No one needs a reason to pick up a book. But now that its getting darker earlier, theres no reason not to lose yourself in another world far from real life. And what better escape than fiction that makes you feel better when you emerge the other side? Feel-good fiction or up lit doesnt have to mean saccharine; sometimes its worth working a little for that hit of optimism. Enjoy, and see you in the spring.
Jenny Colgan, Sphere, 14.99
Out of work, Carmen is lured to Edinburgh by her sister and the offer of work at a little bookshop. But the bookshop is struggling to survive. Can Carmen save it? A seasonal heart-warmer.
Michle Roberts, Sandstone Press, 14.99
This colourful take on a family mystery is a transporting read back to early 50s Provence, where three women are breaking free from village life. Two wind up helping out an ailing Henri Matisse. Vibrant and engrossing.
Claire Keegan, Faber & Faber, 10
Set in the run-up to Christmas in 1985 Ireland, this slim novel is a story of redemption. Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant and father of five daughters, emerges as a tender hero.
Susie Boyt, Virago, 16.99
A story about a mother struggling with an addict daughter who cant look after her baby might sound an unlikely feel-good candidate, but this powerful study of love will keep you reading. Just beautiful.
Joshua Ferris, Viking, 16.99
Charlie is a dreamer who, told he has cancer, looks back at his life, including five wives, four children, 40 jobs and constant debt. But he never gave up and neither will any reader.
Beth OLeary, Quercus, 12.99
A grieving young woman and her grandmother swap homes as they try to shake up their lives the former moving to a little village in the Yorkshire Dales after the death of her sister; the latter to a London flat, in pursuit of love.
Lauren Groff, William Heinemann, 16.99
A tale about a feminist utopia of 12th-century nuns headed by the visionary Marie, who is based on the writer Marie de France. An uplifting novel in its own unique way, and up there with Groffs best work.
Marlowe Granados, Verso, 10.99
There is plenty of vicarious pleasure to be had from this coming-of-age debut about two young women navigatinga summer in New York with little cash but plenty of wit and hedonistic verve.
Val McDermid, Little, Brown, 20
Thrillers dont usually make feel-good lists, but theres no reason why the first in this new crime series shouldnt. With a strong female reporter holding her own in a male-dominated world, there is plenty to take heart from.
Lucy Mangan, Profile Books, 16.99
This romp through the chaos of family life will have you wincing and rejoicing in equal measure as Liz battles through a year on a quest to grab a moment just one would do to herself.
Katherine Heiny, Fourth Estate, 14.99
This is a charming and tender tale about the messiness of modern love and unconventional family life. Bittersweet and wry, this is a gem from the bestselling author of Standard Deviation.
Jonathan Coe, Penguin, 8.99
A sweeping story about an unlikely friendship between a Hollywood film director Billy Wilder and a Greek teenager who wants to break free from what she knows. It is also a story of second acts. A novel to cherish.
Cathy Rentzenbrink, Phoenix, 14.99
This first novel from the accomplished memoirist is set on a moneyed west London street. The plot follows a handful of families as they navigate grief and friendship and keeping going, which can be the hardest thing of all.
Clare Chambers, Orion, 8.99
Witty and sharp, this is a crisply written tale of romantic anguish and daughterly duty. Jean, a frustrated reporter who lives with her mother, takes her small pleasures where she can, but this is one big pleasure to read.
Elif Shafak, Viking, 14.99
If an epic story about a divided country, which opens with the death of a mother and a grieving father, sounds an unlikely candidate for an uplifting read, remember that love comes in different guises.
Marika Cobbold, Arcadia, 14.99
Funny and darkly surprising, this is a heart-warming mystery about honesty in the age of social media, as a journalist fabricates a good-news story then goes in search of the truths behind it.
Elizabeth Strout, Viking, 14.99
It is uplifting to watch Lucy Barton who Strout fans will know from an earlier novel rekindle her friendship with her ex-husband. This isnt a classic feel-good novel, but is all the richer for it.
Charlotte McConaghy, Vintage, 8.99
Franny Stone is tracking the last of the Arctic terns on what may be their final migration to Antarctica in this cli-fi book about wild animals disappearing from the natural world. Will she find them? And can we save them?
Pat Barker, Hamish Hamilton, 18.99
The material might be harsh and bleak but there is something uplifting about finally hearing the Greek myths from a womans perspective. Briseis is a marvel of a heroine, brave, clever, loyal, and Barker is a wondrous storyteller.
Sammy Wright, And Other Stories, 10
Youll have to buckle in for the ride, but this rewarding debut by a secondary school teacher is about a modern-day Cinderella, plucked from her foster home into a dazzling new London life. Its tough, yet ultimately hopeful.
Meg Mason, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 14.99
Sharply observed and darkly hilarious, this story about love, mental illness and sisterly bonds scales all the highs and lows of life. Sensitive, deeply heartfelt and utterly captivating.
Ruth Jones, Transworld, 8.99
An uplifting tear-jerker from the Gavin & Stacey screenwriter about the highs and lows of three childhood friends as they navigate life, work, marriage, children, death, arguments and reconciliation.
Beth Morrey, HarperCollins, 8.99
Prickly and resentful, 79-year-old Missy is destined to spend the rest of her life alone until she makes two friends who give her a second chance at life, proving its never too late for a new beginning.
Ilona Bannister, Hodder & Stoughton, 14.99
When the Twin Towers collapsed, Gigi fled her office, New York and her life, ditching her husband and children. Ten years on, the story resumes. Loss, grief, love and motherhood: this has it all, plus lots of sassy humour.
Marianna Cronin, Doubleday, 14.99
At just 17 years old, Lenni has terminal cancer. Stuck in hospital, she meets 83-year-old Margot, who is on the next ward. Together, they paint their life stories. Fiercely tender.
Read more from the original source:
25 feel-good novels for winter nights in: from Greek myths to tales of a feminist utopia - iNews
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 15th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 15th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: DELHI / NEW DELHI - Utopia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia - New World Encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Utopia (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 17th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 17th, 2016]
- Chanel Mirage, Utopia, New Moon Illusion d'Ombre ... [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2016]
- New Utopia Design Build - Los Angeles, CA, US 90012 [Last Updated On: August 14th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 14th, 2016]
- THE NEW UTOPIA - Libertarian [Last Updated On: September 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: September 20th, 2016]
- NEW TOWN UTOPIA by Christopher Ian Smith Kickstarter [Last Updated On: October 20th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 20th, 2016]
- Travel & Resources: HONG KONG - Gay Asia and... - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- THE NEW CHAIN REACTION - Game Show Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- DELHI / NEW DELHI: Massage and Spas - Utopia [Last Updated On: December 7th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 7th, 2016]
- First Listen: Sinkane, 'Life & Livin' It' - NPR [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Who is authorized to bind your family business to contracts? - Lexology (registration) [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Meanwhile in Canada Things Are Just as Bad - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia expansion lets you craft megastructural ringworlds - PC Gamer [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- 'Stellaris' Utopia DLC Gets First Trailer; Will Introduce New Buildings And Perks - iDigitalTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Utopia Pipeline project to bring 300 temporary jobs to New Philadelphia - New Philadelphia Times Reporter [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- With violin in hand, Mark Menzies finds hope for the future in the past - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Revolution: Russian Art review from utopia to the gulag, via ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Brooklyn's A/D/O Co-Working Space Is Building a Utopia for Creatives of All Kinds - Artsy [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Austra encourages listeners to imagine new, bolder futures - San Francisco Chronicle [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Michael Loong Proposes New, Sustainable Ideology to Achieve Utopia in China - Satellite PR News (press release) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- French photographer builds supernatural Astana, calls it Utopia of the 21st Century - Astana Times [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- The village aiming to create a white utopia - BBC News [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- A notable show BAMPFA's 'Hippie Modernism: The Struggle for ... - Berkeleyside [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- British Airways Concorde 'Alpha Foxtrot' Arrives at New Bristol Home - AirlineGeeks.com (blog) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- In praise of utopias, not dystopias: Salutin - Toronto Star [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- The Bannon-Trump Arc of History - American Spectator [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Everybody's Pop-Up Shop Throws a Wild AntiFashion Week Party With Adwoa Aboah - Vogue.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Plotting 'No-Place' in 'Utopia Neighborhood Club' - Seattle Weekly [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Utopia releases its next version of master data governance solution ... - SDTimes.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Bruno Ganz on New Film About Last Days of East Germany: 'This Is a Subject That Will Never Let Me Go' - Variety [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- New Barbarians: Inside Rolling Stones' Wild Seventies Spin-Off - RollingStone.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Drought-crazed utopia flushes away common sense - NewHampshire.com [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Lenkom Theater: From Soviet utopia to post-modern dystopia - Russia Beyond the Headlines [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- GHOST To Record "Darker" New Album This Summer, Tease Completely New Lineup - Metal Injection.net [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Protest Cabaret: Ithaca's Resistance - Cornell University The Cornell Daily Sun [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Fighting for Utopia in Tough Times - AlterNet [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Mardi Gras brings on the fun - Tullahoma News and Guardian [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Angela Henderson-Bentley: New take on Jack the Ripper an idea whose 'Time' has come - Huntington Herald Dispatch [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Knowledge can fight ignorance: New speakers series will shed light on Yemen - Detroit Metro Times [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Hygge Is Where the Heart Is - New York Times [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Utopia is coming, with a basic income for all - The Times (subscription) [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Government shakeups and political unrest are coming to Stellaris in its Utopia expansion - PCGamesN [Last Updated On: February 26th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 26th, 2017]
- Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third' - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- The board hoard: your guide to the best new board games - The Guardian [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Tempted To Move Out Of The US? New Zealand Wants To Help You Escape - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC to Welcome New 'Georg von Trapp' on Tour in Hershey - Broadway World [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Gameplay Expansion Out In April - Attack of the Fanboy [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- At BAMPFA, 'Hippie Modernism' Proves the Fight for Utopia is Far from Over - KQED [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Stellaris Utopia Set To Launch April 6th - One Angry Gamer (blog) [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Railcar derailment in Utopia due to vandalism: Cando Rail Services - Simcoe.com [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Stellaris: Utopia Path to Ascension release date trailer - Gameplanet [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- JUSTIN JOHNSON: It's a TRAP! - SCNow [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Watch brutal Xenomorph attack in new 'Alien: Covenant' trailer - CNET [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Dr. John to headline Utopia Fest in final year at Four Sisters Ranch - austin360 (blog) [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Want utopia? Start with universal basic income and a 15-hour work week - Wired.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Extreme Channel 4 reality challenge Mutiny makes its sailors suffer - iNews [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia Frozen Yogurt and Coffee House | Ellensburg, WA [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- March 4, 2017 - EDP Foundation - Utopia/Dystopia / Hctor Zamora: Order and Progress - E-Flux [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Utopia for Realists and How We Can Get There by Rutger Bregman digested read - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- A taste of 'Utopia' - Otago Daily Times [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Father John Misty references Taylor Swift in new song, 'Total Entertainment Forever' - EW.com [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Time After Time May Be Your New Bad TV Obsession - Gizmodo [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- 'Time After Time' delivers Jack the Ripper to modern-day New York - Long Beach Press Telegram [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Why everyone hates the GOP's new health plan - The Week Magazine [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- A modern utopia: Inside the UK's first women-only housing community - International Business Times UK [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Utopia Now! - Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Hello Cuba, Adios Utopia: Cuban Art in Texas - Observer [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Whole of It: 'Free Cake at the Top' - Scottsbluff Star Herald [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Utopia in the Time of Trump - lareviewofbooks [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- The Nature of Robots - Film School Rejects [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Utopia Multimedia Festival brings artistic talents together in one place - Taranaki Daily News [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- The Electoral College is right for New Mexico - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Equal writes and the best new women fiction: Book reviews - Express.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Liberal America Has A Sweden Fetish - GOOD Magazine [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Utopia Creations travels to Florida - Journalism.co.uk [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- A Well-Ventilated Utopia - The New York Review of Books [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- 500 years after Sir Thomas More's Utopia, what have we learned? - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- This Swiss Startup Is Bringing AI to the Music Label Business - Bloomberg [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]