Post-election, Evanstonians turn to comfort books for solace, escape

Have any of your habits or routines changed, pre-election compared to post-election?

Are you watching more or less television or movies? Have the subjects you want to watch changed? Are you eating or cooking differently? What about news consumption or reading books — are you doing anything differently?

While all of the aforementioned topics pique our curiosity, the RoundTable decided to focus on books. This information is not statistically valid, but it’s anecdotally and directionally interesting. Readers are welcome to share changes in their own habits in the comments.

From political-ish to cozy and comforting

At Booked, 506 Main Street, co-owner Betsy Haberl described what people were buying before the election.

“People were buying a lot of political-ish books, or books that were about people in politics, like Democracy in Retrograde or Lovely One by Ketanji Brown Jackson, or Hillary Clinton’s memoir, Something Lost, Something Gained,” Haberl said. “We had a ton of pre-sales through the book Abortion by Jessica Valenti. We sold tons and tons and tons of kids books about Kamala Harris. I mean, we couldn’t keep Kamala Harris books in stock for kids here at Booked.”

Two popular pre-election books Evanstonians were buying, “Democracy in Retrograde” and “Lovely One.” Credit: Wendi Kromash

Post-election, it’s comfort reading

“After the election, certainly, we have seen a huge uptick in people coming in looking for comfort reading, which is really interesting,” Haberl said. “And so we have beefed up our cozy fantasy books and books that make you feel like you’re getting a nice hug from the author. One of the books that we sold a ton of, and I would highly recommend, is Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune, which is the follow-up to The House in the Cerulean Sea. I just finished this one, which is The Teller of Small Fortunes, by Julie Leong. It’s out in paperback. It’s very cozy, just the sweetest escapist fantasy.”

“We have seen a big uptick in rom-coms, romances, anything that takes you away from the reality of the world,” Haberl said. “We could not keep The Serviceberry, which is the new book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, in stock. She’s the author of Braiding Sweetgrass. The Serviceberry is a meditation on gratitude and reciprocity and community and ecology.”

“It’s been interesting to see that people are reverting to books as a safe haven,” Haberl said. “I also hope that our bookstores become a safe haven. If you look at our window as you walk out on the right hand side, one of our booksellers, Gus, made a diorama of some of the businesses and our homes and the bookstore on Main Street, celebrating what we have here in our community.”

Cooking apathy and kids’ anxiety

Betsy Haberl holds “What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking,” a cookbook that seems to be perfectly timed for today. Credit: Wendi Kromash

The cookbook they can’t keep in stock is What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers.

Were there any shifts among what parents bought for children or what children selected for themselves?

Booked prides itself on celebrating diverse representation. Haberl said they have a section for kids in the store called Your Mind and Your Feelings. Two books that are very popular are Anxious by Luciana DeLuca and The Whatifs by Emily Kilgore.

Betsy Haberl holds two books that help children talk about anxious feelings, “The Whatifs” and “Anxious.” Credit: Wendi Kromash

“It’s really important for children to be able to name those emotions,” Haberl said. “And even if they’re too young to understand the political sphere and time that we’re in, they pick up on the emotions and attitudes of the adults in their lives. They want to be able to name what they’re seeing in other people.”

Book clubs surge

The next selection for the January Sunday Smut Club at Booked. Credit: Wendi Kromash

“Post-election, we have had huge attendance at our book clubs, and I think some of that is because people are seeking community and a place to connect,” Haberl said.

Booked hosts a Sunday Smut Book Club the features contemporary romance and a Booked Club for Grown-Ups featuring literary fiction and nonfiction. Book clubs meet once a month. The next Booked Club for Grownups meets at 7 p.m., Jan. 15 to discuss A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez. The next Sunday Smut Club meets at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 27 to discuss Whenever You’re Ready by Rachel Runya Katz.

From alarmed to resigned

Nina Barrett, owner of Bookends & Beginnings, 1620 Orrington Ave., said, “Before the election, our customers were very alarmed. And they were buying a lot of books about why we ought to be alarmed about various things, you know, like On Tyranny and How Democracies Die, and those kinds of things. Again, it’s anecdotal … but my impression is that it’s trailed off since the election. People feel like, ‘Well, that got decided,’ or they’re too depressed now to continue reading those books.”

“I think after the last time Trump won the election in 2016, we definitely saw a big swell of ‘We’re going to resist!’ from authors, as well as from, you know, people buying books about politics. And I feel like almost the opposite of that happened after this election, that it was much more, ‘Oh, well.’ You know?”

Comfort reading, no politics

Barrett said her shop is also seeing patrons looking for comfort literature.

“What we’re selling are things that have nothing to do with politics,” Barrett said. “I would say we’re selling quite a bit of comfort literature that has a more comforting message. You know, The Serviceberry, we sold out of an enormous order we placed. And it’s not just us, the publisher ran out of it, and bookstores across the country have run out of it. The message of that book is a resistance message, but it isn’t overtly political, it’s not about the structures of democracy and tyranny and fascism and all those things. It’s about being gentle and generous and you know, having an economy in the world that’s on a humane scale.”

James, a book that’s profoundly about race, but it isn’t profoundly about politics, is another popular purchase, Barrett said. The book, by Percival Everett, won the National Book Award for fiction in November.

Barrett shared another observation. “Right before the election, there was this sense that the world was about to end … and I feel like with the actual results of the election, people kind of walked away from that. Not like it was solved, but people walked away from it, if you know what I mean. I think people want to walk away from it, because I think, they don’t know what to do … Everybody’s hoping for a little bit of, you know, comfort and peace and quiet before the next thing drops. That’s my sense of it.”

Post-election, a lull

At Squeezebox, 743 Main St., owner Tim Peterson replied via email. He wrote: “I would say we haven’t seen much of a shift in type of books sold. Books and music can be an uplifting experience/distraction at any time. The only difference we saw was a big lull in sales for almost two weeks following the election. Sales have picked up again as people prepare for the holidays.”