always provided me a sort of escape into a more sensible and warm place where I don't feel so alone. Alice always gave a frustrated ironic release into my inability to understand how nonsense driven the world is, as well as providing a play ground for my brain to delve into. Books that mean something to me either always have an intelligent or emotional connection.

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I enjoyed reading this. I also liked the fact that you mentioned some of my favorite classics. It is fun to escape the world were in and go to a land that we feel is real, and make us forget about our daily problems, and live through the characters in the story we are reading.

Narnia_bookworm said:

I enjoyed reading this. I also liked the fact that you mentioned some of my favorite classics. It is fun to escape the world were in and go to a land that we feel is real, and make us forget about our daily problems, and live through the characters in the story we are reading.

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Or the truths that they whisper back. Every time I have a crisis of faith, a little bit of Lewis is a reminder that failure is human nature and that Grace is sufficient. Or Alice with the truth that one doesn't need to conform so much to the world, but evolve and take truth by the horns and stick with it. Or Ben-Hur, which came at a very good time, as it reminded me that no glories or attempts of returning favors will win our salvation. We take God's gift, and that's it. It cannot be relayed, no can anything triumph it. Something I learned before, but had heard so many times that I needed to hear it differently.

Very good thoughts! It makes me wonder what people did before there were books readily available -- I mean today you can go to a library or buy a used copy of LWW for pennies on the dollar ... what about when printed books were first invented or before many people could read? I can't imagine a life without books ...

inkspot said:

Very good thoughts! It makes me wonder what people did before there were books readily available -- I mean today you can go to a library or buy a used copy of LWW for pennies on the dollar ... what about when printed books were first invented or before many people could read? I can't imagine a life without books ...

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Often books were serialized in newspapers, so you could afford to follow a story even if you couldn't follow afford the bound copy published after its run. The closer you got to the 20th century, the more pulp publications took up the thread (we still have a few here in the US: Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen, and a few Sci-fi based pubs).

I've often heard of lending libraries, which one played to be a member of (similar to Netflix with film today), Madame Bovary holds a membership in one, in the book of the same title.

You are right ... I have heard of such things. And then maybe people back in those times didn't have as much leisure time to read as we have.

This is so true for me. There have been many many books that have helped me through hard times. I have struggled with depression my whole life. There are times when there is nothing in my head but static and a dull throb.

And it is literature that brings me back to life. Sometimes it's poetry (Shakespeare has burned himself into my soul and his words give me so much hope), sometimes it's the simplicity of children's books (I love the Oz books, they're silly and fun and make me laugh and forget my own issues), most recently it's been fantasy. I always have lost myself in Middle Earth (sometimes when I'm particularly anxious I imagine I am in the Shire and it makes all the difference in the world). I'm currently listening to the Song of Ice and Fire (you know, Game of Thrones...) series on audiobook as I work and I've been completely swept away by the world and the characters.

I guess literature saves me from myself.

Yes, SiQ, that is what I was thinking about as well. There was a particular time in my life where Narnia was almost like a lifeline, a way back to normalcy or something, at least a way back to health. These days it is not such a strong sense of hiding away, because I am in a better place now mentally, emotionally and physically, but it's still a sense of escapism from time to time.