Comfort reading

Either Harry Potter or the Gillian Flynn's books (esp. Gone Girl)

Definitely Adrian Mole series. Sue Townsend was a genius and I was devastated when she died.

Ooh lovely! If it's sunny tomorrow I might sit in the garden for an hour and do the same

OverAndAbove, I've just started re-reading Peaches this evening! Great minds...

P G Wodehouse
Bill Bryson
Lindsey Davis

Oh yes definitely Joanne Harris - specially Blackberry Wine and Coastliners. Actually I want to re-read Peaches for M Le Cure while it's still summer!

The Adrian Mole Diaries.

MotherofPearl - I love Frederica/The Reluctant Widow almost bestest :)

Anything by Joanne Harris, particularly the ones set in France, like 'Chocolat'.

The Anne Of Green Gables series too.

Spike Milligan's war memoirs.

My best comfort reading is Jilly Cooper - particularly the early ones (Imogen, Prudence etc)

I do love the Cazalets, and have to read them all if I start one, but find them quite uncomfortable in a lot of ways. I'd love a spin-off focusing on Polly and Gerald but I guess it's a bit late for that!

Agatha Christie is always perfect comfort reading especially with tea and toast. I also love to re-read Antonia White, Philippa Gregory,Susan Howatch and Norah Lofts. I re-read favourites from my teen years and childhood as well including Antonia Forrest, Lorna Hill, Mary Stewart and Noel Sreatfeild. I like re-reading two Harry Potter books as well(Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire) plus Rick Riordan's books.

Also, there are several really uncomfortable themes in the Cazalets (The Edward/Louise one is disturbing and there is also suicide, the aftermath of the holocaust, cancer and several other terrible things.) One of the characters has an illegal abortion, and it is very close to the bone, but these all make it more real and believable.

An old lady in the library where I work said 'you should read Liz Jane Howard, you think she's all lovely pastels, but ah, she has bite.'

I remember that, and think this is a good summation of the Cazalet Novels, very soft and lovely, then 'what the hell was that?' But this does not detract from them as books, it adds to them and I think they are incredible. I love Polly, Louise and Clary, and they are still some of my favourite characters to spend time with.

Agreeing with those who said The Cazalets (God, I love those books), The Crimson Petal and the White and Jane Austen - as well as Thackeray.

Also, Nancy Mitford.

I first read In The Pursuit of Love, as a teenager, and still adore that and Love in a Cold Climate.

My closest friend in the world is very much a Linda Radlett, so I now think of her whenever I read it, and identify with the narrator's concern, love and exasperation.

Yy to Diary Of A Nobody and also the Diary of a Provincial Lady. Plus Bridget Jones. There's a fab feminist appreciation of it in the Times today.

Also the Railway Children. Great Expectations. Frost in May

Oh and The L Shaped Room. Some dodgy bits but basically lovely

Yes, read all The Cazalets first!

That's interesting, chessie. I have her autobiography on my tbr pile. Think I will read it once I've finished the Cazalets series.

If you read Elizabeth Jane Howard's autobiography you will realise that The Cazalets is basically the story of her own family (to start with anyway) and the character of Louise is very autobiographical. The abuse really happened to her, so that's why it's in the book.

CAZALET SPOILER - don't read if you haven't read up to book 3 I think that, whilst the actual child abuse story doesn't go any further, it clouds the reader's opinion of Edward, clarifying what kind of a person he is, uncaring towards both his wife Villy and his children and also to his mistress Diana.

Furthermore, because it destroyed his relationship as father/ daughter with Louise, she took the first opportunity to escape and leave home, possibly leading her into her unhappy marriage to Michael. So whilst the child abuse wasn't referred to again, its effects rolled out across the series, altering Louise's character.

Oh ok, how odd! Just finished first one, need to get second one before holiday. What an odd thing to just drop in there, as if its just nothing.

Other than that, I really did enjoy it! Very well written from the childrens point of view I thought.

Again SPOILERS

Yeah that bit rattled me slightly Pootles but I don't think it really turned into a storyline, was just something that happened. Totally disgusting and shocking of course (and seriously clouded my attitude towards the character) but not a thing that got continued as a plot line IMO. I don't know how far you got after that but in later books it is rarely, if ever alluded to (which did irritate me a bit because I hadn't forgotten about it!).

I have to disagree re Cazalets! Spoiler Alert!!! I bought them for this reason, then the child abuse storyline starts! Was not expecting that!

Jane Austen
Maeve Binchy
P D James

Georgette Heyer
Jane Austen
I Capture the Castle
The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets
Pretty much any Children's books - Noel Streatfeild, Enid Blyton, L M Montgomery, Frances Hodgson Burnett...

Now I want to re read ALL of them!

Anything by Trisha Ashley.

Family Life by Elisabeth Luard

Like a previous poster - childhood favourites, e.g. Jill books, Malory Towers, The Children Who Lived In a Barn....

Another Heyer fan here. MotherofPearl you can't go wrong with most of her regency romances, especially those written in the middle of her career. My personal favourites include Friday's Child, Cotillion and Sylvester.