The latest best-selling novels might be in your stack of beach reads, but could reading them benefit your mental health? That's the idea behind bibliotherapy, the concept of reading as a therapeutic method to improve our well-being.

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[–] misericordiae 2 points 1 week ago

I love that series, but I do remember repeatedly thinking that if they mentioned Joy's hair one more time in the first book, I'd throw it across the room. (Thankfully, that particular issue goes away in later volumes.) I expected very little, but was pleasantly surprised it zigged in certain places I was preparing to roll my eyes at a zag, and how well it kept moving, despite the high page count. Definitely focused on plot over character, though, and entertainment over depth.

If you end up enjoying book 1 enough, I'd say also go for book 2, although it loses the stuck-on-a-planet-with-cosmic-horrors thing. Books 3 and 4, which involve a new threat (hinted at in book 1), are worth reading if you're still invested, but I liked them a little less. (Joy is too special, and I found a couple of the through lines disappointing; still thoroughly readable, though!) Not sure about the spin-off books, but they're on my TBR list to check out eventually.

Glad you're enjoying it so far; hope it keeps being therapeutic!