“It was not a life if lived without love.”
In times of uncertainty, something is soothing about slipping into the pages of a comforting book. When the world feels overwhelming, these stories offer a quiet refuge – a place where the stakes are low, the characters are kind and everything finds a way of sorting itself out in the end. These aren’t edge-of-your-seat thrillers or gripping historical dramas; instead, these comfort reads are stories set in quaint villages, bustling cafes and homes full of laughter, reminding us of life’s softer side and the moments that bring peace. So, if you’re looking to escape the everyday buzz of the world outside, join us today at What We Reading as we jump from lighthearted romances to feel-good family sagas with the best comfort reads to help you unwind, let go of stress and ground yourself in calm!
Good Company – Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
First up on our list of the best comfort reads is Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s 2021 literary fiction novel, Good Company. A warm look at the bonds of marriage and friendship, the story centres on Flora Mancini, a woman who has been married happily for twenty years. But, when she finds an envelope containing her husband’s wedding ring, everything she thought she knew about him, her best friend and even herself is questioned.
Flora and Julian have struggled together for years, scraping by just enough to raise their daughter, Ruby, and keep Julian’s theatre company – Good Company – out of bankruptcy. But, has their entire life together been built on deceit? Delivered with tenderness, humour and insight, Good Company is a bighearted story of the lifelong relationships we form that both hurt and heal us.
A Man Called Ove – Fredrik Backman
One of the classic comfort reads Fredrik Backman introduces readers to Ove in A Man Called Ove. Ove is the sort of man who points out people he dislikes and comes with staunch principles, strict routines and a short fuse. But, whilst he has come to be known as the neighbour from home, must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t have a permanent smile on his face?
Behind the cranky exterior of the man is a story and a sadness. When a cheery young couple with two excitable daughters move in next door to him and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, what follows is a funny and heartwarming tale of unexpected friendships that promises to shake a grumpy old man and a local community to their very core.
Check Out The Best Books Like A Man Called Ove
The Authenticity Project – Clare Pooley
Julian Jessop is convinced that most people are never really honest with one another. But, what if they were? As a test, he decides to pen the truth about his entire life and leave the plain green journal he’s written in his local cafe. The cafe’s owner, Monica, adds her own entry and opts to leave the journal in a wine bar across the street. Before long, others find the green notebook and add the truths about their own deepest selves – and all soon find each other in Monica’s cafe.
Clare Pooley brings together an incredible cast of troubled, quirky and loveable characters for a comforting story that is laugh-out-loud, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. The Authenticity Project is a tale about being brave, putting your true self out there and discovering that things are never as scary as they first seem.
Meet Me At The Museum – Anne Youngson
Professor Anders Larsen, a rigid man grounded in reality, has recently lost his wife as well as his hopes and dreams for the future along with her. He isn’t prepared for the query that is about to come from Mrs Tina Hopgood about a renowned artefact in his museum that promises to alter the course of his life.
Despite being oceans apart, an unexpected correspondence between the two of them blossoms as they discover their shared passions, the useless objects left behind by loved ones and the painful memories lost in time. Through their correspondence, they both reveal their joys, anguish and discoveries. But, when Tina’s letters abruptly stop, Anders is thrown into despair. Anne Youngson’s Meet Me at the Museum is a tender comforting read that follows Anders and Tina as they attempt to keep their unlikely friendship alive.
The House In The Cerulean Sea (Cerulean Chronicles #1) – T.J. Klune
A Goodreads Choice Award nominee, T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of the best books for any reader looking for a fantasy spin on their comfort reads. Linus Baker lives a sheltered, isolated life. At the age of forty, lives in a small home with a devious cat, an old record collection and oversees an assortment of magical children in orphanages.
One day, he is surprisingly tasked with travelling to Marsyas Island Orphanage and assessing whether the six exceptionally dangerous children present there may bring about the end of days. These children are all protected by the infamous and eccentric Arthur Parnussus. As Linus sets out for the orphanage, readers are treated to an enchanting tale about the ways in which family and connection can be discovered in the most unexpected ways.
Check Out The Best Books Like The House In The Cerulean Sea
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Harold Fry #1) – Rachel Joyce
Harold Fry resides in a small English village where he lives with his wife, Maureen, who increasingly appears irritated by everything he does. One morning, the mail arrives and he is surprised by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, a woman he hasn’t seen in twenty years, writing to tell him that she is in a hospice and to say goodbye. Harold pens his reply but, after a chance encounter is compelled to deliver his response in person. Thus begins an unlikely six-hundred-mile pilgrimage from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed. As long as he walks, Harold is convinced that Queenie will live.
Armed in his yachting shoes and a light coat, Harold’s adventure through the countryside brings with it a number of characters who all peel away his forgotten sense of promise. He is able to reconcile the losses and regrets and rekindle the wonders of his life. As for Maureen, she finds herself missing her husband for the first time in years. And then there is the unfinished business Harold has with Queenie Hennessy.
Garden Spells (Waverley Family #1) – Sarah Addison Allen
The Waverleys have always been an eccentric family, endowed with peculiar gifts that have always left them as outsiders within their North Carolina hometown. Their garden even has an infamous reputation with its edible flowers and a feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit. Claire and her elderly cousin Evanelle are the last of the Waverleys – except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who left the home as soon as she could.
But, when Sydney suddenly returns with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet existence is upended. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney reckons with everything she has left behind as Claire struggles to heal from the wounds inflicted by the past. Enchanting and heartfelt, Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells is another one of the most captivating comfort reads for anyone looking for a lighthearted escape tale.
The Switch – Beth O’Leary
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical from work after a botched presentation, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen’s house for some much-needed rest. Eileen is freshly single and about to turn eighty; she would like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn’t present many fitting gentlemen. Learning of her grandmother’s predicament, Leena proposes a two-month house swap – she will move into her grandma’s house, whereas Eileen will have free reign of London.
With gossipy neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and the hurdles of online dating to contend with in the city, the pair soon learn that stepping into each other’s shoes is harder than they imagined. Nevertheless, Beth O’Leary’s The Switch is a charming romance read that follows the two women as they come to realise their perfect matches may just be closer to home.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
