I am 10 weeks pregnant. I am utterly miserable. Every second of everyday I feel like garbage. I was/am excited about the baby, and my partner is great and all that jazz – just physically I’m in a major funk, and I have no idea when it will end. It feels very restricting and frustrating to have no relief or some semblance of an end soon.
Sorry, anyway, to the point – if you were physically feeling something like this, what would you read? Would you lean into it and read something that also had someone feeling icky or made you feel that way; would you read something light; engaging? Give me the recs!
by functionaldaydream
10 Comments
On Love
Novel by Alain de Botton
A bit of a different answer but when I am sick (which is often thanks to MS) I tend to reach for epistolaries since they are a bit easier to engage with when I have almost no energy and feel awful.
Since epistolaries tend to go a bit fast, I mentally feel a bit better having accomplished something, which makes me trick myself into thinking maybe I am feeling a bit better physically too.
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke is a silly one written as slack messages
I’m sorry you’re struggling – it will pass, I promise!
When I was pregnant I read The Salt Path, and a couple romantic books by Mhairi McFarlane.
I’ve googled and regoogled this question when I feel awful throughout the years and totally empathize with this need to escape into a book.
A book that I recently read while feeling awful was Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, it was easy to follow with lots of emotional payoff throughout the book.
But what works for me 100% of the time when I’m feeling bad is either a reread of one of my favorite books or something YA. I read twilight for the first time while going through an ectopic pregnancy this year, and that was fun. Also the warriors books and The Selection series but even The Miscommunication of Cameron Post sucked me in. I think it’s because YA’s too priority is to entertain.
When you find an option, consider the audio book. When I was pregnant reading made me nauseous. No idea why. But audio may be helpful?
Whenever I am sick I automatically turn to the comfort of YA/ high school fiction golden oldies:
Anne of Green Gables(and sequels)
Little Women (I actually prefer An Old Fashioned Girl)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Joy in the Morning
Or more modern comfort:
The Mitford books by Karon
I reread Agatha Christie/Rex Stout or Conan Doyle (There’s comfort in knowing the outcome)
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. It’s got allll the things in there in one way or another. It pulls you right in, but is light enough that you can pick it up and put it down without issues.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
I’d probably read something to take my mind off it so definitely not something where the MC is in similar pain lol, i would personally go for something fast paced. If you don’t mind gore the dungeon crawler Carl series moves at breakneck speed, the six of crows is a fun time, Tress of the Emerald Sea was fun and quick paced, 11/22/63 isn’t so fast paced but it’s a page turner… if that makes sense, and j always recommend the Percy Jackson series, even though its middle grade it’s truly the best. I’d also just say to pick up any cheesy rom com, just anything mindless and silly. I hope this helps and feel better!!
Another vote to give dungeon crawler Carl a try. It’s wacky and so well-narrated.