When it feels as if the world has gone to hell in a handcart we need books that absorb us into another world, that distract us, or teach us how to cope. We want something gentle maybe? A feel good novel or something that makes us laugh out loud. So I’ve compiled a list of books that have helped me over the years from those that have given me inspiration or suggestions on how to cope – the best one? Get a small dog. Often we need something nostalgic or an old favourite to sustain us, or perhaps something with a hint of magic. I think we all need just a tiny sprinkling of hope.
This is a lovely, heartwarming read. It’s about being broken and trying to put ourselves back together. Sometimes we need another person to help us, a spark of friendship and a chance to learn from each other. Here’s the blurb…
Two people.
Simon Sparks hides in plain sight – his astonishing gifts locked deep inside himself, as he dreams of lost potential and extraordinary tomorrows.
Jodie Brook hides behind what you think of her – a single mum who can barely make ends meet. But her dreams are filled with the education she always wanted and discovering a better life for her and her son.
One life.
When Simon and Jodie’s lonely worlds collide, it upends everything. But as it becomes clear they have so much to learn from each other – Jodie can show Simon how to rejoin the world, and Simon can help Jodie prepare for her greatest challenge yet – they begin to realise that life could be so much more.
One ordinary day at a time…
Sometimes the old ones really are the best and I’m always instantly soothed by one of these books, mainly for me the first two that focus on the March sisters as they grow up and choose their way forward in life. Yes, I know exactly how they’re going to turn out but that means there are no nasty surprises and I can just luxuriate in the sisters, their hobbies and passions, the warmth of their home and their generosity as a family. The March family are not without their trials, with their father away at war, sickness and loss and heartache but these are character building and the girls always look forward with hope. I can’t believe there’s a reader out there who hasn’t seen one of the films or read these books when they were younger so I won’t do the blurb. All you need to know is these books are funny, hopeful, romantic and everyone has a favourite sister. Beware of doing those quizzes that tell you which March sister you are. I wanted Jo but got Amy and that put a real dampener on my day! 😂😂
I’ve been following Dr Brené Brown’s work for around 12 years now and often used it in my counselling practice. I could have taken any of the books because they’re all helpful, but this is the one I started with. One of the biggest barriers to success and connection in my life has always been perfectionism. I’ve failed at things before I’ve even started because I wanted my work to be perfect. I even went to university with the aim of getting a first, because anything less would have felt like a failure. A chronic illness and disability has taught me that I can’t work in the way I want to. I have to work in short bursts and sometimes it I have to accept it’s a day to rest and work, chores and everything have to take a back seat. It’s a hard lesson. Reading this book helped me to accept my imperfections and realise admitting them to friends and family would bring us closer. Brené Brown tells us about her own struggles with perfectionism and it’s like reading the words of a close friend. Under this chatty style is a serious academic, with many years of research behind her. I never felt lectured but I did learn. I came away feeling like we’d had an honest, in-depth conversation where she showed her own vulnerability. I would advise reading it through, then go back to it with a notebook and pen, working through the tasks and applying them to your life. This really did create change in my life and allowed me to relax about being a messy, imperfect human.
Many of you have probably read Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild or watched the Reece Witherspoon film of the same name. It chronicled her decision to walk eleven hundred miles up the West Coast of America from the Mojave Desert, through California and into Washington State. This wasn’t something she normally did, but life’s circumstances had brought her to breaking point. Her mother died suddenly, her family seemed to fall apart and her own relationship totally broke down. She knew she needed to do something drastic, otherwise addiction could completely take over her life. This one of those survival stories where just getting up every day and walking and the nature around her began the healing process. This is a later book, compiled from the online anonymous agony aunt Cheryl became afterwards. Using the name Sugar, she tackled so many different problems with empathy but also a deep understanding of how it feels to be at rock bottom. Having down to earth advice from someone who’s been on the same journey is so powerful. Somehow it comes across as down to earth, genuine and caring, while also avoiding bullshit. This is a great book to dip in and out of when you’re feeling a bit low. In fact I recommend creating a pile of books by the bed for this very reason, books where you can read one section, a poem or a letter for those mornings when you need that boost.
This book is an absolute beauty and was a total surprise too! I picked it up in a second hand bookshop because it had an octopus on the cover and I read these lines:
Who am I, you ask? My name is Marcellus, but most humans do not call me that. Typically, they call me that guy. For example: Look at that guy—there he is—you can just see his tentacles behind the rock. I am a giant Pacific octopus. I know this from the plaque on the wall beside my enclosure.
It went from a maybe to a must buy in a couple of sentences. Our main character is Tova Sullivan whose husband died and ever since she’s worked as the night cleaner at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who sees everything, but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors – until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late… This book is heartwarming, original and so clever. Being inside the mind of Marcellus just made me smile and still does whenever I have a re-read. This book stays by my bed because I know it will always bring me joy.
I may be cheating here because this is more of a genre than an individual book, but I simply had to add it to this collection. There’s a reason streaming channels fill their schedules with Jane Austen adaptations, with a new Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility on their way soon, and it’s because they’re a joy to watch. Especially if they put one on opposite the endless football. These are gentle, witty and romantic stories with the hope of a happy ending. Of course you’ve probably already read Austen, so what next? Reach for an Austen inspired book. My three choices are inspired by Pride and Prejudice and involve all of the characters we are so familiar with. Eligible relocates P&P to a wealthy New York neighbourhood and the present day. The Other Bennett Sister tells a familiar story from the perspective of the middle Bennett sister Mary, something of a joke in the original, here Mary starts to enjoy life and it’s glorious. Finally there’s last year’s take from Rachel Parris, which keeps all the wit and romance of the original but our heroine is Lizzy’s best friend Charlotte Lucas, last seen accepting the proposal of the seemingly dreadful and ridiculous Mr Collins. What’s great about these books are the new plots, different perspectives on characters you know well, witty interesting women and yes, a touch of romance too. There’s the comforting feeling of knowing this world but also the unexpected joy of seeing it anew.
This book was a gift from my mum, after my husband died. Having been his carer for the final year of his life I hadn’t just lost the person I loved but I’d lost my purpose, the thing that occupied almost all of my time. Before he died I was ‘on’ day and night, except for the two nights we received nurses paid for by the NHS. Occasionally Marie Curie had a cancellation and I was offered care for the night and I jumped at it. He couldn’t move, eat or swallow so had a feeding tube in his stomach. He had primary progressive MS and it even affected his breathing, so he needed someone awake at all times.
This is a really honest and powerful memoir from Bel Mooney, mixing personal stories with literature, history, and inspiration. This book tells the story of her rescue dog, Bonnie, and how she rescued Bel when her world fell apart. She writes about the very public break-up of her 35-year marriage to Jonathon Dimbleby who fell in love with an opera singer. Not long afterwards the other woman was diagnosed with terminal cancer, leaving Bel’s ex- husband devastated and needing support. Bel covers six turbulent years from when she first acquired Bonnie from a rescue home, through this personal heartbreak and disappointment. It also shows the joy and companionship a dog can bring at a very difficult time. It inspired me to get my dog Rafferty who lived through some very difficult times with me and only died around four years ago. I can honestly say if I hadn’t picked him up on New Years Eve 2007 I might not even be here. Bel has now found happiness in a new life, with her Maltese at her side all the way. She writes about transformation, about healing then picking yourself up and attacking life. It’s also about celebrating the good parts of life, much as a dog always celebrate your return, even from the shortest trip. This is such an engaging story and I suppose my dog and this small book saved my life.
In my teenage years, our holidays were always spent in North Wales at a holiday let owned by an elderly gentleman called Ted. It was a large secluded farmhouse not far from the coast and we’d originally found it in a brochure. But Ted liked us and knew my parents had no money, she he’d let us stay for a whole week for £50. We’d stay in the front of the house and Ted would live in the small living space at the back that had probably been a piggery at one point. There was an adjoining door and at breakfast he would appear like a magic trick from the pantry. He was ever the gentleman, full of stories from the RAF and looked like the BFG, just smaller. Every year I would aim for the bookshelves and grab a compilation of James Herriot stories. I would read them laid on the lawn or by the river while my brother fished. I still find them some of the funniest and most uplifting stories I’ve ever read. I defy you not to laugh out loud when reading the ghostly monk who wanted a particular lonely road, perfect for terrifying a vet who’d had a call out at 3am. Or the angry cat Tristan and James are conned into collecting from an elderly lady, only for it to escape from its box on the return trip. As James tries to concentrate on the road while this black streak whirls around the car, causing Tristan to shout:
“The bloody thing’s shitting Jim. It’s shitting everywhere”.
Or the disastrous night he first takes Helen out to a dance, and tries to drive through a flood. They return to her farm with James soaked from the knees down and with ruined shoes. He then has to attend a dance with crinkled trousers and her father’s old dancing slippers that have bows on! The animals are amazing and I love reading about the bond between animals and their owners, even some of the farmers are more attached to their livestock than we might think. This is another one that’s great for keeping next to the bed when some cozy humour is needed.
This lovely novel from indie publisher Orenda Books has all those feel good words attached to it – heartfelt, life-affirming, hopeful. I can honestly say it is all of those things. Our hero, Robin Edmund Blake is halfway through his life.
Born in 1986, when Halley’s Comet crossed the sky, he is destined to go out with it, when it returns in 2061. Until that day, he can’t die. He has proof.
With his future mapped out in minute detail, a lucrative but increasingly dull job in the City of London, and Gemma to share his life with, Robin has a plan to be remembered forever. But when Robin’s sick father has one accident too many, the plan starts to unravel. Robin must return home to the tiny seaside town of Eastgate, learn to care for the man who never really cared for him, and face the childhood ghosts he fled decades ago. Desperate to get his life back on schedule, he connects with fellow outsider Astrid. Brutally direct, sharp-witted and a professor at a nearby university, she’s unlike anyone he’s ever met. But Astrid is hiding something and someone from Robin.
And he’s hiding even more from her. I loved this book because I could relate to Robin, hit by one of those life circumstances that come out of the blue. He and his dad are awkward and don’t really know how to talk to one another. Robin is equally awkward with the characters, avoiding them if he can manage it. He’s dealing with a huge life change and seeing the person who brought you up becoming helpless is a difficult thing. An old friend gets Robin out of the house and out on a bike, taking in the scenery he remembers from being a child. Then there’s Astrid who is like no one he has ever met. When I finished this book I had a huge smile on my face and I’d read it again tomorrow.
My final choice is not a novel or a self-help book, in fact it’s more pictures than words. My mum’s copy of this book was kept on a recipe stand in the living room and was turned to each month as if it was a calendar. There was no point keeping a book this beautiful on a shelf, it needed to be seen. I fell in love with it and tried to convince myself I was an Edwardian lady in a floaty frock, flitting around the forest drawing ferns and butterflies. I copied her illustrations and did my own, even taking the book into school to do a project on it when I was around ten. Edith Holden’s original diary is filled with a masterful paintings and observations chronicling the English countryside throughout 1906. It’s one of the few true records of the time in print, the handwritten thoughts and paintings contained in The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady transport readers to a more refined, romantic, and simpler time. Her poetry and illustrations bring the reader back to a time in which propriety, civility, and an appreciation for the natural world reigned. It feels like a souvenir of a bygone era but it’s also a calming touchstone. I grew up surrounded by land, in a very agricultural county and I loved recording the plants and insects or birds I had seen, although my illustrations of butterflies and flowers were probably the most successful. It’s a charming book and even now a copy sits on the sideboard in my hall, open to the right month. It’s the perfect book to flick through, or read the quotations she has placed next to her sketches and lines of poetry. I feel completely in a different world when I look through this book, because it’s a powerful reminder of a gentler time, my own childhood and nature combined.
The Lotus Readers 