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.