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On a normal day, life is hard.  But dear readers, my kids haven’t been to school in a month, it’s been weeks since I’ve had any real introvert time.  I know my extrovert friends (Ashley included) want me to put down my book and interact with them, but I CAN’T GET AWAY FROM THE PEOPLE IN MY HOUSE and it’s so. very. draining. Even my commute would be a blessing right now, traffic and all.  We’re all doing the best we can (I hope), and it’s still a struggle. We want to help by giving you some ideas of titles that might be comfort reads in these strange times.  Now, everyone is going to want something different and readers definitely have different triggers, so please take your preferences and feelings in consideration when evaluating our thoughts (and ASK FOR WHAT YOU NEED, even if that means spoilers to assess if now is a good time for a specific title)! [Ashley wants to point out that as an extrovert she needs to see people, talk to people face to face, maybe even give some hugs. Canadian Adam is still going to work and that means it’s just her and the cats at home all day, everyday. Alone… Nikki wishes she and Ashley could trade for a few days. Cat allergies would be worth alone time.]

The first thing that came to mind as a comfort read was a series of books I started to read in middle school and reread/read a couple of years ago (keep scrolling, it’s suggestion #1 in middle grade).  Next to mind came romance, historical fiction (perhaps not titles about the plague or Spanish flu though), maybe sci fi if that’s your thing (but sometimes it’s post apocalyptic, so proceed with caution), or really, any beloved book that feels good for you (Ashley and I both reread A Court of Mist and Fury recently, again, and even on the fifth or sixth read, the beginning was a lot).  Maybe stick with stand alone titles or series that are complete (rather than starting an incomplete series that will leave you with a gut-wrenching, cliff-hanger ending for years, I’m looking at you Sarah J. Maas’s Empire of Storms).  When I look for a comfort read, I search for titles that make me feel good and not think a ton, so without further adieu, here are the genres we think make for good comfort reads and some specific suggestions for you as well.

Classics

• Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery  (then you can join us May 1 for virtual book club!)
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (yes, there’s a giant sad part, so pick this up with care)
• Jane Austen (check out our thoughts on Pride and Prejudice but really, any of her titles would be fun)
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett

Middle Grade Fantasy (or general middle grade, but we skew towards fantasy)

• Tamora Pierce (Nikki has only read her Tortall books, so far, and suggests starting with Alanna: The First Adventure)
• Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles
• J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Series (and they’re all free in Kindle Unlimited, which is also free for two months through April 30)
• Wings of Fire Series by Tui. T. Sutherland (in text or graphic novel form – there are 13 text books published, and Nikki and her 2nd grader are ready for #5 – so far, we both endorse these books and the endings do not have cliffhangers)
• Cressida Cowell (Nikki’s family – yes all of it – adores the How to Train Your Dragon and Wizards of Once series on audio (incomplete, book #3 is the last for now – but not cliff-hangery), both are gloriously read by David Tennant)
• The Chronicles of Narnia (the audio is also fantastic, Nikki’s children are ready for #5, in the chronological order – yes readers, be warned there are two ways to read this series now – chronological order or publication order)

Romance (because you know how it is going to end – Happily Ever After always meets expectations)

• Bluewater Billionaires (which we covered in February)
• Janette Oke (Nikki adores the Canadian West series the Hallmark show “When Calls the Heart” is based on – the first season anyway, and Return to the Canadian West – yes, there are 9 total!)
• Ashley Poston’s Once Upon a Con Series (Geekerella is the first, the series is incomplete, but that’s usually ok for romance, and definitely ok for this series)
• Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Light-hearted Non-fiction

• I’d Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel (read our thoughts here)
• Helen Ellis, who we affectionately refer to as Helen Michelle (Southern Lady Code and American Housewife are both amazing and laugh-out-loud funny)
• Bossypants by Tina Fey (audio read by the author)
• Anna Kendrick’s Scrappy Little Nobody (audio read by the author)
• Ketchup is a Vegetable: And Other Lies Moms Tell Themselves by Robin O’Bryant

Historical Fiction

• Winston Graham’s Poldark series (there are 12, Nikki has only read 1-9, and remember readers, PBS’s season 5 takes place between #7 and #8, and the ending to #7/season 4 is rough – so proceed with caution, especially new readers)
• The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki (maybe not The Accidental Empress, save that and Sisi for another time because they are both very emotional)
• At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen (this is part adventure, part romance, part finding yourself, and Nikki prefers it to the author’s Water for Elephants, which she does not recommend for these days)

Young Adult (if you can handle the emotions because YA is generally angsty)

• The Selection by Kiera Cass (don’t read one unless you’re in for the trilogy) – These are set in the future, after World War Four, but it doesn’t happen because of apocalyptic events.  This series has been described as the Bachelor meets the Hunger Games, they’re not wrong – and you don’t find out who “gets the rose” until the end of book #3. If you like the trilogy, there’s also a set of novellas which we adore, and a duology sequel which is fun, but not as good as the trilogy. AND, it was just announced that Netflix has ordered an adaption.  It’ll probably be years, but we’re still looking forward to it!  
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer– You know what you’re getting into, read it to have and/or make fun.  
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (contemporary mystery with a side of romance and a pinch of coming of age)
• A Million Junes by Emily Henry (contemporary magical realism full of family history and drama)
• To Night Owl from Dog Fish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer (contemporary epistolary – via emails instead of letters – about finding your people, and letting them be themselves) 

Broaden Your Horizons – but only if you feel like it 

• Malcolm Gladwell (David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants is fabulous, but we’ve heard great things about several of his titles, and he generally reads his own audio) 
• Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction by Judith Grisel (a 2019 Favorite)
• You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sicero
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud’homme

Dear readers, please remember, just because we aren’t planning to start an incomplete series for now doesn’t mean I’m going to stop adding them to my TBR or purchasing them.  You may also want to consider adding to your list for another time titles about pandemics, post-apocalyptic dystopian fiction, and books with high emotions. Specifics books we’d generally recommend, but you may want to avoid for the first time for now: 

• Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
• Divergent Series by Veronica Roth
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (although I’ve heard of people rereading it now, which I get, but don’t read it for the first time right now)
• The Hot Zone by Richard Preston 
• Black Beauty, Where the Red Fern Grows, or other titles about animals (although, perhaps Nikki might not actually recommend titles about animals ever thanks to the aforementioned books)
• Dani Shapiro (Nikki has read two of her books, including a 2019 Favorite and has two more already purchased and on the TBR shelf, but they are emotional and deep and it doesn’t feel like the right time)

Feel free to look at our GoodReads Read Shelves and ask us about anything we’ve read – we would love to help you find the right book for these times (for you or your people), and avoid the titles whose time is not yet.  If you go to Goodreads for more, remember our star system – 3 stars and up are recommended, with 3 stars meeting expectations and our love increasing from there.  Also, if you want to know more about why we do or don’t recommend a title for right now, ask us about that too!

May your reading bring you joy in these strange days.

~Ashley and Nikki