I’m a big reader but am in a very low place – I’m struggling with books that I’d otherwise devour: literature that’s too poignant, bleak, existentialist or challenging is leaving me in a worse state that when I started them, even if they’re excellent.
To that end, I’m searching for very cosy, low stakes reads that are still very well written and maybe even (dare I hope) joyful. I’m open to any and all genres, perhaps with the exclusion of horror – so literary, scifi, fantasy, romance, historical, nonfiction are all fair game…
Here are a few that I’ve read that worked for me and have given me a sustained escape to cosyness:
* Leonard and Hungry Paul
* Legends and Lattes
* The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy.
* The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
* All of T. Kingfisher / Ursula Vernon’s bibliography
Here are some oft-recommended cosy books that haven’t worked for me (just for reference!).
* Beartown.
* The House In The Cerulean Sea (i wish I had loved this more).
* Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries (this sort of teetered over to boring for me, but I do appreciate and understand its appeal)
Outside of my current state, books I’ve loved include The Faithful and the Fallen Series, Circe, anything by Moshfegh, The Vorkosigan Saga, In The Dream House, Southern Reach, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, anything McKinley, anything Octavia Butler, anything LeGuin….
I’m specifically looking to avoid:
* any inter-family abuse and/or violence (parent-child at any age, inside a couple),
* prolonged suffering or misery depicted either through mental anguish and/or dire external circumstance,
* depictions of sustained or overt instances of racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia (even if the point is to unpack or dismantle it – I just don’t have the heart to bear more of this right now)
Sorry for being so specific and so mind bogglingly sensitive; someone recently recommended me Keeper of Enchanted Rooms as a cosy read and while I’m sure much of it is, the first chapter opened with a depiction of parent-child abuse and immediately spun me out.
Any help much appreciated!
by potatopotatobee