The Dark Times

I’m not sure what’s currently the matter with me. I guess I’m just in a rut, at least on the emotional front. A fresh wave of nostalgia breaks over each morning and every night, and I find myself longing for a dimly lit café where soulful music about heartbreak and misery play softly and each person there is linked by the longing of a lonely soul. I’ll admit it—I even broke out one of my favorite aching songs, “Foolproof,” by Ron Sexsmith (Feist does a lovely cover). It’s really a fantastic piece: it talks about heartbreak, about the cynicism that sets in during the aftermath, and then the secret longing we all hold that someone new will sweep us off our feet and treat us right. For everyone else who experience these doldrums, I’ve decided to compile my favorite books and songs that I wallow in during this times. Some fit the mood, some take me out of myself; all are quality.

Music:
Foolproof (Already established as being Ron Sexsmith)
Cry, James Blunt (Shut up. He’s good.)
New Romantic, Laura Marling
King of the Earth, John Ondrasik
She’s Always a Woman, Billy Joel
You Know So Well, Sondre Lerche
100 Years, Five for Fighting
Superman, Five for Fighting
Yellow, Coldplay
Lucy, Hanne Hukkelberg
Minor Details, Sondre Lerche
Ungodly Hour, The Fray
Where’s the Girl, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Prayer, (same)
When I Look at You, (um, same again—man, this musical is just ripe with songs that fit.)
Eet, Regina Spektor
She’s Got a Way, Billy Joel

I like to stick to old favorites for reading:

Coming Home, Rosamunde Pilcher (Escape into someone else’s life and forget the blues.)

I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith (I hope you can’t exactly relate with Cassandra, but it helps your perspective to chew on the drama this girl goes through.)

Gone-Away Lake, Elizabeth Enright (Yes, it is a childrens’ book, but it is excellent, as is the sequel. You’ll get caught up yearning for your childhood and wishing you had an awesome relationship with your cousins.)

Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen (Elinor always makes me feel better, always inspires me. Eh, she also makes me feel entirely inadequate, so I guess this could go both ways.)

Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis (One of my favorite heroines of any book, not to mention one of my favorite authors.)

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Seriously? Can I just go laugh/cry with this book and save you any explanation?)