The happy comfort of listening to someone read aloud

I have a cold.  Therefore I want comfort- waffles and stories that don't make me think too hard.  When I was a child that meant the structured stories of the Bobbsey Twins and Famous 5.  They were a  fun escape into an entertaining and reassuring alternate world.   When I was little I had my mother stirring the bubbles out of ginger ale and reading to me  from Enid Blyton.  Now I have Flavia de Luce on my iPod.  (and my mother brings over cupcakes!)

Flavia is the 11 year old aspiring English chemist that I've mentioned before.  Her first adventure is in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie.  This weekend I listened to Jayne Entwistle read the second novel The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag.  It was exactly what the doctor ordered.  An amusing character working through the plot metholdically like Agatha Christie.  When I fell asleep for a section, it didn't even matter.  I just kept on listening, secure in my knowledge that Flavia would triumph!

My friend B.T. is of the opinion that Flavia would not make a great choice for a book club because there isn't much content for discussion.  But Flavia is a perfect companion to distract one through a cold or while away some summer hours in a lawn chair.