My local library has a monthly magazine featuring a variety of books. This month is something about “cozy” reads, and that got me thinking: What even IS a cozy book?
I feel like I run into the genre on the rare occasion but I honestly don’t know anything about it. Can someone explain this genre to me?
by historically_nerdy_
7 Comments
Cozy fiction is essentially a genre of fiction that has very low stakes. There is extremely little to no violence,and stories tend to feature happier and more comforting themes….in other words,cozy.
I invite you to check out r/CozyFantasy, you’ll find a lot more info and recs regarding cozy fiction.
It’s been explained to me that cozy means there is not explicit content, no violence described (if there is a death, they’re just dead basically nothing described), lack of gore, sex, language etc. It’s suppose to be an easy read I guess. For me a cozy book has more to do with the setting of the book (snowy alps, cabins etc, but that’s just my preference and idea of what it should be).
It depends on genre.
A cozy mystery has no gore, no blood, no cussing and is normally set in small towns where solving the crime means dealing with the tangles of social life. Think of the Ms. Marple books were often it is gossip, rumors, and relationships that solve cases.
For fantasy we are talking low stakes, low violence with a focus on solving problems with non-violent means.
Or we could be talking about comfort reads that are simple, predictable and well done. Think your favorite childhood book or a simple well done story where you can call out the plot beats.
My idea of a cozy book is one that isn’t too emotionally draining to read. The positive feelings it evokes are “warm and fuzzy” (calm, content, cheerful) while any negative feelings are mild (melancholic, bittersweet, nostalgic). I don’t think it should be considered its own genre because you can find cozy novels across genres (lit fic, fantasy, you name it). It’s more about the state of mind that is created with the novel.
Some examples which come to mind:
– Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
– Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
– Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
– The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
There are loads of them in my library. They all have titles like ‘Lovely times at the little Cornish bookshop by the Sea’ or ‘The retired ladies cold water swimming club’. They’re safe, easy reads. Low stakes, ‘family friendly’ romance plots. That’s sort of thing.
The term originates from ‘Cozy Mysteries’, which are mysteries where the focus is on the whodunnit and there isn’t a lot of focus on blood, death, gore, etc. Recently, the term has been amended to a huge amount of different genres, from fantasy to horror, and generally means that the focus is on slice-of-life content, with low-stakes plot, where things aren’t particularly dark or upsetting. Of course, what counts as cozy varies for everyone, there’s no unified definition, but *Legends and Lattes* by Travis Baldtree is widely considered to be a prime example of cozy fantasy.
Some people aren’t fans of cozy because they argue that nothing happens, the plots are bland, though I would argue that’s kind of the point of cozy. It doesn’t make these criticisms untrue, but it’s kind of like criticizing scifi for having space ships: that’s the point. It’s meant to be easy-to-digest fiction without much friction.
(I have my own criticisms of cozy as a genre, but that’s not what you asked for, lol. I actually really dislike the cozy trend but I’m trying my best to be neutral.)
I’m not sure for western novels but I’m in love with japanese cozy fantasy. You follow the protagonist on their little adventures sometimes with their little friends/familiars, etc. It’s never too dangerous and it’s known they won’t have a really hard time dealing with the plot points. Maybe they’ll go picking medicinal plants, build a farm or a coffee shop with pet slimes. Only warmth and coziness!