When world affairs seem too much to absorb, we can find solace in music, books and movies.

Thank goodness for that.

When I find myself rushing, stressing and feeling fearful about what will happen next, listening to a good piece of music or escaping to another world through a book or film serves to calm and redirect my thoughts.

Here are some picks I’d like to share in the hopes they may also work for you.

While in ordinary times, long and complicated works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or other composers would serve to pique the intellect, now, I find myself seeking short pieces I can access quickly online for taking a brief respite on a busy day. Their simple beauty transports me to another realm where art transcends anguish.

My first suggestion is English composer Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod,” from his “Enigma Variations.” It is a moving tribute to Elgar’s friend, Augustus Jaeger.

Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff offers a beautiful, sweeping melody in his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” Variation No. 18 for piano and orchestra. The second movement of his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 is exquisite.

A few other musts: Adagio, from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in D Minor Bw 924-2; the Tannhauser overture from Richard Wagner’s 1845 opera; Samuel Barber’s “Adagio”; and French composer Jules Massenet’s “Thais: Meditation.” A piece by another French composer, Cesar Franck, has been a lifelong favorite: “Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano.”

I especially love the combination of violin and piano. When I was a teenager living in the former Hartford Seminary which housed students from area colleges in Connecticut, a young violinist and pianist who also lived there and attended Hartt College of Music practiced it day and night for weeks in the seminary’s great room. I grew to love the piece and took every chance to watch and listen.

Many years later after returning to Maine, I sent a postcard to Maine Public Radio which had a program where people could request classics to be played on air. I requested Franck’s sonata. I never did hear the station air it, but one day a few weeks later my father, a classics enthusiast, asked me, “Why on earth did you request THAT piece?” He didn’t care for it. I laughed because at least he got to hear it!

But on to books. Anything by Maine’s own Elizabeth Strout is a must. She is spectacular, knows Mainers, in and out, and has an uncanny ability to portray us just as we are, and perfectly. Those who have read “Olive Kittredge” know what I’m talking about. I think my personal Strout favorite is “Abide With Me.”

Monica Wood, another Mainer, is also right up there. Just when you think you’ve discovered her best book, read “Ernie’s Ark” and you’ll change your mind. As for Maine’s Richard Russo, everything he writes is, well, awesome. Later in life I discovered Anita Shreve and have read all her novels. I recommend Ann Patchett’s “The Dutch House,” as well as everything written by British author Ian McEwen.

I could go on, but must save a minute for movies. There are mountains of great films out there, but I offer two older ones I just adore and tend to revisit about once a year: “Hopscotch,” with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson, and “Life is Beautiful,” starring Roberto Benigni who also co-wrote and directed the film. Don’t let the subtitles deter you.

“Hopscotch” is slow at first, but stick with it and you won’t be disappointed. “Life is Beautiful” lives up to its title.

Enjoy. And a very Happy New Year to you and yours.

Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 37 years. Her columns appear here Sundays. She is the author of the book, “Comfort is an Old Barn,” a collection of her curated columns, published in 2023 by Islandport Press. She may be reached at [email protected]. For previous Reporting Aside columns, go to centralmaine.com.