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Recommendations for cheery/uplifting books

37 replies

KingLooieCatz · 03/02/2017 12:51

Might settle for not depressing!

Since getting a Kindle last year I have realized I'm not sure what kind of book I enjoy anymore. I spend an hour and a half to two hours on public transport most days so I can get through a book a week.

A friend recommended the Earthsea books, which were okay up to appoint but they are bit of a downer.

I've taken some notes off the other thread about the best books people read last year too. I don't think it has to be easy reading necessarily, mild peril can be tolerated along the way but could we end on some sort of cheery/uplifting note?

Any suggestions?

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lucysnowe · 21/02/2017 13:15

Oh and I LOVE Eva Ibbotson's Madensky Square, although it has some sad moments in it.

lucysnowe · 21/02/2017 13:11

Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog is a lot of fun (and its inspiration, Three Men in a Boat, is good too :) )

Copperas · 11/02/2017 23:50

Jennifer Crusie makes me laugh

5foot5 · 08/02/2017 17:27

Trisha Ashley

Laurie Graham

slightlyglitterbrained · 07/02/2017 22:07

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho. It's historical fantasy, and pretty cheerful.

Walkingtowork · 07/02/2017 13:06

Cold Comfort Farm
The Hobbit
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding
and HitchHikers guide, as previously mentioned

or your money back Grin

SatsukiKusakabe · 07/02/2017 09:11

holly they were both birds, to be fair Grin

hollyisalovelyname · 07/02/2017 07:41

Satsuki Blush

Weebleswobbles · 07/02/2017 00:25

Seconding Adrian Mole and James Herriott

Tom Sharpe - Blott on the landscape and Wilt

VestalVirgin · 07/02/2017 00:12

"The Goblin Emperor" by Katherine Addison is a very good comfort read in my opinion.

It is a bit like a Cinderella story - the Emperor's unloved fifth son inherits the throne and becomes Emperor ... and just is a very kind and decent person, trying to do what is right for the country.
Reading from this characters PoV is heartwarming. Some people who wrote Amazon reviews found that it lacked action, so it might be exactly what you need.

SatsukiKusakabe · 06/02/2017 21:26

Ken Kesey wrote One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest?

Larry McMurtry wrote Lonesome Dove (I have it on my to read pile, and will check out Texasville too, thanks!)

hollyisalovelyname · 06/02/2017 20:37

Texasville by Larry McMurty
He wrote One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 06/02/2017 20:34

Jilly Cooper !
Adrian mole
Jackie Collins
David Nobbs

0ryx · 06/02/2017 17:25

The Rosie Project was cheery! Cutesy romance about a 'socially challenged' geneticist looking for love in a methodical manner.

Also seconding Christmas Days by Winterson- lovely nostalgic memoir spotted with short stories.

CMOTDibbler · 06/02/2017 11:45

I love a bit of Georgette Heyer for cheeriness - everything comes right in the end

ppeatfruit · 06/02/2017 11:41

Oooh I got some good books for Xmas . If you like Jane Austen The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne it's fabulous I couldn't put it down, it's non fiction though

Also Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson. Nice short stories, some ghostly, for Xmas of course, but not necessarily.

KingscoteStaff · 04/02/2017 14:04

Both DH and I have recently enjoyed The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild.

slightlyglitterbrained · 04/02/2017 13:15

Terry Pratchett is my go-to read when I need something cheering. I remember reading that when he and Neil Gaiman were writing Good Omens, he made Gaiman put in a bit showing that some minor character who'd been killed off earlier had actually survived.

piebald · 04/02/2017 08:34

water for elephants by sara greun

HelenDenver · 04/02/2017 00:25

David Baddiel? Darkly funny rather than cheery funny

HubbleBubbles · 03/02/2017 22:43

All the Jilly Cooper books - Riders, Rivals , Polo etc? Horsey, funny and sexy??

cdtaylornats · 03/02/2017 22:29

Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch are good Peter Grants interactions with the personifications of the river gods are excellent

Bartimaeus series by Jonathon Stroud - worth reading for the djinns thoughts in the footnotes

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

Jeeves & Wooster books by P. G. Wodehouse

Dragon Knight series by Gordon R. Dickson

Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff

SatsukiKusakabe · 03/02/2017 16:03

James Herriot's vet books? Some of the stories are sad, but never bleak, and they have me crying with laughter.

My dh is steaming through Ready Player One and enjoying it, as recommended by Sadik above (and thanks for reminder of Lovelace and Babbage, have wishlisted)

Lucky Jim is very funny.

Where'd You Go Bernadette.

AstrantiaMajor · 03/02/2017 15:55

I like the Lollipop Shoes, for a feel good book.

Sadik · 03/02/2017 14:12

Oh, just thought of another one. The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger (first one is Soulless I think) is comedy steampunk - very, very silly, but a good one for a bad day.