In fact, a large body of research shows that reading can reduce depression, help you sleep, and reduce stress.
I invite you to peruse the list below and see if one of these books in the Mercer County Library System’s collections might be right for you.
Bring On the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins
“When a post-Reconstruction African-American community succumbs to a desperate need for funds and purpose, its mayor puts the small town up for sale and finds a buyer in Bernardine Brown,” who reinvigorates the community with her passion for life.
Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart
Constance Kopp doesn't quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters from city to country fifteen years ago. When a powerful, ruthless factory owner runs down their buggy, a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. The sheriff enlists her help, and it turns out Constance has a knack for outwitting (and disarming) the criminal element which might just take her back out into the world and onto a new path in life.
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Blindsided by her mother's sudden death, and wrecked by a recent love affair, Casey Peabody has arrived in Massachusetts in the summer of 1997 without a plan. Her mail consists of wedding invitations and final notices from debt collectors. A former child golf prodigy, she now waits tables in Harvard Square and rents a tiny, moldy room at the side of a garage where she works on the novel she's been writing for six years. At thirty-one, Casey is still clutching onto something nearly all her old friends have let go of: the determination to live a creative life. When she falls for two very different men at the same time, her world fractures even more. Casey's fight to fulfill her creative ambitions and balance the conflicting demands of art and life is challenged in ways that push her to the brink.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Great Britain circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. Sleuth extraordinaire Thursday Next likes few things more than curling up with a good book. Unfortunately, as long as Acheron Hades is on the loose, Thursday won't be getting much rest. With his penchant for killing characters from literary classics, Acheron is keeping busy. Luckily, Thursday is hot on his trail, eager to save the innocent protagonists.
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father's law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a law degree from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes her especially devoted to championing and protecting women's legal rights. Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen is going through the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on if they forfeit what their husband left them? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X--meaning she probably couldn't even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah--in strict seclusion, never leaving the women's quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian?