I love horror, but I can't read it before bed as I keep staying awake to see what happens next. I want something calming and not too suspenseful, that I can pick up each night instead of using my phone in the last hour before bed. Any ideas? 🙂
by JadeorJane
4 Comments
Claire Keegan books are great as they are chill reads, short books often so you can just dip into them a little each night
Maybe some PG Wodehouse- The Inimitable Jeeves (something strange out of nowhere and purely based on your request: Aleister Crowley- The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, the autobio of this eccentric character, I somehow found extremely fitting to read in small doses before falling asleep)
Kelly Link’s short stories. They’re thought provoking, but for a horror fan, they should be calming. Her writing often brings me a sense of mystery.
My Education by William Burroughs. His dream journal.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente. Fantasy written so that it’s accessible for children yet entertaining for adults. I think of it as snarky whimsy.
I almost always read print “cozy mystery” series before bed. They have enough of a mystery to keep me wanting to pick it up the next night, but not enough that I need to stay up reading to see what happens next. Series become comfy and easy because you get to know the small town and its cast of quirky characters.
Last year I did almost all of Ellie Alexander’s cozy mystery series (she has several.) This year I am mostly doing The Booktown mysteries by Lorna Barrett, but I dabble in a lot of others in between. Planning to possibly do a reread of The Cat Who books in the coming year (haven’t read them for decades.)
There are ones out there for pretty much any interest/hobby/type of small town, so you may find one more particular to your interests if you want to try the genre.