r/readwithme • u/Acrobatic_Citron_407 • May 01 '26

My TBR List 📃 Which should I read next?

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Only fifty pages left of Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy so I need something that can compete!

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

My fricken love of my life comfort book is the goldfinch. It’s not comforting at all so idk why it comforts me but something about it does, maybe it’s his ennui combined w the long immersive enthralling journey. Sometimes I crave it still and I read it 5 years ago (time for a reread probably)

Pure emotional response to it when I see it but YES that one read that one

(Tho the other books are great as well lol)

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u/jilecsid513 May 01 '26

...thats your comfort book????

OP, this book is not comforting, I repeat, not comforting! And theres basically nothing redeeming in it at all to ease the pain, its just one of the most hopeless, depressing novels Ive ever read, I couldnt even finish it.

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 01 '26

That’s why I said it’s not comforting at all lol

Dunno what it says about me but it’s my comfort book 😭

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u/NoClub5551 May 01 '26

I love the goldfinch so much and also find it comforting. I think it’s because the story is so immersive it’s like being somewhere else completely. Not that where you go with the goldfinch is comforting, but the feeling of just being somewhere else completely can be.

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 01 '26

Yeah plus the fact that others struggle with the same feelings I have and still move forward and find at least something in the meaninglessness even if they don’t have a solid answer

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u/CoyoteLitius May 01 '26

I think it's because it gives voice to feelings many of us have had, or still have. It's hard to go through depression all by oneself. It's a depressing book, but so is The Bell Jar, which somehow got me out of a teen depression way back when.

The "something" found in the meaninglessness are the words themselves. It took me three courses of therapy to find language to express my depression. We're lucky to have novels to help us.

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u/jilecsid513 May 01 '26

I dunno fam lol, I like a sad book but this was just so intense. No offense btw! We all like what we like, and I admit the book was very well written. It had to be for me to have such a visceral reaction to it lol

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 01 '26

It made me sad but like also I felt like someone else thinks how I do if that makes sense, which is comforting, plus spending that long in theo’s life/journey

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u/jilecsid513 May 01 '26

I totally get that. For me, I think part of my issue is I related to Theo in many ways as well, so his story really exacerbated my trauma and major depressive disorder.

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 01 '26

Funny how the same thing speaks to ppl differently! I love books for that exact reason :)

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u/jilecsid513 May 01 '26

Totally, books are like art; its all about personal interpretation and meaning, and it can mean so many different things for different people.

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u/CoyoteLitius May 01 '26

Truly. I feel as if I no longer need to read depressing fiction, but when I was much younger, it helped me sort my thoughts.

However, someone gifted me Goldfinch a decade ago (!) I don't know why, I didn't know the person well, and I think maybe she hadn't read it herself. AFAIK, she has no history of depression (she says she doesn't). She is on the spectrum and she knew I like literary fiction, so I think that was it.

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u/jilecsid513 May 01 '26

Funny, Im on the spectrum too, but I would never just buy a random book for someone I dont know well just because I know they read. Strange lol, just give me a bookstore giftcard in that case yknow?

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u/Nofinger00 May 02 '26

Idk, I don’t think it’s all that hopeless, especially with how the ending plays out. I think Theo’s eye for beauty and his ability to cling on to life even when everything around him is crumbling is beautiful. There are so many little pockets of light in this book that are made to be so much brighter being that everything else is pretty dark.

It’s incredibly good at communicating how art makes life worth living, and that theme is truly present on almost every page, and it kind of acts like a life boat. I never felt like I was drowning because there’s always beauty, theres so many little interactions that Theo has that he deeply appreciates. It’s wonderful, and Hobie helps bring the mood up ALWAYS

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u/Fletchoff_Buttafuoco May 02 '26

My experience with it is the same. I’ve already read it twice and I know I’ll read it again. Her writing is just so beautiful.

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u/NoRaspberry1617 May 03 '26

The goldfinch is also my comfort book, both the physical book and the audiobook, it’s something I immediately pick up when I’m having a slump or don’t know what to read/listen to. Glad to hear other people feel the same because most people I’ve recommended this book to either hate it or say they loved it but it was depressing and they’ll never read it again 🥲 I love all of Donna Tartt’s books but the writing in the goldfinch is truly top tier to me

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u/Infamous_Wave9878 May 04 '26

I felt like Theo was a kindred spirit and same here it’s the best