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!

@KeyboardWorriers

lots of the ones mentioned!

also love in a cold climate /the pursuit of love etc (Nancy Milford)

PG Wodehouse

Oh and for new "comfort read" books I am enjoying my Feel Good Book club subscription. A feel good book every month along with some small treats, and it raises money for the Samaritans

Wow I've never heard of this subscription, it sounds great. Will look it up, thanks!

Anything by Joanne Harris or Kate Atkinson. They are like old friends.

Eva Ibottson, Victoria Clayton and Mary Wesley.

Little women was a series that was my comfort reading in childhood
Chamomile lawn by Mary Wesley later on
Guess what they have in common is strong characterisation and you get involved with the whole family and all the complexities of those relationships..

Lots of the above, plus anything by Monica Dickens.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Landlane by Rainbow Rowell

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotsen & City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende, I first read them when I was 12 years old and they truly ignited my love of reading (and the Amazon!).

LotR: FotR. I love the trilogy and lots of other Tolkein stories but the first part makes me feel 12 again, sitting on my bunk bed and refusing to go outside because it was too good to put down!

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper. Another childhood favourite!

Bill Bryson's travel books

Rebecca, Circle of Friends

@TopTabby

A lovely book called Where Did It All Go Right by the broadcaster & journalist Andrew Collins. It's all about growing up in the 70's with diary extracts & chapters about his life back then. I've read it so many times & still enjoy it.

I loved that book! I've just put it out in the charity box tonight because I think I've done it justice now and I want to make space for something new on my shelf. I hope whoever picks it up gets a lot of pleasure from it!

@CMOTDibbler they're my favourites too! Throw in the Talisman Ring & Masqueraders 😊 x

I read all 14 Trebizon books over the last few days and feel considerably less stressed as a result.

Hope it’s okay to place mark to come back to for ideas.

So glad I found this thread I really want to get back into reading.

Jane Austen
Nancy Mitford (especially The Pursuit of Love)
I Capture the Castle
Maggie O'Farrell

The Shell Seakers - Rosamund Pilcher
Camomile Lawn -Mary Wesley
Driving Over Lemons -Chris Stewart. Love this have read an re-read. He’s the ex Genesis drummer moves to rural Spain!

Any books by Maeve Binchy

Amy Jane Austen but top of the list is Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion.

*Any not Amy

I adored The Hundred and One Dalmatians as a child and it's like a comfort blanket for me. Love the way Dodie Smith took us on a journey through villages and lonely mansions, so evocative and compelling and much better than the Disneyfied version.

Another for Katherine by Anya Seton. Just takes you right there into 14th century court life.

A few more childhood ones I loved - White Boots by Noel Streatfield, the Narnia series, Malory Towers and lots of other Enid Blyron.

Also love a Bill Bryson.

Maeve Binchys Light a Penny Candle and Circle of Friends are like old friends to me.

I occasionally reread P and P and Emma.

Kate Morton's the Forgotten Garden and The House at Riverton.

I must reread Adrian Mole!

Agatha Christie
Josephine Tey
Enid Blyton Adventure series ( lovely to see so many mentions)
Bill Bryson
Daphne Du Maurier
I’m going to try Georgette Heyer, inspired by this thread.

@queenofthenorthwest

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

I'm glad you remembered! It saved me going up in the loft in the morning! I'm not even sure it's up there (all up there while I renovate) as I lent loads to a friend. Turns out she decided to pass them in rather than return them ! Grrr. Won't make that mistake again!

It was a good read. I'll buy another copy if it's not up there.

[quote Timeforatincture]@CatChant it is possible that you are me, apart from the fact that you omitted Dorothy Sayers and Edmund Crispin.[/quote]
Ooh yes @Timeforatincture, I shouldn't have left out Dorothy L Sayers or Jill Paton Walsh's continuation novels.

I think I've only read one Edmund Crispin and it must have been the wrong one as our tastes are so similar otherwise. Can you recommend me the best ones to try please?

Also I shouldn't have left out:

Tove Jansson's Moomin series
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series
Josephine Tey - The Franchise Affair, Brat Farrar and Miss Pym Disposes
Ngaio Marsh, especially the mysteries with theatrical settings.

Goodness we are showing our ages with Lorna Hill and Malcom Saville. Loved them!
I still read Alan Garner, Elidor et al.
Little Women.
Half Magic
Wuthering Heights.

.

Cazalet Chronicles
The Shell Seekers
Coming Home
Anything by Beryl Kingston
Phantom by Susan Kay
Rebecca
All Creatures Great and Small
Bless Me, Father

@poppyzbrite4

The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Crow Road Ian Banks The Devil Rides Out Dennis Wheatley Dracula by Stoker

I LOVE Dennis Wheatley. I bought some leather bound originals in a used bookstore as a teen and absolutely love them, although accepting they are very much of their time. The Duke de Richlieu is a wonderful character.

I'm going to dust off and reread this weekend.

Several of Barbara Pym’s.
All period pieces now, but very comforting and often gently but wickedly amusing. She was described by Jilly Cooper as a cross between Jane Austen and Mrs Gaskell (Cranford - that’s another comfort read)

My favourite of BP is Crampton Hodnet, set in N Oxford shortly before WW2, and very funny.
But I also love Excellent Women and Some Tame Gazelle.
Jane and Prudence, and The Sweet Dove Died, also favourites.
Her last, Quartet in Autumn, was shortlisted for the Booker. Darker, but another one to savour.

All the Mapp and Lucia series by E.F.Benson are great comfort reads if you want something funny.

Another of his I really like is Paying Guests

Ditto to Jane Austen, all except Mansfield Park, which I’m not so keen on, and Three Men In A Boat, which IMO is hilarious.