Monday, March 27, 2017


March 20, I read a blog post by, author Mary Kennedy, on the Cozy Chicks blog entitled
WHY I LOVE READING COZIES.

I don't always leave comments on other's blogs because I always seem to be rushing for time.
(Not a good excuse, because I love when people take a few minutes to comment on my blog, as I hope you will today.)
That being said, I did stop and comment this time.
I was not prepared for how long my answer would be.

I'm going to share it with you here today.

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Why I Love Reading Cozy Mysteries
by Lisa A. Kelley


 
I love Cozies for many reasons . . . 

1) Cozies led me back to reading. I had been reading suspense/thrillers for years. Suddenly I found excuses not to read. I didn't read a book for well over a year. My sister, also an avid reader, was concerned about me. She handed me a cozy mystery and told me to give it a try. I devoured it! That was over 5 years ago, and I haven't looked back since. The suspense/thrillers had become too dark for me. They had literally stolen my love of reading. 

The very first cozy mystery I ever read.
After reading BUTTERCREAM BUMP OFF, book two in the Cupcake Bakery Mysteries, I went back and read book one, then the rest of the series. After that, I read every book, in every cozy series, under every pin name Jenn McKinlay had published. I even had to buy a few used ones that were out of print. (This is a big deal to me because I am a germaphobe and I do not read used books. Only if I knew the person who read it before me.)

2) I love that I can read a well written mystery without darkness, cursing (most of the time), heavy sex scenes, or gruesome descriptions of murder or crime. (I'm kind of sad that some cozy authors are pushing the envelope a bit in some of these areas. Cozies are perfect as is, but I guess I see the author's need to try). 

These are the first two cozies that I walked into a bookstore, picked out and purchased for myself. All of the Jenn McKinlay books (other than the few I had to order used) belonged to my sister. THAT OLD FLAME OF MINE by J.J. Cook (the late Joyce and Jim Lavene) and HEARSE AND BUGGY by Laura Bradford are the I could call mine. I was concerned that all of the books I had read up to that point were by Ms. McKinlay. What if it was just her writing I liked? But the books by the Lavenes and Ms. Bradford showed me I was just starting my cozy mystery journey.

3) I learn so many new things! Occupations, and hobbies and crafts that had no appeal to me, I now find fascinating! I love when the book spends a lot of time in a character's shop. 

Bakerys, deep fried food restaurants, blueberry farms, food trucks, libraries, book clubs, scrapbooking, tea shops, knitting, sewing, needlepoint, glass bead making, yard sales . . I could go on and on about the different occupations and hobbies found in cozies. I learn so much!

4) Because of cozies, I have started my own blog, and found out...I'm good at it! I have never felt good about anything in my life. But people enjoy my blog and my reviews. They tell me so! 

I started reading cozies for enjoyment (I still do of course), then started writing reviews, and that led to blogging, and that led to having the best time of my life. No, seriously . . . blogging and reviewing have literally been the best part of my life. I have a feeling of achievement I've never had before. 

5) And because of the first four, #5 is the most important of all. I have made so many friends! The cozy community is full of kind, loving, goodhearted, creative, intelligent, supportive people. The authors, readers, reviewers, and bloggers in the cozy mystery community are like a family to me. I cheer for them as they do for me, I cry for them, as they do for me, I pray for them, as they do for me. This may sound corny to many, and I don't care if it does, cozy mysteries have given me a new life. One I was searching for without even knowing it. 


  
With some of the lovely authors I've been blessed to meet. 

Honestly, I have come to know the most amazingly good and kind people, all because of reading cozies. While I have had the chance to meet some of the authors, and a couple of sweet friends . . . other readers, reviewers, and bloggers I only know from online. They are some of the most wonderful people I've ever known. These people, this cozy community I have become a part of, they don't care what you look like. A lot of us have never even seen photos of each other. We get to know each other from the inside first,where it truly counts. No one cares that I am overweight. I have been all my life, and I have been very shy and backward because of it. Uncomfortable in my own skin. But those I have had the chance to meet, they made me forget while I was with them, that I was "fat" Lisa. To them, I am friend Lisa. 


There you go. 
The five reasons I read cozy mysteries. 
Truth be told, I could come up with many more, but I think I touched on the most important ones. 

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A big thank you to Mary Kennedy for her original post. It gave me the opportunity to express what I have been wanting to say for a very long time. You can find Mary's post here. . . 

Check out the Cozy Chicks blog here. . .
www.cozychicksblog.com

Nancy Drew. . . Technically my first cozies. 

Please leave a comment and tell me,
why do you read cozies? 

20 comments:

  1. Great post! Love all the reasons why you read cozies. I read cozies (and write them too) because I love a good mystery, I enjoy the quirky characters, the small-town setting. I don't remember the title of the first cozy I picked up (well, after reading Miss Marple mysteries) but it was a book by Katherine Hall Page.

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    1. Thank you, Debra! I may not have remembered the title of my first cozy either (my memory is like Swiss cheese) if it hadn't been so pivotal

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  2. Great post, Lisa! I'm right there with you. Some of your reasons are mine, too. Plus, I look forward to your blog posts and reviews. Happy Monday, to you.

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    1. My wonderful friend, Pat. You are a prime example of the wonderful people I have been blessed to know through cozy mysteries. Thank you for all your support, and editing help. ;-)

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  3. Great post, Lisa. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. LOVE this post, Lisa. It is interesting to hear the "backstory" of how you discovered cozies and fell in love with them. I've always loved your reviews, and admired your skill, and I really enjoyed having a "behind the scenes" look at how you became an avid reader and a book reviewer. And thanks so much for mentioning my Cozy Chicks blog!

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    1. Thank you so much, Mary! It's always an honor to hear you've enjoy something I've written. And thank you from letting sponge off your original post. When my answer to your question kept getting longer, I just knew I had to turn it into a post.

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  5. Awesome post! I read cozies for all of the same reasons. <3

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    1. Thank you, Jackie! It's good to know others share some of my reasoning. Those who do read cozies, or read at all for that matter, they just don't get it.

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  6. Lisa, this is a beautiful post! I loved hearing about how you got interested in cozies. I'm sure glad that you did because now we get to enjoy this wonderful blog. Your blog was one of the first cozy mystery blogs I read and your passion for this genre that I also love is obvious! I'm so grateful you've allowed me to appear on it so many times! Keep up the great work! :) <3

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    1. Jenny, thank you! Thank means so much coming from you. And knowing that I was one of the first cozy mystery blogs you read, and you didn't run screaming is indeed a compliment! ;-) And you are ALWAYS welcome anytime. I love having you on the blog!

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    2. LOL!! Thank you, I will take you up on it!!

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  7. I love your post, Lisa, and I love your blog too! It was one of the very first I started reading before I started blogging myself and I found inspiration that other people enjoyed cozies just as much as I did!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kim! As I told Jenny in the comment above, it's exciting that I was one of the first blogs you read. And I'm thrilled you started blogging, because yours is simply wonderful!
      For anyone who hasn't read Kim's blog, check it out! https://cinnamonsugarandalittlebitofmurder.com/

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  8. Lisa, So happy you found cozies - If you didn't we wouldn't have found you! Speaking for all the cozy authors, "Thank you for all you do to promote our labors of love." Kathleen Bridge

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    1. Kathleen, thank you so much! And it is totally my pleasure. It's I who thank you, and all the other wonderful cozy authors for giving something I love so much. ANd for keeping my off the streets. ;-)

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  9. I really love this post and I have to agree on all the points except the one about blogging because I don't blog lol, I just read them. I did go for a very long dry spell without reading. Last summer I joined the adult reading program at one of our local libraries. I usually do this when my daughter joins it too. She was on a Stephanie Plum book kick for awhile. I remember reading cozies just not that they were known by any particular genre. I only knew I liked books without blood, gore, sex or extreme violence. I started up again in January when we were on vacation, took one of the Hannah Swenson books with me then decided I want to read each series from #1 LOL. BTW, thank you for posting your blog links in the FB group. For some reason I don't think Blogger likes me anymore because it won't send me email notices when you have a new post.

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    1. Thank you, Tari! I adore the Hannah Swensen books! They are among my favorite. My sister was reading cozies before they were called cozies. Here favorite was Mrs. Pollifax.
      I'm sorry your not getting the emails. You're the third person to tell me that in two days. It seems it works sometimes, then it takes a break. :-( I've been looking into it.

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  10. Thanks Lisa! It's weird, I'm getting the comments since I checked the box to get them for this post. Probably a site issue and really nothing can be done about it. There are a couple other blogs I could swear I don't always get their updates either, thinking they're all through Blogger as well. :)

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