I'd always recommend the Adrian Mole books for people who want a funny read, especially the first two which are my go-to books if I need a laugh.
For something light and fun I'd recommend Agatha Christie's earlier Tommy and Tuppence books - The Secret Adversary and N or M? - and also They Came to Baghdad which is my favourite of her adventure books and has an excellent heroine.
For cheering up if you feel depressed about humanity, the best is Humankind by Rutger Bregman - he basically takes loads of horrible ideas we have about how we behave and shows us why this isn't true, and gives lots of examples that are more hopeful.
This is my wheelhouse! My first port of call for "up lit" is THE LIDO by Libby Page. There is one sad thing (that I can remember) but it is handled well and gently and the whole book is full of kindness. LOVE, NINA is another good one -- I can't remember if there was any sadness there but it's light and easy -- and I also think THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL feels like a warm hug. Going back a bit, THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE as well as BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY I don't think have any/too much sadness. Will probably think of others!
She gets written off as “just” a romance writer but I truly adore Emily Henry’s work. She has a lightness of touch and a wonderful spirit of place (or filet of place as I always think of it, thanks to Gerald Durrell). IMO You, Me on Vacation is her weakest but Happy Place, Funny Story and Book Lovers are fab.
She's great, but I do think there's a lot more darkness and sadness in her books then her "rom com" and bright covers suggest. I felt quite lied to with Beach Read!
Loving Savannah’s illustrations - today’s one is hilarious!
They’re great!
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - gloriously sunny and uplifting.
Anything by David Sedaris
I'd always recommend the Adrian Mole books for people who want a funny read, especially the first two which are my go-to books if I need a laugh.
For something light and fun I'd recommend Agatha Christie's earlier Tommy and Tuppence books - The Secret Adversary and N or M? - and also They Came to Baghdad which is my favourite of her adventure books and has an excellent heroine.
For cheering up if you feel depressed about humanity, the best is Humankind by Rutger Bregman - he basically takes loads of horrible ideas we have about how we behave and shows us why this isn't true, and gives lots of examples that are more hopeful.
This is my wheelhouse! My first port of call for "up lit" is THE LIDO by Libby Page. There is one sad thing (that I can remember) but it is handled well and gently and the whole book is full of kindness. LOVE, NINA is another good one -- I can't remember if there was any sadness there but it's light and easy -- and I also think THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL feels like a warm hug. Going back a bit, THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE as well as BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY I don't think have any/too much sadness. Will probably think of others!
She gets written off as “just” a romance writer but I truly adore Emily Henry’s work. She has a lightness of touch and a wonderful spirit of place (or filet of place as I always think of it, thanks to Gerald Durrell). IMO You, Me on Vacation is her weakest but Happy Place, Funny Story and Book Lovers are fab.
She's great, but I do think there's a lot more darkness and sadness in her books then her "rom com" and bright covers suggest. I felt quite lied to with Beach Read!
Summer holiday...damn you, Autocorrect
Looking for something laugh out loud funny, and truly uplifting? Try RC Sherriff...not Journey's End of course, but his later comic novels, Greengates
,https://open.substack.com/pub/harkness/p/greengates?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=gqpmg
and The Fortnight in September...about a perfect English sooner holiday!