August 2025
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    Please suggest me a book that will make my outlook on life and people just a little kinder. Usually my go to author is Fredrik Backman but I’ve read everything of his and I need more that highlights the tender parts of humanity and goodwill. Preferably not a romance book. Thank you so much!!!

    by Julia_Andrade

    43 Comments

    1. >Usually my go to author is Fredrik Backman, but I’ve read everything of his and I need more that highlights the tender parts of humanity and goodwill.

      **A Man Called Ove** reminded me of another book where a grieving man finds “his people,” **How Not to Die Alone** (aka **Something to Live For**) by Richard Roper.

    2. Easy_Literature_1965 on

      Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman.
      He states at the very beginning, that it’s a book about an idea, and that idea is: people are not shitty.

    3. House in the Cerulean Sea! revived my hope that people change and life is inherently beautiful ❤️

    4. Annual-Access4987 on

      The Razors Edge. Somerset Maugham. The last few pages sums up what one man is capable of doing and following in his ways we could restore this planet. Whenever I am depressed I reread this. And imho one of the 5 best books of last 123 years.

    5. FetaOnEverything on

      “A Strangeness in my Mind” by Orhan Pamuk. Mevlut is just so good, and has so much faith in the world, even when his life goes very differently than he wanted. I cried a little at the end just because there was such a wholesome moment- I don’t want to spoil it, but he definitely gets back some of the love he gave to the world.

    6. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

      Weirdly, I think the Murderbot Diaries fit the bill. The first is “ All Systems Red” by Martha Wells.

      The Goblin Emperor.

    7. The Day the World Came to Town…seems counterintuitive because it’s about 9/11, but it’s a true story and I stayed up all night reading it straight through because each page brought my hope in humanity and I loved that feeling so much I couldn’t put it down. Obligatory mention that the musical Come From Away is the same events and also really good.

    8. Viola Shipman books also have a little bit of a Backman vibe to me, Heirloom Garden has been my favorite and the most Backman-esque of the ones I have read.

    9. thebrendawalsh on

      I should create a shortcut in my phone for how often I recommend Ruth Reichl, particularly Garlic and Sapphires. I reread it almost every year. Just what I need when I’m feeling very low. Plus, you get a few delicious recipes

    10. I really loved **Virgil Wander** by Leif Enger, it’s about a man after a near-fatal car crash recovering and rediscovering himself against the backdrop of a fading mid-west town with a mystery. The writing is beautiful and the characters are extremely life-like, I can’t recommend it enough.

    11. CosmicDissent on

      Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl

      I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb

    12. I have the absolute perfect author for you.
      Elizabeth Goudge.

      These are the ultimate books when it comes to a comfort read.

      The Scent of Water

      The Bird in the Tree (first of a trilogy)

      Gentian Hill

      Island Magic (this might have a romance-type cover, but I promise it’s nothing of the sort)

      A City of Bells

      The Rosemary Tree

      Green Dolphin Street

      The White Witch

    13. ladyofthegreenwood on

      I realize this is a book recommendation thread but… Have you watched Ted Lasso?

    14. Bright Valley of Love by Edna Hong

      An obscure book written about a community in Germany who’s whole being is centered around caring for severely handicapped children before, during and post WWII.

      “A very wise woman—Simone Weil was her name—once wrote that imagined evil is fascinating and inviting, while real evil is deadening and repellent. But imagined good is dull and uninteresting…”

    15. basicoatmilklatte on

      The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore (not a romance). Lovely cast of quirky characters and very heartwarming. I think you’ll like it if you like Fredrik Backman!

    16. Repulsive-Plant-8291 on

      Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

      A Prayer for Owen Meany

      Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

    17. Perhaps ‘All My Mothers’ by Joanna Glen? An exploration of the narrators mother figures throughout her life, connecting to her roots, it honestly feels like a hug from your mother. Its not devoid of its sad moments, so it might not be what you’re exactly looking for. But its definitely wholesome

    18. PanickedPoodle on

      I love Robertson Davies. Sort of a modern day Jane Austin for Canadian society. Lots of moral conundrums but generally uplifting and thought-provoking.

    19. Glittering_Dinner118 on

      I know this sounds weird…IT. It’s about friendship and the bond that is unbreakable and it has a clown.

    20. Powerful_Peace_3149 on

      The Measure by Nikki Erlick. I thought it was a great look at humanity—touching, a little melancholic at points, but uplifting overall

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