Lighthearted Reads for Heavy Hearted Times

I started 2020 with the best of intentions, trying to read books that were outside of my comfort zone.  I dipped my toe into more non-fiction around topics I wasn’t familiar with, which meant reading books like Band of Brothers or The Line Becomes a River.  I quite enjoyed it - it felt good to stretch and exercise some unused reading muscles.  However in the last few months, I’ve been gravitating back toward cozy reads, the ones that are like warm blankets that wrap you up and protect you from the elements until the last page.  The below four are high on my recommendation list:


Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

So maybe a dystopian / apocalypse-themed book isn’t what you want to get into now (or maybe it is).  Don’t discount this one too quickly though, this may be the most lighthearted, end of the world as we know it-type book you’ll read.  The quick synopsis of the book is that humans have all turned into zombies and we are being told all about it from the point of view of a pet crow with a ridiculously fowl mouth.  Buxton’s writing voice is humorous and unique, you’d think that you would only be able to withstand a few pages of “crow patois” but it reads quite effortlessly.   


A Castle in the Clouds by Kerstin Gier

This book technically falls under the Young Adult category, which I don’t typically read or enjoy, but I really enjoyed the story in this one.  The plot synopsis is that Sophie, a post-high school drop out, who is working at a high-end Swiss hotel as an intern.  Nothing exciting could happen in the idyllic and majestic Swiss Alps right?  Wrong!  Cue cat burglars, Russian oligarchs, and of course, romance.  In addition to the light and fluffy plot, the trip to a luxury hotel in Switzerland is something we could all use these days.


Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal

Although this was the first novel by J. Ryan Stradal, it’s the second one by him that I read.  If you think books about food are comforting like I do, then you’ll really enjoy this one.  It’s the story around a chef in the Midwest, as she grows up, ends up in her profession, and turns into the culinary legend that she is.  But as I said, it’s the story around her.  The story’s main characters are the ancillary figures in her life and follows their story-lines as they dip in and out of her life.


The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This book is the most recent one I read and the only one I’ve actually read under quarantine.  I paced myself throughout the reading process so I wouldn’t sit down and gobble it all up in one afternoon.  It’s about Linus Baker, an employee for an agency that monitors magical children placed in orphanages.  He’s been given an assignment to visit and monitor six of the most dangerous of magical children as well as the master of the orphanage who live… you guessed it… in the house in the cerulean sea.  It’s a beautiful book, with a simple plot and familiar life lessons like the rewards of stepping outside of your comfort zone and the fear and thrill of letting yourself fall in love. 

Please share your comfort reads with me! I've been consuming books in every medium lately - Kindle, audiobook, and hard copy - and I'm itching to get my hands on more.


Comments

  1. Myabe not comfort reads but I do go back to these books often just because I love them so much and I just figured out I am a pretty dark soul LOL Here goes: https://www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Things-John-Connolly/dp/1442429348 Book of Lost Things so good so much fun (and gore but hey its a fairy tale). I love this book and have listened to it on tape and read it several times also The Nest is a good one too. https://www.amazon.com/Nest-Kenneth-Oppel-ebook/dp/B00TBKYJ8Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+nest+oppel&qid=1586785924&s=books&sr=1-1 make sure you get the right one! It is a kid's book but with adult themes. A fun memoir book I enjoyed (Both on audible and in book form) was As You Wish (Princess Bride book) it is a behind the scenes look of the film as told by Cary Elwes (Westley) And another one (I could go on and on) is Call the Midwives (Not the show the book). Both listened and read and it makes you feel better on our current prediciment at least we have the meds we need (or mostly need now). Definitely you can escape in those books. OH and one more of my favorite books (Joyland by Stephen King) not a typical horror book. Worth it though I have reread this book more times than I like to admit! https://www.amazon.com/Joyland/dp/B00CTSPI62/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=joyland&qid=1586786142&s=books&sr=1-1 Whew that is only a few of my favorites! :) I can keep on! if you want to start an email convo email me at martidoll@gmail.com :)

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    1. We have super similar reading styles - I own both Book of Lost Things (and the sequel) and Joyland. Need to check out these other ones!

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  2. I just devoured two books by Erin Morganstern (The Starless Sea and the Night Circus, BOTH EXCELLENT), I'm dabbling with the Witcher books (whenever I have amazon digital credits, because our library is closed and the wait for the ebooks is RIDIC), and then when I'm not burying myself in mindless fiction, I also have two Brene Brown books queued up to start next! :)

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    1. NIGHT CIRCUS FORGOT THAT ONE :) hahahahha thanks for the reminder. I haven't read the Starless Sea yet...need to get that one) If you listen to The Night Circus off Audible Jim Dale reads it (AKA Harry Potter narrator)!

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    2. Is the Witcher show good??? I like that genre of books but we haven't gotten into the show yet

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    3. I really enjoyed the show, but I also am a Henry Cavill fan and tend to be drawn to that genre of show/book. I know when I posted on Facebook about watching it someone who read the books/played the games came on my post and pooh-poohed the show, but after reading the first two collections of short stories that the show was based on, I didn't really see any major differences (minus the name of the bard). But I'm also a person who can enjoy movie adaptions of books and not get fussed if its not EXACT, because I understand that if they did live action versions of some of these books they'd take like 25 hours to get through lol. It's a pretty short run I think, 6 or 8 episodes? Might be a good quarantine watch if you haven't seen it yet!

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    4. I did hear that they're filming a second season so it must be doing something right. I'll have to check it out, if only to see if Henry Cavill can ride a horse, right??

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    5. I think one of the actors (or actresses?) actually came down with covid-19, so filming got delayed 🙈 but yes! Henry Cavill on a horse is not to be missed -- his relationship with Roach (his horse) was one of the best parts for me! If you follow him on IG, lots of horse pictures!

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    6. Awww that's a selling point then!

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  3. I want to share with you Regretting You by Colleen Hoover thanks for share with us so good books darling
    xx

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  4. Ooooo...The TJ Klune books sounds awesome...well, all the books sounds great:) Thanks for the recs, Ruth! I'm currently reading just art books. The one I'm really into right now is the da Vinci bio by Walter Isaacson.

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    1. Oh I read half of that Da Vinci book and it was good! You would really enjoy the TJ Klune one, it's really lovely

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  5. I've been reading so much throughout this quarantine, and it's actually been really productive! I love the idea of this book.

    I hope you're doing well during this quarantine, and that its treating you relatively okay!

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    1. I'm glad you've been able to get more reading time - that's certainly something I wish I was doing more of!

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  6. After envying the lists of books you have read for years, I feel like this quarantine has finally let me catch up.

    City of Girls by Elizabth Gilbert
    1920 NYC to wartime NYC, the story was engrossing, but the stakes weren't so high that it wasn't lighthearted. You could say that nothing really happens in this book, but I feel like that's not such a bad thing

    Circe by Madeline Miller
    A modern classic, and rightly so. The main character is in exile, and it was kinda fun to think about being in exile rather than social distancing.

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    1. Yay thanks for sharing. I loved Circe, I catch myself thinking about it every few days. I think I'm going to have to re-read that one

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  7. I'm always looking for a good book to read, so I definitely want to check these out especially Hollow Kingdom...it sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing!

    http://roadesque.com

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    1. Yes, I think it's actually based in Seattle too!

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  8. Thank you for sharing these reading recommendations. I will look up The House in the Cerulean Sea. It sounds interesting. I haven't read much since the quarantine. I forced myself to read french novels to build my vocabulary but after two pages, I fall asleep, hence I'm stuck with the same book for months. I think I should switch back to devouring stories in English now.

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    1. It's a really sweet book. But good on you for working on your vocabulary!

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  9. Thanks for the list. Can always do with a couple of interesting books to read. Love this line: "it felt good to stretch and exercise some unused reading muscles."

    Stay safe and smile,
    Blue
    (look who's talking.... I know)

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