Menopause Matters Forum

General Discussion => This 'n' That => Topic started by: Briony on January 10, 2015, 10:16:02 AM

Title: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Briony on January 10, 2015, 10:16:02 AM
Just finished reading The Rosie Project. It's about a university lecturer with Asperges Syndrome and his quest for love. I'd been feeling a bit down lately and this has really  helped to put a smile back on my face. What was the last 'feel good' book or film you read/saw? x
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Dancinggirl on January 10, 2015, 10:59:58 AM
I do agree it is important to read uplifting books.   I can't remember any I've read at the moment as I always have a book on the go so tend to forget titles etc quite quickly afterwards. I'll have a rummage later and make a list.
Thanks for the tip about 'The Rosie Project' - I must read that one as my son in on the spectrum and he longs to find a girlfriend.   DG x
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Briony on January 10, 2015, 11:03:26 AM
Oh do, DG, it will give you that warm feeling. A bit like Curious Incident Of the Dog but with a heart X
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: CLKD on January 10, 2015, 01:08:56 PM
I couldn't get into the 'Curious Incident' at all  ::)
Like Dancinggirl I read really good books but can't remember titles etc., started Monsaur Bahrani's life story last night which is up-lifting! 
I likes a good novel that I can lose myself in too …….. tending to prefer real 'life' stories ……
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Briony on January 10, 2015, 01:22:21 PM
Try The Rosie Project. CKLD. It's much more 'real life' than Curious Incident. Quite funny too. x
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: CLKD on January 10, 2015, 01:24:03 PM
 :thankyou:
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 10, 2015, 01:53:00 PM
Anything by Elizabeth Jane Howard also Susan Sallis

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/author/137/Susan-Sallis.html


https://www.google.co.uk/#q=elizabeth+jane+howard+book+list
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: libby1 on January 10, 2015, 02:19:40 PM
Anything by Milly Johnson is wonderful  :D

Libby
x
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: rosebud57 on January 12, 2015, 09:53:26 PM
Don't go in much for 'feel good fiction'.  Must admit I like crime fiction and thrillers.  Particularly like the Charlie Parker books by John Connelly.  Very well written, humour in places, but also very dark with a supernatural eliment.

If I do want something that's feel good I would read a Jane Austen or a Brontie.  Bill Bryson is always good if you need a laugh.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Ju Ju on January 12, 2015, 10:10:10 PM
I've been enjoying some of Santa Montefiore's novels.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 13, 2015, 03:28:07 PM
Read all hers books JuJu love them particularly her earlier ones e.g "The Butterfly Box"

http://www.santamontefiore.co.uk/

A lot of her books are set in the Argentine.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Dorothy on January 14, 2015, 08:05:53 PM
I love James Herriot, Jane Austen and Miss Read.  Also, P G Wodehouse.  And children's books like Wind in the Willows and Anne of Green Gables.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Ju Ju on January 15, 2015, 07:37:13 AM
 :) oh how I loved Anne of Green Gables, along with Little Women and Black beauty! I struggled to learn to read, but discovered the joy of reading with the books of Noel Streatfield, Ballet Shoes etc.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Dulciana on January 15, 2015, 08:48:17 AM
When our daughter was very little, I used to love reading the "Alfie and Annie Rose" books (Shirley Hughes) to her.  I probably liked them more than she did!  They're such cosy little stories with beautiful illustrations. 

Being an adult again (!), Rosamunde Pilcher's "The Shell Seekers" is a favourite of mine.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: purplenanny on January 15, 2015, 09:32:33 AM
Ahh, the Shirley Hughes books. I agree, absolutely lovely. I still have mine (my boys, of course) in the loft. Gorgeous drawings and stories
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Ju Ju on January 15, 2015, 10:27:53 AM
Wonderful books, yet I was slated for reading one of the stories to an early years class on teaching practice in the early 70s! I didn't take any notice. The children were the best critics and they loved the books.

My favourite novel of all time is 'Katherine' by Anya Seton. I read it for the first time when I was 14 and it is one of the few books that I have reread a few times. It is a historical novel and was published in 1954. It is about Katherine Swynford, mistress of and eventually wife of John of Gaunt. The quality of the writing still feels fresh to me.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 15, 2015, 11:55:40 AM
By coincidence I am listening to "Katherine" by Anya Seton on audible. Its a book that I read as a teenager.

Just as I remember it and addictive listening, read by Diana Bishop.

Dulciana "The Shell Seekers" is another favourite, have the book and have it on audible too.

Another favourite is "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith,  a classic) have the DVD too.

http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/jan/11/review-dodie-smith-i-capture-the-castle

Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: oldsheep on January 15, 2015, 06:32:31 PM
don't know about feelgood and ok, it's not fiction, but Jon Ronson always makes me laugh, which is a tonic.

Also read a lovely novel by Jim Lynch called The Highest Tide. It might pass for feelgood; it's certainly gentle and uplifting (in a good way).
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Briony on January 15, 2015, 06:36:03 PM
Forgot about The Shell Seekers. Must find my copy again. I recently borrowed All the Nice Girls, a love story set in a girls' grammar school during the war (Joan Bakewell) and that had a similar nostalgic feel. Puts me in the same mood as when I watch films like Brief Encounter. 

Must admit though, none made me laugh like The Rosie Project.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Dulciana on January 15, 2015, 07:49:05 PM
Being a cat-lover, I also love "A Cat Called Norton" by Peter Gethers.  Again, not fiction but oh, what a cat!
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: ariadne on January 15, 2015, 07:49:45 PM
I love James Herriot, Jane Austen and Miss Read.  Also, P G Wodehouse.  And children's books like Wind in the Willows and Anne of Green Gables.

I loved all the Miss Read books too. My Mother lent me one once and I gradually built up a collection. I still have them all as I cant bear to part with them.

Ariadne xx

Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: honeybun on January 15, 2015, 08:16:16 PM
I have just finished reading a book called The Art of Racing in The Rain.

It's a bit different and narrated by a dog. It's touching and uplifting and a bit sad at the end.

I really enjoyed it.


Honeyb
X
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: rosebud57 on January 19, 2015, 09:08:36 AM
I don't know if any of you watched the two part adaptation of 'Olive Kitteridge' on Sky over xmas, but I found it to be the best thing I've seen for ages.

Have just bought the book (by Elizabeth Strout) and also The Burgess Boys by the same author.  I suppose you could say it's a feel good novel, in a sense, but is also challenging and thought provoking.

Really looking forward to reading these books.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 19, 2015, 10:58:04 AM
Have read "Amy and Isabelle" but not the others.

Another book that you may enjoy rosebud57 is "Maine" by J. Courtney Sullivan.

Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: babyjane on January 19, 2015, 12:39:40 PM
I can't read any more due to my cataract  :(

I used to like Minette Walters and I loved Dorothy Koomson
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: rosebud57 on January 19, 2015, 01:02:27 PM
Amy and Isabelle are next on my list Silverlady.

Why don't you try audiobook downloads babyjane. If you have a tablet of smartphone they are ideal.  Amazon now provide an audiobook service, which I have signed up for.  I love to read and have a whole library of books, but cannot read whilst travelling (makes me heave). 

Also Husband will have Radio 5 Live on in the car.  Drives me nuts!!!!
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 19, 2015, 01:58:58 PM
Audible books too which is part of amazon, I have so many now along with my Audio books.

My new kindle Fire HD which is bigger and with much more memory is my best friend and I can't imagine life without it.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: CLKD on January 19, 2015, 03:05:23 PM
Oh    :thankyou:     Anne of Green Gables, Heidi and Secret Garden are on my shelf as 'keepers' as is Penmarric
Shell Seekers - I enjoyed that
Maeve Binchy - always readable with a twist  :o


I can read a book, enjoy the story but don't remember anything after  :-\
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: babyjane on January 19, 2015, 06:48:00 PM
we don't have tablet or smartphone or any of those modern techy thingummy wotsits.  We are dinosaurs  :)
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: CLKD on January 19, 2015, 06:49:21 PM
yep so am I - preferring real life books to Kindle- thingies  ::)
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Briony on January 19, 2015, 06:59:32 PM
Me too - I like the smell of books!  ;D
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 19, 2015, 07:35:25 PM
I have books too, I order on amazon almost as much as my techie ones.

The trouble is I run out of space so reluctantly I have to have a clear out now and them and take them to the British Heart  Foundation charity shop.

I can store thousands of books on my kindles :)

 
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: CLKD on January 19, 2015, 07:36:30 PM
Good point Silverlady.  I have 100s of books 'still to read'  ::) ……. and we still buy more …..
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Dorothy on January 19, 2015, 08:58:29 PM
I love 'real' books too, especially second hand ones where you find notes etc left by the previous owner.  I have books that have been given to me by friends who have written in them or passed down the generations...you can't do that on a kindle!
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: Rowan on January 19, 2015, 09:25:33 PM
You can you can share notes about books or share extracts, the same sentiment just a digital approach.

Kindle owners can be part of a community sharing their love of books.
Title: Re: Feel good fiction?
Post by: thorntrees on January 19, 2015, 09:43:35 PM
Having a kindle gives me the best of both worlds. I can try out new authors and genres often for free on my kindle. I enjoy books from the library as well and agree that the feel of a real book is something that can't be replaced, a kindle does come in handy for taking on holiday though and being able to increase the text size is also an advantage. At the moment am reading a series by Aretha Franklin about a mediaeval female anatomist- really well written and fascinating, I just love reading, losing myself in a book, real or electronic is escapism from the troubles of menopause!!

Thorntrees