I would really like to save this thread, if only I knew how (many blushes). So many good suggestions here! I'm sure it is fairly easy to save this, but I have never been able to figure it out. Can anyone help with that?

I also loved The Ordinary Princess and would recommend it for all ages. Carl Hiaasen's Hoot is another YA book that was a lot of fun; among his adult books I would recommend Skinny Dip - although some rotten things happen to some characters, it is positive overall and I don't remember the last time I laughed so hard. It also has an unusual and oddly touching 'romance' that I have never seen before in fiction (you'll have to read it to find out - I'm not giving it away : )

I thought Dodie Smith's "I Capture the Castle" fit well into this genre, with a couple of laugh-out-loud scenes. Also, Twain's "Tom Sawyer" is worth a re-read, even for adults....

Siobhan- Martin has a way of actually archiving these files, but I don't know how he does it. I use the very low tech method of copying the thread and pasting it into a Word document. I then take out the graphics and save the document. It works for me.

There are some great ideas on this thread. Another member of my book discussion group suggested that we read nothing but happy books next year. :) Guess I'm not the only one thinking this way.

Siobhan: I use Mozilla's Firefox as my browser, which is free, and there is an "extension" (a download that works with Firefox), also free, called "Scrapbook". (In Firefox, go to Tools > Extensions, and click on "Get more extensions" at the bottom right of the box that this brings up. You can make folders in Scrapbook, just as in I.E.'s "Favorites" or Firefox's "Bookmarks," and then you save any Internet page (including threads on RP) by right-clicking in an empty space on the page and selecting "Capture page as" from the menu that appears. It is similar to bookmarking, but the nice thing is that the page remains even when the original is gone. I have found this very easy to use.

I am a huge fan of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective series, too...also, I recently read a newer book called Blessed Are the Cheesemakers, by Sarah-Kate Lynch. It is a sweet, funny, feel-good book! If you are into nonfiction, I recommend The Sex Live of Cannibals, by J. Maartan Troost. It's a hilarious account of his two-year stint on a VERY small island in the Pacific.

Right now I'm about halfway through Big Stone Gap. It's set in a small, rural Virginia town. It's a light read where nothing tragic has happened.

if your going for the younger age group (books that in my belief no one is too old to read) then i must tell you to go back and reread Narnia or discover it for the first time (if you are to discover it then happy trails you're in for an adventure where good always triumpths [sp] right up to the end) and don't forget a little princess and a wind in the willows. Jane Eyre (the end makes me believe in fairy tales) the heritage of lancaster county by beverly lewis and pick up janette oke too!

Siobhan - once this finally peters out or gets to a hundred, I'll archive it.

But it's easy enough to save it. In IE, just go "File -> Save As..." and choose a filename. Then you can just open the file again with IE (or just double-click it), and the thread will reopen magically.

GULLIBLE'S TRAVELS by Cash Peters
(who now has a series of amusing travel shows on the Travel channel )

He is an edgier version of Bill Bryson with less facts and much more attitude!

If you've never read Elizabeth Von Arnim I highly recommend her......ENCHANTED APRIL, ELIZABETH'S GERMAN GARDEN are two wonderful reads.

Hope this gives you some ideas.
Yvonne

Martin--What a great tip--Thanks. I saved it in "My Documents". Is there a way to compress it and get rid of all the white space and graphics?

Winzip?

I don't know what that is but will check around. Thanks for the reply, tho.

Hi, I've been an occasional lurker here, I couldn't pass up this thread, it's great. I understand the need for a rest from some of the more heavy reading, and I enjoy Jan Karon's books. Jennifer Chiaverini is an author with similiar types of books, I think there are 7 in her series now -- they are related to quilting, but you don't have to be a quilter to enjoy them. I LOVED And Ladies of the Club, I haven't thought about that book for a while. I also really enjoyed Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik. I thought A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and 50 Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne M. Laskas were laugh out loud funny.

Sarah Canary - this is a great thread from last year. (Yes, I'm still catching up!)
As I grow older I find I want happy books more and more. I have shelves full of death and mayhem by Connolly, Crais, LeHane, etc. Not interested anymore!
I was interested to know what your favourite happy books were after you worked your way through this list?

Hee, didn't realize that the post was from last year! I think the recent thread 'Gentle Reads' probably has the same kind of books.

Question - what do you consider a happy book? For me its comfort reading - a book I read when nothing else is working and I just need a blankie and a cup of warm milk. The ending doesn't have to be happy but the story itself should be such that I can read it again and again and it makes me smile.

A happy book to me is one that doesn't make me feel depressed and miserable, one that makes me smile as I read it. Like Big Stone Gap by Adrianna Trigliani (sp?). One with lots of characters that I feel I have known. Wuthering Heights was so depressing to me I would actually get a feeling of dread when I thought of picking it up! LOL

This is a great thread. I could second so many of the books mentioned here.
Here are a few that I don't think have been mentioned:

The Rumpole Books by John Mortimer....mysteries but not dark and quite funny
The Tale of Hilltop Farm by Susan Wittig Albert....Beatrix Potter is the "detective" but they remind me of Miss Read...English village life
Bailey White's two nonfiction books....Mama Makes up her mind and Sleeping at the Starlite Motel

Happy Reading,
Goose

I loved "Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town" by Chris Bohjalian (he also wrote, among other things, "Midwives." I know that book is very serious, but this is quite different.)

It's a collection of newspaper columns he wrote in Lincoln, Vermont.

The only tears you will cry are tears of true joy.

we're doing Midwives for our September book club (I better get reading, no?) so I'm going to look for that book as a counterpoint. Thanks!

Just had to add a book I recently finished. It's Fannie Flagg's "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven." Actually, any of Flagg's books are good for some hearty laughs along with down-to-earth good-hearted but very human folks.
Her books are easy reading and entertaining. They make great gifts for people who are "laid up" temporarily and need a happy book that won't necessarily disturb the stitches but will produce endorphins to enhance healing and won't take forever to read.

What is a happy book? I think it changes from week to week and year to year. For the past year, Christopher Moore books have provided me with the laughter and escape I needed. In the past, the Mitford books always put me in a good mood.

I guess a happy book needs likable characters, an entertaining plot, little to no violence, and a satisfying ending.

Lake Woebegone Days just occurred to me. I read it years ago and loved it. However, something else I read by the same author (Was it Garrison Keilor of "Prairie Home Companion?--too late to check tonight)was not nearly as funny and interesting.

Same guy - LW is the name of the town he uses in Prarie Home Companion. I haven't read any of his books. Used to be a big fan of his show - then it just started to grate on me (A friend calls him over sincere. Accurate perhaps). The movie however is tons of fun!

My book club read a book entitled "In the Land of Second Chances" by George Shaffner. I would recommend it to anyone who is in the mood for a nice and thought-provoking book.
PAM

Years ago I really enjoyed reading Lillian Beckwith's books about a British woman who goes to the fictious Skye village of Bruach to convalesce after an illness...gentle and humorous.
The first two are The Hills is Lonely and The Sea for Breakfast.

Also I just finished two wonderfully touching books..84 Charing Cross Road and The Duchess of Bloomsbury St. both by Helene Hanff.
The first tells of the charming true-life correspondence between an outgoing American woman and a London bookseller and the next follows her
as she visits her beloved London for the first time. Pure joy!
ann

I am so glad you mentioned the Hanff books-they are classics and I had forgotten them-now which shelf are they hiding on? There's a third, called Q's Legacy about how she started on the quest to buy the books discussed in 84 CCR, and she also wrote Underfoot in Showbusiness, Apple of My Eye, and Letter from New York. I loved them all.

pulling up

I think it's really interesting that someone commented that authors today are less talented. I bet as a group that's true. It is so much easier to get published today than it used to be. But I also wonder if most of the poor quality books of days gone by are now forgotten. My guess is that most of today's junk won't be critically respected in 50 years.

Happy books: what about PG Wodehouse?

>It is so much easier to get published today than it used to be.I disagree-at least by the reputable publishing houses. There are more opportunities to publish yourself.

>But I also wonder if most of the poor quality books of days gone by are now forgotten.

Bingo. Even the good books are forgotten. Take a look at Booker winners of years past, or Pulitzers. How many of them do you recognize? Usually tho the cream does rise to the top.

>My guess is that most of today's junk won't be critically respected in 50 years.

Much of today's junk isn't critically respected now; but they are popular and so are more visible. It would be interesting to see what books now would be considered classics in 50 years. That might make an interesting thread...

I also disagree that its easier to publish. Perhaps with the vanity presses, but not with a 'real' publishing house. I am on another forum populated with writers, and they tell stories about trying to get their books published. Its a nightmare, really.

I just finished Bellwether by Connie Willis and LOVED it. I haven't laughed out loud at a book in ages. This book has everything--romance, satire, fun facts about fads and it's a super quick read. I have a feeling it was probably a recommendation from someone off of this site--all the best books are.

Thurber Carnival, The Most of S.J. Perelman, and Diary of a Nobody -- humor classics.

I don't know if it's frowned upon to revive old threads, but this thread is full of ideas for summer reading!

Cheers

We LOVE it when list threads resurface!

I've not read the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series set in Botswana, but I can recommend the Isabel Dalhousie series set in Edinburgh, also by Alexander McCall Smith. ( "The Right Attitude to Rain", "The Sunday Philosophy Club", and "Friends, Lovers, Chocolate." ) The heroine gets involved in thought-provoking issues, but with such wit and verve!)

Am I asking too much, you say? No siree! What you've described is exactly how I feel. I'm sick and tired of trying to find a book that is uplifting with soft romance and has a bit of adventure, that doesn't have sex and violence. There are a few books that describe this perfectly. There are books by Cameron Dokey and Richard Paul Evans. Dokey has a series called "Heart of Freedom," "Heart of Hope," etc. Evans has one that I really like called "The SunFlower." Also, Check out "Melinda and the Wild West." Some friends of mine read it and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read it to my husband, who doesn't care for romance, and he even enjoyed it. Good Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Make Believe

here it is!

Here's a great list of happy books.

Could I recommend "Whit" by Iain Banks. It's quite unlike his other novels - enchanting, funny and compelling - without the darker side that he's better known for.

Here is a link that might be useful: Whit.

Trying to bring this up for hinchess(?)

The series by Patrick Taylor:
Irish Country Doctor, Irish Country Village and Irish Country Christmas fit very well into my definition of happy books. Herriot moved to Ireland with fewer animals-although there are a dog and cat that figure large.

What a great list of books. I recognize several "old friends" and look forward to reading many new ones. I didn't see anyone mention Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries. (Start with A is for Alibi). I really like the characters that she has created and eagerly look forward to the newest book. Thanks to Sarah Canary for bringing this thread back to life for me. Peggy/hinchess

Barbara Pym is a great favorite of mine - try Excellent Women. Her books are wonderful, and the characters are beautifully drawn and live very realistic lives without being raped and murdered.

A fun YA novel that I discovered here at RP (thank you, whoever it was!) is Sorcery and Cecilia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. There are three books in the series, if you like the first one.

I can't remember the quote exactly, nor who said it (an artist, I believe) but to paraphrase - why is it only valid or artistic to evoke negative emotions or feelings? Why isn't happiness just as important? Why, as an artist, does one have to defend oneself for making people smile?

I have thought of this nearly every day since I heard it. Go ahead and read happy books, draw pretty bright colored flowers, and don't be afraid of being thought shallow if you want to, at least occasionally, leave the darkness behind.

well said.

Siobhan, I think I was the one who mentioned Sorcery and Cecilia, I loved that book. I have the sequels but have not read them yet.

I'll also second the recommendation for Barbara Pym, she's just wonderful (Quartet in Autumn is a bit melancholy, though). Georgette Heyer is another favorite, her Regency romances and 1930's murder mysteries are definitely happy books.

I recently read Little Heathens by Mildred Kalish, a memoir of growing up during the Depression. Her family had it tough, but to her as a child it was one big adventure, so, definitely a happy book.

I was re-reading this thread, and was reminded of a couple of things:

* A new restaurant just opened in town called "The Egg and I" - which made me smile and ref'd Vee (in this thread) who mentioned Betty MacDonald... I wonder how many other people in town will know the reference..?

* And I think it's in this thread that "Seventeen" by Booth Tarkington is recommended. Having a spare moment, I found his book on Project Gutenberg and must say that it's really pretty funny and he has the mind of a 17 year old young male adult very accurately (at least if I think of my brother and how he was)...

And then - it's always nice to reminded of some happy reads every now and then... this goes back to 2005 so thought some people might like to see it.

Scrolling through and recalling posters who haven't been here for a while.
I like the books of Maeve Binchy, easy to read Irish novels.
Margery Sharp needs a mention too.
Kate Fenton..pity that she has only written six books. "Balancing On Air" is special to me, reminds me of happy times being around a radio station as a "pressed" volunteer. My husband worked the 5am shift and when the other presenter rang him at 4am to plead sickness, I would get a dig in the ribs to go in too!

I was browsing through this thread too and realized there are several people I haven't seen on RP in quite a while. I hope they are all okay and may pop back in again.

One of my favorites is a series of four books by Marlena di Blasi:
One Thousand Days In Venice ( first book...then they follow in order as listed)
One Thousand Days in Tuscany
That Summer In Sicily
The Lady in The Palzzo

If you love Italy her story will warm your heart, tintillate your taste buds and totally entertain you.

Everyone to whom I've given these books has loved reading them !

I have one to add:

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett. It is a short work, about 100 pages. It all begins when one of the queen's corgis wanders into a bookmobile parked next to the palace grounds. The queen goes in search of the dog and, not wanting to seem unappreciative of books, she borrows one. Thus begins a reading frenzy and a whole list of ways that the queen continues to carry on her duties but squeezes in as much reading as possible. I think it is hilarious.

PAM