Booklist for 'Interesting Times'

Remember that apocryphal Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times"? Well we certainly seem to be living in interesting times at the moment.

In such times, we all need a source of comfort. Some of us take comfort in music, or by spending time in nature. Some of us comfort eat - yes I am prone to this but trying to resist the urge to bury myself in a trough of pasta. Some dance, or go for a run, or snuggle up with a pet or a plush toy.

I could be persuaded to try any of the above, but I've been realising recently that one of my preferred sources of comfort is books. When T and I moved to Australia for 18 months (due to his job), he was horrified by the fact that I felt it necessary to bring a box of books with me. I was equally horrified by the idea of leaving them behind (there were numerous crates of books which were left behind, the ones I brought with us were the ones it was unthinkable to be separated from).

The photo above shows my current book pile, and I think it's quite telling. 'Truth or Dare' and 'The Fifth Sacred Thing' both by Starhawk are old, well-thumbed favourites. 'Truth or Dare' is an illuminating study of power structures and full of helpful strategies to move from a model of 'power over' to one of 'power from within' and 'power with'. 'The Fifth Sacred Thing' is a novel examining the culture clash between a dystopian and a utopian society. It provides such an alluring vision of the reality we could have I find it a great source of inspiration and comfort. This of all these books is the one I'm clinging to like a security blanket, and not only reading but also listening to on Audiobook when I'm driving.

Joanna Powell Colbert's 'Journey Through the Gaian Tarot' is there because in times of stress I not only read  but also hit the Tarot cards. The Gaian Tarot is hands down my favourite deck and my go-to whenever I need to read for myself. Apparently there's a new edition of it being published in April - I'm pretty sure I'm going to order one as a back up deck because I love it so much.

Michael Hughes' 'Magic for the Resistance' and Laura Tempest Zakroff's 'The New Aradia, a Witch's Handbook to Magical Resistance' are both excellent guides to -well, magical resistance.

Finally, Rebecca Solnit's wonderful 'Hope in the Dark' is another old favourite telling of all the many victories and steps of progress that we've already made and reminding us that we can always do things differently, better and that there are so many reasons to have hope. And of course, hope is so, so necessary. 

What is your favourite form of comfort in 'interesting times'? And do you have any 'security blanket' book recommendations? I'd love to hear them.

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