I find my mood is often affected by the book I'm reading at the time, can you suggest some books to lift my mood?

at Sue. MN wouldn't be MN if we all agreed now would it. I felt the same about When God was a Rabbit. Also am the first to admit that it is chick lit and probably trashy chick lit at that .

I am going through a highly inducing phase of reading everything Julia Quinn has ever written; they are formulaic and you can tell they are written by a modern American.

There are some silly mistakes that just scream that it's not really Regency.

But they skip along a treat and I find myself eating with the book in my hand!

I would second PG wodehouse who I worship as a deity.

Also hitchhikers (and the wonderful Dirk Gently books also by the late great Douglas Adams), Georgette Heyer, Jasper FForde, Terry Pratchett and I quite like Liilan jackson Braun's Cat detective novels which are also nice and light.

I picked up that Winters Tale novel in a bundle of Christmassy light reads and it made me want to hurt people, I was so angry that something so terrible had been published. Trees died for that? Stabby rage.

YY to Stella Gibbons and Diary of a Provincial Lady. I also like Mrs Miniver, Mavis Cheek and Georgette Heyer, or the modern Regency RipOffs. Nothing in any of them to trouble the mind or depress the soul .

Another vote for No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

sponkle have to agree with you on all of those points. Still cried buckets though, to the point where DH kept asking me to put the book down.

Do love the book and have recommended it to lots of people, also thinking of buying it for my mum as part of her Mother's Day present.

No but I will try Brideshead chubfuddler. I have read and enjoyed Breakfast at Tiffany's. I think that's just the sort of thing I need. And good call on Christie. Why Didn't They Ask Evans, type thing. Lovely. VillaEphrussi, dare I ask for your comments on my Hare with the Amber Eyes thread?

Maybe I'm just in a "light reading" phase right now.

I also love crime fiction for this sort of mood- not modern serial killer nastiness - Christie, Ruth Rendell etc. some really gripping writing and quite insightful.

Margoandjerry have you read Brideshead Revisited? The novella Breakfast at Tiffanys is a lot better than the film, that's another rainy day read for me.

As a fellow sufferer of book-induced gloom, I find the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith uplifting (although it's a bit pithy). I read the first five in a row very happily! I'm on the most recent (maybe eighth?) and I think they've gone downhill, but recommend the first ones for a light laugh...

Try Jilly Cooper's "The Common Years". Very funny with lovely descriptions of the changing seasons. Not like her usual fare.

Avoid at all costs anything by Rachel Cusk. Her books are like a black hole of despair.

Maybe I'm just a bit different then JiltedJohnsJulie I really did find this book uplifting. I liked the way the perspective was all about the female character and her understanding/coming to terms with things and how positive she was about it all being proactive and fiesty, and refusing to give up. I also thought the ending was inspirational because she changed so much for the better...she grew up a lot and broadened her horizons and even though he helped her, she got there mainly by herself on the back of what she had learned about herself by getting to know him. I also thought it was really romantic, but it made me think. I loveboks that challenge my ideas about things.

I hate chick lit with a passion, so don't really do light and fluffy.

ooh yes Diary of a Provincial Lady is lovely.

Great thread topic. I got fed up with reading slightly depressing books (gave up on Room for that reason - child locked in a room, not ideal bedtime reading) Have been reading Marian Keyes ever since but would like to move on to something a bit meatier but still cheery. Something redemptive. Doesn't have to be funny, just uplifting. I'm not up for Dickens right now but a David Copperfield, boy comes good type story would be right up my street.

You need Nancy Mitford. My go to comfort read is The Pursuit Of Love.

You can't beat Adrian Mole, whatever is happening, your life will never be as tragic as his!

Try The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, also by Alexander McCall Smith.

Diary of a Nobody still makes me laugh too.

sponkle can't quite believe that you suggested Me Before You as an uplifting read. Yes its easy to read, yes it is a great suggestion for someone who hasn't read for a while but don't quite get the uplifting bit, haven't cried that much at a book or anything else for ages

OP how do you feel about Chick Lit? A Winters Tale by Trisha Ashley is a lovely read and its set at this time of year or how about something like Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith? Its not chick lit but is easy to read and does have has a lovely ending.

Jasper Fforde books always cheer me up.

I noticed that dh was particularly horrible while he was reading American Psycho, and then realized that I'd been in a foul mood while I was reading it. Steer well clear if it's not too late.

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" by Winifred Watson is great, lively and lovely like a glass of champagne

Another classic back in print is "The Caravaners" by Elizabeth Von Arnim - it's caustic but extremely funny and well ahead of its time.

On the non-fiction side, if you like rock music/metal/pop culture generally then "Fargo Rock City: A Heavy Metal Odyssey" by Chuck Klosterman made me burst out laughing on an inter-city train en route to a funeral.

Or maybe "The Alone to the Alone" by Gwyn Thomas, which showed me the humour of the South Wales valleys, which I'd never known about before. It's quite wordy, shaggy-dog-story kind of storytelling but very sharp at the same time and hilarious too.

I keep The World of Jeeves by P G Wodehouse (a compilation of short stories about Jeeves and Wooster) by the side of my bed for when I'm feeling the need for something light-hearted. Never fails to amuse.

'Starter For 10' is really funny especially if you happened to be a teenager in the 80's. (There was a film of it but it was rubbish and nothiing like the book)

Diplomatic Baggage - Brigid Keenan. Its not fiction, but its really interesting and funny.

Another vote for PG Wodehouse, and I'll raise EF Benson (the Mapp and Lucia books). And Georgette Heyer, both historic and murders.

And the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. The indomitable Peabody makes everything possible.

Georgette Heyer. If I'm ever ill, or just a bit depressed, one of her regency novels cheers me up every single time. A bit like comfort food in reading form

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels always make me laugh (lightweight crime novels with loads of comedy moments). If you haven't tried them, start with One for the Money.