You talking to me?

Those who have anxiety, those who are shy, or nervous, seem to be the most persistent seekers of calm,” says Shawna Lemay.

“We are those who know how to sit alone, trying to regain our sense of equilibrium. We are drawn to the poetic, the contemplative, to reading, to the rituals of the everyday. We need a certain amount of time alone, we attempt to make appointments with ourselves that we can keep.”

Feeling anxious? Head over to 3 Good Books to get your literary prescription. I asked Lemay to share her favorite books on the theme of calm — something she knows quite a lot about, having written a book of essays and a blog on the topic.