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Books/book club

What books cheer you up?

(57 Posts)
Eloethan Tue 25-Feb-25 21:13:00

My choice would be:

Notes from a Small Island - Bill Bryson
The Road to Little Dribbling - Bill Bryson
And then we came to the End - Joshua Ferris (sounds grim but it's a novel about the inanities of office life)

winterwhite Thu 27-Feb-25 17:24:36

Biggles
Love in a cold climate
The Fortnight in September (R C Sherriff)

Clawdy Mon 14-Apr-25 16:44:01

Susie42

Diary of a Nobody, it always makes me laugh out loud.

Me, too! Love that book. Can't believe something so funny was written so long ago.

Lel1 Mon 14-Apr-25 17:37:00

Any Discworld book by Terry Pratchett and Georgette Heyer's Regency romances. Total literary comfort if I'm feeling down.

loopyloo Mon 14-Apr-25 17:57:02

Books hy Katie Fforde

M0nica Mon 14-Apr-25 18:16:14

Any Jane Austen novel, Miss Pettigrew lives for a day, most Georgette Heyer regency romances, Dorothy Sayers, Lord Peter Whisy novels, Emily Eden.

NotAGran55 Mon 14-Apr-25 18:30:44

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

Harris27 Mon 14-Apr-25 19:00:56

Miss read love her books full of love past times and makes me happy.

HettyBetty Mon 14-Apr-25 19:33:33

My Family and Other Animals.

Ilovedogs22 Mon 14-Apr-25 19:47:44

Wind in the Willows always.
I still have my beautifully illustrated Arthur Rackham edition from when I was eight. It's worn & battered but it still brings me happiness & a sense of peace whenever I dip into its increasingly worn but charming pages 😊

Redblueandgreen Mon 14-Apr-25 20:46:28

The old girls annuals from the 60s and 70s.

Ohmother Mon 14-Apr-25 23:17:26

Gervaise Phinn books. If what kids come out with makes you laugh you’ll enjoy these true stories. It’s written from a Yorkshire school inspectors perspective.

teabagwoman Tue 15-Apr-25 06:39:13

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austin every time. For some reason I can’t remember I was put off Bill Bryson. I’ll try listening to him on BorrowBox.

Oliver2322 Tue 15-Apr-25 09:01:41

I have only read "The Power of Letting Go" book. That's helped me to come out after my breakup. The moral principle of this book is you can't control everything that happens in your life. Let go and trust that things will work. This is the only book that I have read more than once.

Nanato3 Tue 15-Apr-25 09:10:52

The Scool books by Gervase Phinn make me giggle .

Curlywhirly Tue 15-Apr-25 10:18:52

Most definitely Bill Bryson - the funniest of all is the chapter in 'The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid' where he tells the story of his neighbour diving into a local lake - it's an absolute scream 🤣

Grandma70s Tue 15-Apr-25 10:29:24

Greenfinch

I love the Miss Read books depicting a simple and caring community.

Oh, so do I! They are beautifully written with memorable characters. I often think they would make good Sunday teatime TV. I can just see Dotty Harmer and Ella Bembridge.

Lizziethelab Mon 21-Apr-25 21:10:37

I too love the Miss Read books and have recently reread them for the umpteenth time. (I’ve been reading them since I was 16, I’m now 68). Also I love the Darling buds of May.

Harris27 Mon 21-Apr-25 22:23:57

I’ve just dug out my miss read books this afternoon and plan to read them all again. I work in a nursery and it’s often stressful( eight months to retiring) hopefully this will restore my faith in why I’ve done it for twenty four years😂honestly miss read and a cuppa and you just go back to a lovely bygone time. No health and safety no rules and regulations. Just pure fiction genius! Happy reading all!

Athrawes Tue 22-Apr-25 11:19:48

I enjoy all sorts of books by a wide range of authors. I like both fiction and non fiction whatever catches my eye when I'm out and about. At weekends when I was young I used to disappear into a library and stay there until I was gently hauled out. I loved it and even now our home is full of books of all sorts and ages. Two of my grandchildren love reading I'm pleased to say and another grandchild enjoys writing poetry

Grammaretto Tue 22-Apr-25 11:31:30

Yes I agree most of Bill Brysons travel books are hilarious. Has he stopped writing now?
I also enjoyed Miss Read and I adored Barbara Pym once I discovered her! I binge read the lot.

I'm enjoying a murder mystery currently. Not funny I'm afraid but rather well written. It's Sebastian Barry.

Gin Tue 22-Apr-25 13:20:17

The books by Armstead Maupan ( I think that is how it is spelled) about San Francisco, they always make me giggle. My go to books to make me smile would be many mentioned above but particularly ‘My Family and Other Animals’. The passages about their arrival in Corfu being chased by dogs is just wonderful. I re read Jennings and William too, still have my childhood copies.

Blossoming Tue 22-Apr-25 13:33:35

Definitely the Discworld witch books.

keepingquiet Tue 22-Apr-25 13:55:48

Three men in a boat for me as well as Cold Comfort Farm- they both made me laugh out loud!

AGAA4 Tue 22-Apr-25 14:05:02

Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee.

Mollygo Tue 22-Apr-25 14:40:35

Love some mentioned on here- Disc World, Gervase Phinn, Bill Bryson and Georgette Heyer, but I recently discovered light reading by an American writer Carolyn Brown. She’s written lots, and I don’t like them all, but my three reread favourites are The Ladies Room, The Shop on Main Street and Hummingbird Lane.