Hi all! I’m pretty desperate for some feel good reading, but I cannot stand romance books (at least, not books where a romantic relationship is the whole point). Anyone have ideas for me…? I’ll give you a few of my faves in exchange for yours! Thanks, folks. 😊
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
An Immense World by Ed Yong
Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by MC Beaton
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
The Good, Good Pig by Sy Montgomery
by blue-hairedfreak
13 Comments
It’s been recommended a lot on Reddit, but maybe **Project Hail Mary**? It has a very nice friendship.
{{Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree}} has only the tiniest smidge of romance and is so sweet and enjoyable. More about found family and reinventing yourself
Have you tried the James Herriot series, all creatures great and small? It’s sweet, funny stories about his life as a vet in a rural area of the UK, I would say that (and the recent TV show of the same series) are very cozy comforting
Some refer to this genre as ‘uplit’ (uplifting literature). I’m not a fan of romance either unless it’s a tiny part of the story, but here are some of my favourites…
* *The House in the Cerulean Sea* by TJ Klune
* *A Man Called Ove* by Fredrik Backman
* *All the Lonely People* by Mike Gayle
* *The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle* by Matt Cain
* *Away With the Penguins* by Hazel Prior
* *Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life* by Helen Fisher
* *The People on Platform Five* by Clare Pooley
* *The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper* by Phaedra Patrick
* *The Library* by Bella Osborne
* *The Reading List* by Sara Nisha Adams
Fup
The House in the Cerulean Sea
Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman is an easy breezy mystery. The first in a series.
Nothing groundbreaking. It’s a fun light read. I usually read something light after reading something heavy, to decompress.
Rosamunde Pilcher “The solstice”, there is a bit of romance though, but it’s not the centre. It is also said the “Shell seekers” is good, but I haven’t read it myself yet.
Harry’s Trees. Yes, there’s some bad stuff thar happens, but it all turns out well and everyone has a happy ending (including the dog)
Sipsworth
Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
(Sherman is a rescue donkey, who was on the brink of death)
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. It’s a memoir by a British naturalist about living on a Greek island as a child with his widowed mother and older siblings. The tone is very sweet and lightly humorous. Tonally it’s a little similar to All Creatures Great and Small.
Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers