Some days you just want a book that's kind to you. These are the feel-good novels we reach for when the world feels a bit sharp - funny, warm, quietly wise and reliably good company. A few will make you cry, but only the good kind.
Editor's Picks
- The Rosie Project - romcom with a twist
- Anxious People - Backman at his warmest
- The Midnight Library - one life, infinitely retried
01A Man Called Ove
A grumpy widower's careful plan to give up on life keeps being derailed by the chaotic family next door. Funny, tender and reliably tear-jerking - the feel-good novel that conquered the world. Also released as A Man Called Otto.
02Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
A lonely, oddly precise woman slowly lets the world back in. Darker than it sounds and all the more uplifting for it - you'll be quietly cheering Eleanor on by the end. Honeyman's only novel so far.
03The House in the Cerulean Sea
A buttoned-up caseworker visits a magical orphanage and gently, wonderfully thaws. Pure warmth and whimsy - a hug of a book for when everything feels too much. There is a sequel now, thankfully.
04The Rosie Project
A socially oblivious professor designs a questionnaire to find a wife, and meets the gloriously unsuitable Rosie. A genuinely funny, big-hearted comedy of love and logic. Two sequels follow Don and Rosie.
05Anxious People
A failed bank robber, a flat viewing and a roomful of strangers who turn out to be just what each other needs. Backman at his warmest and most quietly profound. Start here if you have never read Backman, then work back to A Man Called Ove.
06The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
A retired man pops out to post a letter and, on impulse, just keeps walking - the length of England. A gentle, moving story of ordinary lives and second chances. Queenie's answering novel is worth reading next.
07The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
A writer strikes up a correspondence with a book club on post-war Guernsey. Told in letters, utterly charming and quietly moving - comfort reading of the very best kind. Read the letters, ignore the film.
08Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
A late, unlikely romance between a retired major and the village shopkeeper, against a fuss of small-minded neighbours. Warm, witty and wise about second chances. Perfect for Sunday afternoon reading.
09The Midnight Library
Between life and death is a library of the lives you might have lived. Haig's fable of regret and hope - read by seemingly everyone, for good reason. Divides readers sharply, which suits book groups.
10The Authenticity Project
A green notebook passes between strangers who each write one true thing. Warm, London-set and full of second chances. A gentle one-sitting read.
11The Lido
A young journalist and an 86-year-old swimmer fight to save Brixton's lido. Sun-on-water optimism about community and unlikely friendship. The right book for a flat week, and a reliable gift for anyone who swims.
12Lessons in Chemistry
A 1960s chemist becomes a subversive TV cook. Sharp, funny and furiously satisfying - impossible to lend without losing. Funnier on the page than on screen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a book 'feel-good'?
Warmth, heart and hope. Feel-good novels can still tackle grief or loneliness - many here do - but they leave you lighter than they found you, rooting for people and believing things can come right.
Which should I read first?
A Man Called Ove is the perfect gateway - funny, moving and impossible to dislike. For something with a little more edge, try Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.
Are any of these good as a gift?
All of them - feel-good novels make wonderful presents. The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society are especially safe, lovely bets.
Are feel-good books just light reading?
Not necessarily. Several of the best ones deal with grief, loneliness or real hardship - what makes them feel-good is that they are warm about people and end somewhere hopeful, not that nothing difficult happens. The genuinely weightless ones are the exception rather than the rule.
Shelf 02Crime & Mystery
Cosy crime, gritty thrillers and a good whodunnit for a wet afternoon.
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Shelf 03Nature & Countryside
Nature writing, walking, farming and the wild places - our house speciality.
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Shelf 04History
Popular history, biography and the stories behind the stories.
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Shelf 05Cookery
Seasonal cooking, baking and the kitchen books worth the shelf space.
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