A light/happy/comforting book? Recommendations please

[TemperanceBooth]

The last few books I've read coupled with what's going on in the world have left me feeling a bit blah.

Please can anyone recommend a book that is any one of the following:

Light
Happy
Funny
Comforting
Nature related
Positive
Heartwarming.

Must not include:
murder/crime/thriller/dystopian themes that seem plausible.

The people on platform 5. Clare Pooley.
As light and easy as a warm summer evening. I was like you and had read some heavier things that left me almost depressed- this was like a pallet cleanser. Will never be a classic but absolutely hit the spot for me.

A couple I have enjoyed like this last year are

The Library - Bella Osborne - feel good, light read based in the countryside.
Homesick: Why I live in a shed - Catrina Davies - a memoir which was a statement about the housing crisis but set in the Cornish coastline and an uplifting read.

I’ll be watching this thread because these are exactly the kind of books I want to be reading this year.

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.
Meets all your requirements, plus being set in Botswana you have the bonus of sunshine !

”Same time next week” by Millie Johnson
warmth ,friendship and community-just lovely.Also Veronica Henry” The Beach hut”

I was recently unwell and in bed for a couple of days. I read my first Maeve Binchy, A Week in Winter, and I enjoyed that one.

The Healing Season of Pottery

M. C. Beaton books are great for quick and cheerful reads - Agatha Raisin series or her regency novels. She wrote other series as well but I've not read those so can't really comment.

Or try Terry Pratchett - don't be put off by the fantasy label, they're really about people and are very very funny. Start with either the Tiffany Aching books or the ones about the other witches.

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck or
The Great American Bus Ride by Irma Kurtz - non fiction and both about travelling across the US and the characters they meet, both really enjoyable

Oh, The Great American Bus Ride is brilliant. I must find my copy. Travel books are a good idea for what you want too. Any of Dervla Murphy’s earlier books.

Otherwise, anything by Lawrie Colwin.

Miss Read - Thrush Green series and Fairacre series

I'm re-reading The Secret Garden at the moment, as my in-laws got me a beautiful illustrated copy for Christmas. Definitely a lovely, nature related comforting read.

I always revert to Miss Read for some comfortable bucolic reading.
There is a series by Lilian Harry about a village called Burracombe which is also similar.

Maeve Binchey was my first thought as well.

‘All Creatures Great and Small’, or ‘My family and other animals’ for animal themed books.

or Jilly Cooper…

Also, for something a bit more thoughtful, Delderfield’s Swann Trilogy or Horseman Riding By - both interesting and lovely.

Also Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

The Hills is Lonely by Lilian Beckwith

I second All of the all creatures great and small books and the my family and other animals ones too.

The summer book by Tove Jansen is lovely, one of my favorite books, very gentle, nature based and describes the relationship between a grandma & granddaughter

The Lark by E Nesbit is like a children's book for adults lots of naive optimism, good cheer and English countryside.

The Enchanted April is similar - I can't remember the authors name.

If you can look at the sexist attitudes and fat phobia Rosamund Pilcher books might be a good shout too.

The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor. A joy. And there's a sequel, The Something Girl and a couple of related short stories you can get on kindle.

Try Raffaella Barker. ‘Hens dancing’ is perfect

‘I second All of the all creatures great and small books and the my family and other animals ones too.’ totally agree.

also Still Life, heartwarming.

Anything by PG Wodehouse or Eva Ibbotson fits the bill.

I've been enjoying EF Benson's Mapp and Lucia books lately.

Elizabeth Von Arnim.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Jeeves & Wooster
My Family & Other Animals

Aha, yes that's it!
Terrible amount of typos in my post there too. It's supposed to be 'look past the sexism and fat phobia'
My brain is non functional for the first few hours of the day

The Women in Black by Madeleine St John is lovely - and there is a lovely film made from it too.

The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (anne of Green Gables) is gorgeous - and talks about nature a lot too. Probably free on kindle.

Some of the British Library Women Writers series are great. I particularly loved Strange Journey by Maud Cairns.

Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson

White Boots, Noel Streatfield

I downloaded this on your recommendation @Robertplantgoddess - read it over a couple of nights and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just what I needed - thank you!