Books as comfort food

Something that struck me today, when I'm tired or need some real stress relief, it's not that unusual for me to pick up a book I've read at least six times and read it again. It's kind of a Zen thing for me. Suffusing myself in the comfort of old friends or old foes, letting the stories wash over me. Taking me away from my troubles. I rarely, if ever, find that kind of comfort in new books. New books are, for me, new horizons to explore.