What are your favourite 'comfort' reads?

[adrianmolesmole]

(Loosely) following on from another thread. What books pick you up and make you feel less down, or lonely? A book that feels like a warm hug to you.. I have a few, mostly faves from my childhood, but I'd like to learn what others turn to?

Some of mine are:

The Dovekeepers, by Alice Hoffman
Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto
Sister of my Heart, by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
The Mistress of Spices, by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni
Narnia - The Lion the witch & the wardrobe and The Magician's Nephew
Any of the Harry Potterses!
And any of the Adrian Moleses!

The Little house on the prairie books. I had read them as a child and bought the whole set when I was in my 30s and was dealing with a difficult challenge for several years.
I read and re read them and found them really comforting.
Funnily I haven't read them for years now.

Storm Ahead by Monica Edwards
Mystery at Witchend or Wings over Witchend by Malcolm Saville
Chalet School
Enid Blyton Adventure series
The Players Boy/The Player and the Rebels by Antonia Forest
A coronet for Cathy by Gwendoline Courtney
Lots!

The Drina books or the Sadlers Wells ones. Also love a good Famous Five or Malcolm Saville.

I love any ‘wronged young woman moves to rural village and falls in love with eligible bachelor after an initially frosty reception’ types.

Absolute trash but easy to read and heartwarming.

Bridget Jones Diary
Jane Eyre

All the James Herriot books are comforting in a English rural nostalgia kind of way.

Enid Blyton
Judith m Beresford

Cold Comfort Farm - I love all the sly humour

Georgette Heyers - everything turns out perfectly in the end, its lovely and gentle. My faves are The Grand Sophy, Venetia and Frederica

Riddle of the Sands
Villette
Little Grey Men
Any of the Richard Hannay books
Any Arthur Ransome
Any Edith Nesbit

@EasterBunny21

I love any ‘wronged young woman moves to rural village and falls in love with eligible bachelor after an initially frosty reception’ types.

Absolute trash but easy to read and heartwarming.

@EasterBunny21

Have you read what she wants by Cathy Kelly?

Also can anyone tell me the name of this book please it's a comfort read and I would really like to read it again.

It's set in Ireland. About a lady who discovers her husband is having an affair with a younger lady called Nikki.

He is called mark. She ends up working and buying a new house and does really well. Any ideas? It's definitely by someone like Cathy Kelly.

The Hobbit - Tolkien
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
James Herriot books
Riders - Jilly Cooper
Prozac Nation - Elizabeth Wurtzel
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Phoenix and the Carpet - E.E Nesbitt

Mine are already listed- either a Georgette Heyer or Cold Comfort Farm.
Sometimes Pride and Prejudice p

I forgot the Chrestomanci books of Diana Wynn Jones!

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day
I Capture The Castle
Pride and Prejudice

Any of those three, curled up on the sofa would be a brilliant afternoon.

I haven’t at @queenofthenorthwest or at least I don’t think I have but the names of most of these types of book escapes me

Completely agree with Adrian Mole, what a gift Sue Townsend gave us.

I also love all Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine books, like putting on a comfy pair of slippers.

Francescas party it's called I have just remembered. Those two books are a nice chilled read.

Since the start of lockdown a year ago, I have re-read the whole Patrick O'Brian Aubrey/maturin naval series, and started on Donna Leon's venice detective series (again).

I Capture the Castle
Any Antonia Forest
Any Lorna Hill books, especially the Sadlers Wells ones
The Swish of the Curtain or any in the series

I couldn't tell you how many times I've read all of these.

@Martinisarebetterdirty

The Drina books or the Sadlers Wells ones. Also love a good Famous Five or Malcolm Saville.

Gosh, I hardly ever hear of anyone reading Sadlers Wells or the Malcom Savile series. I loved all of these!

I often dream about appearing at my ballet audition having caught the milk train after a frantic ride across country. The Gay Dolphin Adventure is my go-to MS

Jane Austen - I'm surprised how few PPs have mentioned her so far. Particularly P&P but any of her books really.

Diana Wynne Jones
Lucy M Boston's Green Knowe stories
Patrick O'Brian
Jane Austen
Antonia Forest
Terry Pratchett
Patricia Wentworth's Miss Silver series
E Nesbit
EF Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Tom's Midnight Garden - Philiippa Pearce
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Diary of a Nobody - George and Weedon Grossmith
Mrs Pooter's Diary - Keith Waterhouse
Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, Three Men on the Bummel, The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow.

Anne of Green Gables

Georgette Heyer - way at the top
PG Wodehouse

Weirdly - Game of Thrones.