Soothing books

[Thewindblows]

I'm really anxious at the moment for no reason I can define, and having trouble sleeping.

Can anyone recommend some comfort reads that might help me wind down at night?

I'm thinking something well written but not heavy, nothing too scary/dramatic/depressing... maybe historical, or set in another time/place?

Thank you

I’m afraid I am of the belief that a heavy boring book is more useful for bedtime. Think ancient geology or archaeology. So boring you can drift off after a few lines.

If I need to quiet my mind I love the E F Benson books featuring Mapp and Lucia. Set in the 1920s (I think), very witty and full of very gentle suspense to see which of the two main protagonists (female) will win in the one-upmanship contests. To describe the style I'd say each book is like a witty Agatha Christie without any murders or real emotional pull (although I was always routing for one of them in particular!).

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
I capture The Castle
The Enchanted April

Agatha Christie always works for me.

Jeeves and Wooster?

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Old favourite children's books - Tom's Midnight Garden / Ballet Shoes / Daddy Long Legs / Charlotte Sometimes / Enid Blyton

Or some Bill Bryson maybe?

84 Charing Cross Road
The Shellseekers
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Chocolat
Cold Comfort Farm
The Night Circus
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Yes to 84 Charing Cross Road!

I second Bill Bryson, Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Thanks, I'll check some of these out. Childhood favourites is a good suggestion.

@DesmondTheMoonbear I was reading Agatha Christie the other night and I have had to put it aside, all the death and mystery left me really uneasy and gave me disturbed dreams... clearly I'm not even ready for that level of suspense right now!

Erica James has written some light family sagas, chick-lit, I guess, but well-written.And the Veronica Henry books set in Cornwall are real escapism.

James Herriot every time for me. I find them incredibly comforting. I have read them so many times I'm sure I could assist a sheep with lambing should I ever stumble across one

I usually turn to Harry Potter or Discworld in those circumstances - I know them so well they are comfortably predictable.

Patrick Gale. His novels are literary fiction without pretension. He can deal with life difficulties but there's an incredible humanity in his work.

Very readable.

Yes to James Herriot! Perfect! I also find the old TV series comforting.

Just a thought, but try steering clear of alcohol for a few days and see if that helps -

I've recently found that my rare evening modest glass of white wine is setting off all sorts of disrupted sleep and tummy troubles. It never used to!

Thanks everyone. Going to spend an evening browsing a few of these on my kindle (and then hopefully reading myself to sleep!)

In line with the childhood favourites, what about some of the Elizabeth Goudge stories. The Little White Horse or Henrietta's House? Magical, suspension of disbelief and realism are excellent soothers of the mind.