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Original poster

I'm so down right now, please help me find a book to read

134 replies

adaptiveness · 16/09/2021 11:28

I'm not going into the details, but I'm not in a good place right now and I badly need a good book.

I have 5 mins to write this, so am going to be really unreasonable and just list the stuff that I can't deal with reading about right now.

No sex, suicide, romance, bad stuff happening to kids, sad endings, books that will make me think about the fucked up state of the world. No kooky, random, wet, indecisive protagonists. No 'hilarious' bad parenting.

Any genre fine: fiction, literature, sci-fi, fantasy, non-fiction, historical, comedy, biography, sport. Whatever. I just need to disappear into a good book.

Please help!

OP posts:
doubleshotcappuccino · 17/09/2021 14:40

I know why the crawdad sings

theworldsbiggestcrocodile · 17/09/2021 08:13

Crooked Heart and V for Victory by Lissa Evans. Set in world war 2 but that's
Not the focus-great characters that stay with you afterwards. Well written.

RaskolnikovsGarret · 16/09/2021 23:15

Diary of a Provincial Lady. Laughed at nearly every paragraph. 90 years old but the the humour and observations are completely contemporary.

Hope you’re ok OP.

ThreeFeetTall · 16/09/2021 23:08

Lark Rise to Candleford

PersonaNonGarter · 16/09/2021 22:52

Jeeves and Wooster are your friends here.

StormcloakNord · 16/09/2021 22:24

Harry Potter is also always a safe go-to. I've read them all about 15 million times now but they're just bloody great at getting stuck into and letting real life melt away for a while!

Leah2005 · 16/09/2021 22:22

The Caliph's House.

StormcloakNord · 16/09/2021 22:21

@lazylinguist

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Long, adventurous fantasy book, and my favourite book in the world! It has a sequel (A Wise Man's Fear) and will eventually have a (long-awaited) third and final book. It's not totally without romance, but it's not mournful, maudlin or soppy at all.
This with bells on!

I'm not particularly into fantasy but these two books are just bloody incredible. Planning on reading them again shortly!

feliciabirthgiver · 16/09/2021 22:19

Yes to Jilly Cooper (if you like horses and a bonk buster!) also Adrian Mole, James Herriot and My Family and other Animals (both the Gerald Durrell books snd the lovely Claire Balding autobiography).

I hope you feel better soon Thanks

RiverSkater · 16/09/2021 21:58

There is a list of uplifting books on Goodreads too, it's called Uplit. 😊

Thirtyrock39 · 16/09/2021 21:49

One of my favourite books of recent years is old baggage by Lisa Evans (I think) it's about a suffragette in the 1930s trying to get a youth group off the ground - I found it really heart warming and interesting

RiverSkater · 16/09/2021 21:49

Wonder by RJ Palacio

Then watch the film but book first 💕

I hope you feel more uplifted soon.

Dunnowhatalltheacronymsmean · 16/09/2021 21:20

Seconding (thirding?!) Adrian Mole, excellent comfort reading and there are lots in the series if you get on with it.

Just William books are also great (excellent audiobooks too).

AmandaHugenkiss · 16/09/2021 21:19

Island of the Sequined Love Nun. Or anything by that author. Exactly what you are looking for!

Standrewsschool · 16/09/2021 21:15

Frank n Stans Bucket list - lighthearted fun

bumpyknuckles · 16/09/2021 21:13

I second Adrian Mole, Agatha Christie, Swallows and Amazons, Bill Bryson, Hitchhiker's Guide, Anne of Green Gables, Jeeves and Wooster

Also would recommend: My Family and Other Animals, Cranford, Harry Potter, 84 Charing Cross Road, All Creatures Great and Small, Three Men in a Boat, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Railway Children, Terry Pratchett, Treasure Island, The Hobbit.

LubaLuca · 16/09/2021 21:05

@SailYourShips

Old comfort reads for me are The Diary of a Nobody and the Mapp and Lucia novels by E.F. Benson. They've got me through many a crying and bleak day.

Hope you come through whatever is making things dark.

I was going to suggest Mapp and Lucia too Smile. It's perfect pick-me-up reading.
mysterybag · 16/09/2021 21:01

Adrian Mole is an old favourite of mine for comfort reading and also love Jilly Cooper's novels

Bananasareyellow · 16/09/2021 20:55

Barbara Pym?

Some of my favourite comfort reads on this thread. What good taste we all have ;)

PermanentTemporary · 16/09/2021 20:50

Lots of these.

In the same state I definitely reach for Cold Comfort Farm.

Oblahdeeoblahdoe · 16/09/2021 20:47

@Winniewonka

Bill Bryson. His earlier travel accounts might be a bit dated but his wit makes me laugh out loud.
Came on to say this. I once embarrassed myself on a plane because I was hysterically laughing while reading Notes from a Small Island. I've since read it again and I still laughed out loud at the same places
LoveFall · 16/09/2021 20:45

The James Herriot vet series is lovely and at times laugh out loud funny. Really good escapism for a low time.

ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 16/09/2021 20:43

You need The Enchanted April! If you really want to avoid any human complications at all, Elizabeth in her German Garden is even more serene. Both those are great for cheering up when low because they are so undemanding and cosseting.

tshirtsuntan · 16/09/2021 20:42

I capture the castle, Dodie Smith.

OrangeBlossomsinthesun · 16/09/2021 20:39

Driving Over Lemons is nice.