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⍣ books that feel like a hug ⍣
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items When life is too loud, these are your soft places to land. They feel like a warm blanket, a quiet room, and a reminder that everything is going to be okay.
"I think we ought to live happily ever after."
A story that proves if you’re going to be cursed by a witch, you might as well use the opportunity to become the most chaotic, unbothered version of yourself.
Whenever I’m stressed, I return to this wo...
Howl's Moving Castle a book by Diana Wynne Jones
I didn't realize how much I needed a book to just be 'kind' until I read this. It’s the ultimate antidote to a bad week.
The characters are so wonderfully strange and the sense of belonging is so absolute that I felt a physical sense of relief whil...
The House in the Cerulean Sea
A lonely witch is invited to a hidden estate to teach three unruly young witches, only to realize she’s the one finally being invited home.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches: A romantic cozy fantasy
"So many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible."
A journey through a land where words are bought in markets and numbers are mined like jewels—essentially, a sanity check for your imagination.
The Phantom Tollbooth a book by Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer
Everyone knows Anne of Green Gables, but this is her underrated adult masterpiece. It’s about a woman who has lived a repressed, gray life finally deciding to live for herself. It’s rebellious, cozy, and romantic in a way that feels like sunlight bre...
The Blue Castle
This is a tiny, perfect book. It’s about a war veteran uncovering a medieval mural in a quiet village church during a long, hot summer. It’s about healing, quiet friendship, and the peace of meaningful work. It feels like a long, calm afternoon in th...
A Month in the Country
A reminder that the only thing more dangerous than a demon in Victorian London is a boy with a book and a secret that could break him.
Additional comment:
even with the danger, the bond between the main trio feels like home. I’d follow them anywher...
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
“She fought to keep the ugly, chaotic world at bay and to keep a sweet, pretty corner to live in.”
A rare exploration of what happens when the tragedy never arrives, asking if we are actually brave enough to just be happy.
Happy All the Time feels ...
Happy All the Time by Laurie Colwin
What happens when an orc decides that swinging a sword is exhausting and that the world would be significantly better if everyone just drank more coffee.
Legends & Lattes: A High Fantasy Novel
A grumpy old man decides he’s done with the world, only to find that the world, specifically his annoying neighbors, is absolutely not done with him.
A Man Called Ove a book by Fredrik Backman
Four women escape the London rain for an Italian castle, discovering that sometimes the person you need to meet most is the version of yourself you left behind.
The Enchanted April
A quiet reminder that when your life falls apart, a dusty corner of a bookstore and a relative you barely know might be the only medicine that actually works.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop: A Novel
A tea monk meets a robot in the wilderness, and they spend their time talking about what it actually means to be alive and why it’s okay to just be.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built: A Monk and Robot Book
Every page feels like a hug. Gentle wisdom, quiet illustrations, and simple truths about love, friendship, and vulnerability. It’s impossible to read this and not feel soothed, wrapped in calm and acceptance.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
Letters, friendship, and a quirky little community that heals each other.
A testament to the fact that humans will find a way to make art and friendship even when they are literally eating potato peels to survive.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel
A perspective shift that dares you to be kind in a world that often finds it much easier to be cruel.
Auggie’s story is like a comforting hand on your shoulder. It reminds you that empathy and human goodness exist, and reading it feels like someone...
Wonder
A clinical study of loneliness that slowly cracks open to show that "fine" is a very dangerous word to live by.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Because sometimes the only thing more bittersweet than the past is having exactly one cup of coffee's worth of time to say what you missed.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Heartfelt Novel
Proof that sometimes the cure for corporate burnout isn't a vacation, but a sentient bread starter with a suspiciously charming personality.
Sourdough a book by Robin Sloan
For anyone who has ever considered a social invitation a personal attack on their reading time.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
A collection of reflections, notes, and observations meant to soothe. Short, digestible, and emotionally nurturing, it feels like a private, reassuring conversation telling you that the world isn’t as loud as it seems, and that it’s okay to pause and...
The Comfort Book
Because some heartbreaks can’t be cured by medicine, they require a "literary apothecary" on a boat and a very long trip down a river.
The Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel
A story about what happens after life ends, but instead of being scary, it’s set in a cozy tea shop where the owner helps you find the courage to cross over.
Under the Whispering Door
The ultimate "hug" book. An imaginative orphan turns a quiet town upside down with her mistakes, her temper, and her massive, wonderful heart.
The Anne of Green Gables Collection;Volumes 1-3 (Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island)
Two people who have never met share a bed (at different times!) and communicate only through Post-it notes. It’s a slow-growing, incredibly sweet romance built on small gestures.
The Flatshare
A classic "healing" story. As a neglected garden begins to bloom, so do the hearts of the lonely children who tend to it. It feels like the smell of fresh rain on grass.
The Secret Garden