When life gets to be too much it’s common to turn to your favorite form of media for comfort, which for me is books. If you also turn to books in tough times, here are my top recommendations for comfort reads that will restore your faith in the world.
Beach Read by emily henry
There’s something about a good summer love story that gets me every time and Beach Read is no exception. Beach Read follows two characters, January Andrews and Augustus Everett, who are authors and neighbors at the start of the book, but were once college rivals back in the day. Emily Henry does an excellent job of balancing between focusing on the characters’ individual growth and the progression of the relationship between them. Their journey of trying to find love again despite past heartbreak or betrayal is refreshingly honest and so artfully crafted that it could make the most coldhearted of cynics believe in love.
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
The Anthropocene Reviewed is John Green’s first work of nonfiction and is much more personal in contrast to his other novels. His approach to discussing tough topics such as illness, heartbreak, and hopelessness is one I find honest but comforting. He has a way of talking about pain that is both hopeful yet realistic-like he looks it in the face and says I see you, I hear you, but I will not allow you to consume me. There are also more lighthearted essays in the book that can make me laugh even in the toughest of times.
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Landline feels like a warm hug of a book. It follows Georgie and Neal, college sweethearts who end up getting married and having two children years later. When they hit a rough patch in their marriage Georgie is dumbfounded on what to do. Luckily she finds a time machine, well sort of. She discovers a landline that doesn’t let her travel into the past, but lets her call Neal from the past. Landline discusses the difficult topic of how to keep a relationship going when the love isn’t as sparkly and new as it was at the start. This novel is a good reminder that relationships take sacrifice, vulnerability, and hardship, but the love you get in return is always worth it.