Books as comfort items/stim toys?

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I know, I know I post a lot about comfort items, but they're so important and really do help to cut back on somewhat harmful habits such as those related to dermatillomania and trich (skin/hair picking)...at least that's what I've noticed/heard... that I feel as if they need more awareness.

Anyway, does (or did) anyone have any favorite books that were their comfort items or stim toys when they were younger, or maybe you still have them? The reason why I ask was because all these middle-aged dudes were hanging around my college campus yesterday with all these boxes full of tiny copies of the New Testament, and they were giving them away to students passing by. They handed one to me as I walked past (I was too polite to refuse), and all of a sudden, I was reminded of how I used to carry around a small green leather-bound New Testament book when I was a little kid...probably around the time I was just learning to walk. I wasn't a particularly religious toddler; I just liked the bright green color and the pleasant texture of the thin, crinkly pages.

In addition, I also had this really big paperback Winnie the Pooh storybook as a little kid that was actually die-cut into the shape of Pooh, and had a big, colorful illustration on the cover of him digging into a honey pot. I remember always wanting my parents to read that book to me (Pooh and all things Pooh-related, including his original voice actor Sterling Holloway, were one of my earliest special interests, even though I was too young to realize it at the time) and carrying it around with me everywhere, and I only think I stopped when I finally got a soft "My First Pooh" doll that I still happen to have. If I'm not mistaken, the big paperback Pooh book actually must have gone through several "reincarnations," since I'm pretty sure my love for the book creased, tore and warped it beyond all recognition, yet it was still around by the time my half-sisters, Pandy and BirdGirl were born, and they enjoyed having it read to them too (not to the extent that I had, tho)....so, my mom must have found extra copies of the Pooh book someplace.

My mom and my favorite aunt also remember making a long car trip to my grandparents' farm in Minnesota when I was one year old, and they were concerned about how to keep me quiet and occupied during the trip, and they bought me a Winnie the Pooh coloring book at a store somewhere on the way. My mom reports that I pretty much just spent the whole trip either sleeping soundly or just flipping through the pages of the Winnie the Pooh coloring book, absolutely transfixed. I didn't even take any notice when my older cousin, then 3 years old, had to make periodic potty breaks because someone let him drink half a liter of soda before we left.

.....Heck, my dad even says that when I was just learning to talk, the first intelligible word I uttered was "book."

So, does anyone else regard their favorite books as comfort items? Comfort items come in all shapes and sizes!

Last edited by LtlPinkCoupe on 14 Oct 2014, 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I know lots of people who do this.

I like to read, but not that much.

Books don't judge me. They don't criticize, blame or ignore me. They educate me, and tell me stories with which I relate or wish I could. I would rather have books than friends. My favorites are A Christmas Carol (because the abuse that Scrooge suffered as an ignored child and as a despised adult explain his personality better than any movie based on the book has ever tried to do) and The Hobbit (because Bilbo saves the day several times despite being insulted by the cloddish dwarves). The apparent NTs who surround and criticize both characters would be familiar to most people with AS or other ASDs.

I love books. As I sit here typing I am surrounded by my books. I probably have more that I can read in a decade and yet keep buying more.

When I was young they were my constant, my faithful friends (they still are) that I spent hours and hours with.

As to the OP, yes, I had one book as a child that I hardly ever let go. It was Pep; the Story of a Collie Dog. I read and re-read it, would constantly run my hand over the cover and would even hold it by my nose so I could smell it. I've been trying to find a decent copy of it to buy for some time.

I found this copy http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss/ ... Collie+Dog on Amazon.com. I also found these copies http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchR ... Dog&xpod=Y at AbeBooks.com. And, this one http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qtit= ... =1&mtype=B at Alibris.com.

I love books, and although I never carried a particular book around as a comfort item, I do remember using what I now look back upon as definite stimming behavior on books as I held them and read them as a child. I had a very particular way of holding and touching a book; I had to rub my left fingtertips over the tops of the pages over and over. It was a total "thing" for me while reading.

It's the softness and smoothness of the surface that's formed by all the pages together along an edge. I was obsessive about performing this motion as I read the book. My sister once asked me isn't that distracting to keep doing that while you read? It wasn't, it actually soothed me. I also would sniff the book regularly, as the smell was comforting and pleasurable also.

I no longer do the finger rubbing action on the top edge of a book anymore, I just hold it in my hand like normal. But I guess a trace of that is still happening because now I'm very into the feeling of the page under my thumbs as I hold the book. I don't rub a whole lot but I do occasionally push my thumbs around to feel the texture of the paper, and I love the warmth of the page under my skin when I've been holding it for a while. I adore this sensation and it's partly why I don't feel satisfied when reading on a Kindle! I also still sniff books.

I don't re-read them very often, but I've got the complete collection of "The Black Stallion" series by Walter Farley. I've thought of selling them on ebay or something, but I just can't bring myself to get rid of them in any way. I remember how long it took me to accumulate the whole series, saving up pennies & dimes to buy each book, and agonizing as to which was the next one I would buy.

For the last year or so I've had a pile of assorted books on the floor beside my bed. I like to have an assortment of reading material to choose from in bed. My bedroom's too small to have all my bookshelves in, so I have a handful of my favourites and a few I haven't read yet but have been meaning to read, and having them there beside my bed is relaxing. That way if a book is a disappointment or I finish it, I don't have to get up for a fresh one

ETA: I forgot - reading BirdinFlight's post reminded me - I do stim by sniffing things alot. Clothes, etc. but I do love the smell of fresh paper in a new book. Whenever I splurge on a new book (or even a secondhand book in great condition) as I read I take a sniff of the lovely paper quite often

I LOVE books----can't get enough of them!! When I was a kid, it was "Winnie the Pooh" (still is), "Babar the Elephant", "Curious George", and "Horton Hears a Who". (Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head; I'm sure there are others.)

Now, as an adult, I have several go-to favorites that I can read over and over again: "Harry Potter", "Little Women", "Lord of the Rings", "The DaVinci Code", "Acceptable Risk", "The Spy Wore Red", "Flowers in the Attic", "Abram's Daughters" (which I'm currently re-reading); any of my Dick Francis books, some old Dean Koontz books----oh, the list just goes on-and-on. The bad thing is, I have at least 10 brand new books that I've accumulated over several years, that I've never read, but just HAD to have!

I also have that little green Bible someone mentioned----I love, love, LOVE it!! !

Also, I love smelling books----especially really old ones where you can smell the years they've spent in someone's attic, for instance.

AspieUtah: Thanks much, I appreciate the links!

About a year ago I had a book from the library that I brought everywhere I went just because it comforted me. I renewed it as many times as I could and it was a sad day when I had to return it.