I looked through my books for 2023 and the only one that might qualify here, is Remarkably Bright Creatures. I thought it was great and sweet, but not sure if it's pure and simple happy.

I know I sorely miss the recommendations.

Salonva, thanks for bumping this back up. With the state of the world and life’s comp,ications Ive been thinking I need happier reads. I actually put a book aside recently as soon as it got to describing suffering. In this case it was slavery. The book was good but I just couldnt take it now.

I havent posted in What Are You Reading lately but will catch up. Ill go through my list of books I read in the past year and see if there is anything happy to post.

thank you so much for re posting this. I must have missed it the first times. I have read Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day and then watched the movie. Great! No other recommendations at this time, but I will bookmark my mind to keep ones I read that are happy.

Still like Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein. Fun book remembered from younger, better days ....

It's been mentioned before, but I just got into The Thursday Murder Club, and it is delightful.

For a gentle read any of Rosamunde Pilcher's books. Perhaps rather too dated for younger readers . . . the girls are always well-behaved and there are only a few cads among the men, but she writes well about the settings, especially the scenery around the Cornish coast and the wilds of the Scottish Highlands.

I'm commenting just to keep track of the thread!

Oh, there was a children's author from early in the 20th century that my daughter discovered, and I quite enjoyed the books too - the author was E. Nesbit

So glad salonva brought this thread back up. Just a few days ago I was wishing I could skim through it again.

I posted above about re-purchasing 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal for my kindle again and I did. A few days ago I started reading it again...within several minutes, I was smiling and then chuckles.

Sorely needed during these times we have. I've gotten to the point that even doing the 30 minute check-in with network evening news is too much. I'll ask spouse if there is anything I truly need to be briefed on lately instead.

Really glad we have this list and people's comments.

Michael J Fox’s books are enjoyable and positive, even keeping in mind his Parkinson’s.

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet. Short and sweet.

Jan Karon’s books.

Antoine Lorain’s books. They have a touch of magic in the story. And I enjoyed The Bookman’s Tale by Charlie Lovett. I didn’t care as much for his First Impressions, but it wasn’t bad.

Stanley Tucci’s Taste. Tucci, italian food, what’s not to like? It’s good audio, too (except he sometimes does sotto voce a little too sotto.

Here’s one that is both funny and touching. The Guncle by Steven Rowley.

I second bpath's choice of The Uncommon Reader.

Oh, I loved The Gunkle! I didn’t think to add it to this thread, so, thanks for listing it Ded!

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent...Very weird but I loved it. Like no other I have read.

Re Some Tame Gazelle. I lol’d numerous times throughout. I am a Pym fan. Here is a review of her writings.

“The plots are not particularly where the pleasure resides in reading Pym’s work: it’s in the scrupulous examination of relationships, not just of burgeoning romances but also of the setbacks and personal mortifications we all experience in the real world, but which tend to be overlooked in fiction. It’s easy therefore to dismiss Pym’s novels as lightweight or prissy; this is a mistake. She has the psychological insight and ironic technique that’s reminiscent not just of Jane Austen, with whom she’s often compared, but also of that great anatomist of the female psyche, Flaubert.

Her style and tone are quite different, of course, and her novels can be categorised as light comedies of manners. But this is to overlook the subtlety of her characterization and the richness of her portrayal of the unsung heroines of suburbia.”

I will add the odd and also lol, wonderful Pulitzer Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy O’toole.

I loved Confederacy of Dunces !

Also I really enjoyed. Some Tame Gazelle.

Reading through, I think I read the majority of books suggested and many due to them being suggested here. I have to say I am sort of disappointed that there are so few new to me listed, so few newer ones.

I think I'm going to re-read The Miss Read books ( Village Diary and a whole bunch more). They were not haha funny, but like a sweet hug.

I'm hoping some more get mentioned.

Bookclub tonight. No one enjoyed or got the humor of Bsrbsrs Pym’s Some Tame Gazelle. . I totally indetstsnd she’s not for everyone.FYI, the audio version is said yo be just awful. Please excuse all the the the typos . Ipad acting up again ( only here on hz! !??) Too tired to edit. :(

The Christmas quilt was a happy read. It's by Melody Carlson, all of hers are light, fun & happy.

I've added The Railway Children by E Nesbitt thank you raee.

(It is available on Kindle at the library).

I am bumping this again because I know I could use some suggestions a don't have much to offer sadly. I've been reading alot of good books, but not too many are uplifting.

I just looked at my list of recently read books and there’s not a happy one among them,

Ones Ive read in the past are The Guncle and Less ( but not the follow up).

I came across this list of happy books from the NYT. Of course almost anything by Nora Ephron is wonderful. I loved I Feel Bad About My Neck.

Here’s the NYT list. I can tell many of them would not appeal to me , but maybe I should give some a try.

Funniest novels

If you find a funny or uplifting book, let me know.I also enjoyed Oh William by Elizabeth Strout, part of the Olive Kittridge books.

Did we fail to mention Erma Bombeck?

Also, I can't remember which one, but I did read a book written by George Burns, and as I'm reading it, I can hear him with his slower voice and wonderful expressions. Maybe it was How to Live to be 100...

I also enjoy the Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series...with her quirky characters, and ridiculous situations, they've had me LOL'ing often.

It's tough! Thank you for the recommendations. While I like good LOL books, what I am really seeking is more the uplifting ones rather than chuckle funny. Those seem so much harder to come by. I thought about adding The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot because of the subject matter , but it was rather uplifting overall.......

Diary of a Nobody, by George Grossmith. He is more famous for being the star of the D'Oyley Carte troupe. He originated the roles of the Major General, J. Wellington Wells, Jack Point, Robin Oakwood, Bunthorne, Captain Joseph and (my favorite) Ko Ko. The book is a hoot.

Also, I loved Mel Brook's memoir, All About Me. No explanation needed.

@salonva Just read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Such a sweet read. Thanks for the recommendation.

gardener123, I LOVED Edward Tulane and used to read it to my young students every year. Equally good is The Tale of Despereaux, by the same author. Have you read it? These two books are so enchanting and I think they turned many of my students into life long readers in the way a magical book does.

Thanks Bestyears! Added it to the list!

Bestyears, The Tale Despereaux rode around in the backseat of my Mom-mobile for years! Dd1 had to read it for high school english class and it stayed back there forever. If I had only known it was a happy read!! Shucks! I was so close...

As I recall, Dedtired suggested Edward Tulane on this thread. I'm glad she did. I am going to add The Tale Despereaux. Somehow though it's been mentioned numerous times it didn't register.

Also, someone had suggested The Railway Children but it's not showing who it was. I read it and thought it was so sweet and I am recommending it once more because it was so good.

I get so excited when this thread comes back.

Someone referred to this thread in another thread about books and I wanted to add one that might fit the theme here. The Mrs. Polifax series by Dorothy Gilman. It's about a grandmother who becomes a CiA agent. Pretty humorous. You might give it a try and see if it is your style. If you like it there are 14 books in the series.

I recently read the first Mrs. Poifax and enjoyed the time spent. However, i felt quite stressed during the tricky parts!

salonva, do you have an author for The Railway Children? I looked on goodreads and came across 3 with that name.

For Monty Python fans, John Cleese wrote an autobiography describing his childhood and his professional exploits (up to the Python years). It's called "So, Anyway...". It's pretty funny. A special treat for audiobook fans is that he narrates the audio version himself. Several times, when the narrative was covering particularly funny events, he'd start to laugh recalling the incident for the umpteenth time. Added enjoyment for the reader.

Annie, E Nesbit wrote the Railway Children and several others from the Edwardian era all worth reading 'though obviously dated.

Yes, Nesbit is the author and I hope you enjoy The Railway Children as much as I did.

I'm glad to see this thread again.

I looked for the Tale of Despereaux, and when I saw the library had it available on kindle, I borrowed it. It will be my next book.

I'm so sad to have not learned about Tale of Despereaux and Edward Tulane when my grandson was younger. It would have been wonderful to read them to him. I've put them on my to read list at the library. Maybe I'll give them to him and he can save them for his own children.

I am having a duh moment... Oly what a brilliant idea! My oldest grand is in 3rd grade She is a constant avid reader ..... I just looked up Edward Tulane, and I didn't realize that the author, Kate DeCamillo, had written that PLUS The Tale of Despereaux and apparently another one, Because of Winn- Dixie. Maybe after Desperezux I'll read Winn Dixiie.

Anyway, at least for Edward Tulane, it says appropriate reading level grades 2 -5. Sounds like these would be wonderful for grands to read. I remember planning to do that when I read The Railway Children, but you know, got distracted and here it's a brand new idea again. :)

I'm going to ask my daughter if those books are at on the radar at their school.

Anyway, thanks for regiving me the idea .

I'm laughing while reading Kate Atkinson's most recent Jackson Brodie cozy mystery, Death at the Sign of the Rook.

Thanks for the suggestion, Chisue. I read that type of book as well, as I find them relaxing and happy-mood inducing. However, I cringe at the ”cozy mystery” genre name. Who chose that??

I attempted to seek out 'cozy mysteries' because I was tired of novels that had too much unnecessary bad language, gratuitous violence etc., but the books I found that were categorized that way, often turned out to be too....? Too something. Like watching a B movie, maybe? Obviously, I'm sure that they are not all like that, I just hit enough to discourage me from using that genre.

I just started looking for good mystery series and eventually I found authors whose writing was good and the story lines were interesting with plenty of twists and turns and character building, and there was a minimum of anything I could object to.

The Irish Boarding House by Sandy Taylor is a quick, easy, heartwarming and delightful read. 4 stars. Very uplifting.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston is a sweet sweet read.

Happy that the search function worked.

(and as always, holding out hope for more additions to this.).

Niall Williams, This is Happiness. Beautifully written, and a charming story of electricity coming at long last to a small village in Ireland. If you don't believe me, believe Ann Patchett:

The Mysterious Baker on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods. This book was delightful.

Thanks for bumping this back uo, Annie.

Bookwoman, I loved This Is Happiness.

Glad to see this thread again. I added a few to my want to read list.

I just finished a great book, which I think could fit here. The Spoon Stealer by Lesley Crewe.

Since this came up in the monthly thread, there is a whole series of books ( maybe 10 or so) by E F Benson , which are referred to as Mapp and Lucia. I stumbled on them way back when, and I have re-read one or two. Talk about delightful. Now that I'm looking at them, I have a feeling I might have missed a few of them. As I remember, it's really not necessary to read them order.

1. Queen Lucia (1920)
2. Miss Mapp (1922)
3. Lucia in London (1927)
4. Lucia Rising (1927)
5. Mapp and Lucia (1931)
6. The Worshipful Lucia (1935)
7. Make Way for Lucia (1939)
8. Lucia Victrix (1939)
9. Trouble for Lucia (1939)

I am glad to agree with salonva. I just read Queen Lucia, and I plan to continue in the series. I just have two books to read first--library books with a due date.

Looks like I missed a few updates....thanks, I'm again looking for something interesting to read and I should be able to find something new from this thread.

I always love seeing this thread pop up with new suggestions. I think many of us need something happy right now!