Nice books to read when you're ill

[Literallynoidea]

Think I'm coming down with Covid - please can you suggest some good books to take my mind off it?

I like literary fiction and sometimes thrillers eg Shari Lapena. I've tried and failed with Lissa Evans' Crooked Heart, but loved Simple Pleasures, American Dirt, John Boyne....

Have just downloaded The Giver of Stars but not usually a fan of chick lit so will see. It had really good reviews on Amazon.

Any ideas VERY welcome

When I was recovering from having my gall bladder out, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Lord of the Rings. Probably not your bag but being transported in to another world was exactly what I needed.

Hope you get better soon.

Actually that's not a bad idea. I recently read The Hobbit out loud to my youngest and had forgotten how good it was.

I might look into that, thank you!

‘Away with the penguins’ is a sweet read.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is adorable

The Elegance of A Hedgehog is one of my favourites.

Eva Ibbotson's A Song for Summer is lovely. Ibbotson herself said that she wrote nice books for people with flu so should be perfect.

Away with the Penguins is a lovely read is as Eudora Honeysett is very well thank you. Easy and relaxing reads, good characters. Very heartwarming.

Thank you all so much! I haven't read any of these so will look them up immediately!

I read the first four Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard when I was Ill a number of years ago and the final book during the first lockdown last year. I found them totally engrossing.

@jhuizinga
Oh I love the Cazalets, brilliant and addictive

Aahotep - absolutely, you never want them to end.

Another vote for the Cazalets. I have a soft spot for Rosamund Pilcher's Shellseekers if I'm under the weather too.

My covid recovery reads were a book called 'the farm', I forget the author but it was a real page turner, crime thriller job. Victoria Hislop's The Return, Murakami's Kafka on the Shore, and another I forget the author called 'The Rice Paper Diaries'. There were more but those were the standouts for me.

I'm reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman. It has some really funny lines and it's very light. I think it would be a great book for somebody under the weather.

Giver of Stars was dire. I've still got The Thursday murder club to read. I like Robert Goddard. Some of his books are better than others. Mystery type thrillers I'd say. I also really liked Winter in Madrid by Sansom(e).

I always read either Terry Pratchett or PG Wodehouse when I'm ill. Gentle stories with great characters and dialogue.

Jodi Taylor's Chronicles of St Mary's books (I recommend these so often on here people probably think I am Jodi Taylor...) Well-written time travel romps with a cracking heroine. Really engrossing yet with a lot of heart, perfect if you're under the weather.

I am so down about lockdown etc I'm probably going to read the whole series again, I did Harry Potter from the start over Christmas. I can't cope with anything to literary right now.

I often buy a book by Stuary McLean from the Vinyl Cafe series for poorly friends. They are stories of family life written from the point of view of the husband/father, owner of a small record shop. They are very funny and poignant.

Also the Diary of a Bookseller by Stuart Bythell (there's also a sequel, Confessions of a Bookseller). Very little happens but it was one of those books that I could have kept reading forever.

Guys thank you all for these fantastic ideas!

I have read some you recommend (Cazalets, Shellseekers...) and loved them. Might reread the Shellseekers as I read it when it came out literally decades ago.

I ordered the hedgehog one, the Pettigrew one and the penguin one (sorry not full titles and they all look PERFECT.

Will also go for a few more of the subsequent recommendations once I've read the above.

Thank you!

And thanks re Giver of Stars PP - I am not a fan of JoJo Moyes so not sure what possessed me. It's ok so far but feel like she has written it to be made into a film. And the plot is not very credible which always bugs me.

Another vote for Away With The Penguins - really really enjoyed this.

If I am poorly then:
Trisha Ashley
PG Wodehouse
Terry Pratchett
Georgette Heyer
I have also discovered some great Star Wars/Shakespear mash ups which are fun and surprisingly easy to read.
If at death's door:
The Wind in the Willows

here

I'm jealous you are going to read Miss Pettigrew for the first time! Enjoy and get well soon

Cold Comfort Farm is my go-to easy ready for sick days/ sleepless nights - I’ve actually just packed it in my hospital bag in prep for birth of DC2. Would
also second (third?!) The Cazaet Chronicles and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Chronicles of St Mary’s - as mentioned above. Only read the first one of these, but really enjoyed it. Definantly can recommend.

Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley - really good also, about adopted sisters seeking their past. Each book focuses on a different sister.