When you close these books you feel happy to be alive, secure that life is worth living, and motivated to get out there and live an awesome life.

Some of these books may deal with the dark side of life, but they still convey that overall it is good to be alive and leave you feeling uplifted.
1

by
4.33 avg rating — 1,130,254 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.30 avg rating — 4,887,615 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.26 avg rating — 6,977,955 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.19 avg rating — 819,533 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.17 avg rating — 1,312,619 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.30 avg rating — 4,520,499 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.28 avg rating — 714,293 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.28 avg rating — 329,624 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.17 avg rating — 2,493,976 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.16 avg rating — 2,359,250 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
4.47 avg rating — 11,568,791 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.89 avg rating — 204,121 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.81 avg rating — 277,361 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
4.27 avg rating — 954,377 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.81 avg rating — 1,028,674 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.94 avg rating — 1,766,533 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.60 avg rating — 1,910 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
3.92 avg rating — 3,641,629 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.06 avg rating — 260,572 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.15 avg rating — 210,580 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.64 avg rating — 5,242 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.22 avg rating — 1,318,300 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.23 avg rating — 558,870 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.26 avg rating — 97,637 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
4.10 avg rating — 1,361,149 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.04 avg rating — 253,362 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.57 avg rating — 34,099 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.33 avg rating — 2,527,611 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.13 avg rating — 54,965 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.24 avg rating — 339,999 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.70 avg rating — 94,663 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.94 avg rating — 584,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.42 avg rating — 1,321,097 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.29 avg rating — 196,608 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.71 avg rating — 34 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.02 avg rating — 92,489 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
4.04 avg rating — 212,728 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.81 avg rating — 42,390 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,056,706 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.28 avg rating — 457,039 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.38 avg rating — 1,240,044 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.96 avg rating — 196,334 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.19 avg rating — 121,079 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.83 avg rating — 48,543 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.39 avg rating — 451,003 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.23 avg rating — 229,787 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.31 avg rating — 195 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.48 avg rating — 27 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.14 avg rating — 40,727 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.36 avg rating — 1,207,723 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.54 avg rating — 738,378 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.06 avg rating — 119,778 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.92 avg rating — 298,809 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.67 avg rating — 18 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.08 avg rating — 125,213 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.39 avg rating — 38 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
4.09 avg rating — 79,562 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.08 avg rating — 99,132 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.94 avg rating — 196,621 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.15 avg rating — 790,401 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.10 avg rating — 349,628 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.01 avg rating — 600,163 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.13 avg rating — 22,290 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.17 avg rating — 22,964 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
3.88 avg rating — 153,538 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.13 avg rating — 51,078 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
4.03 avg rating — 376,053 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.03 avg rating — 81,384 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.12 avg rating — 24,772 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.20 avg rating — 5,392 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.63 avg rating — 116,731 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.81 avg rating — 89,970 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.88 avg rating — 42,850 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
4.10 avg rating — 9,333 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
3.76 avg rating — 14,158 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.04 avg rating — 80,895 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.77 avg rating — 330,629 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.05 avg rating — 262,023 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.39 avg rating — 1,005,851 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
4.05 avg rating — 581,491 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.36 avg rating — 223,362 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.30 avg rating — 519,993 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.17 avg rating — 197,416 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
4.25 avg rating — 57,358 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.01 avg rating — 57,523 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.03 avg rating — 74,431 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.19 avg rating — 32,563 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
4.12 avg rating — 6,327 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.96 avg rating — 45,043 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.04 avg rating — 166 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.71 avg rating — 31 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.96 avg rating — 3,513 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.88 avg rating — 161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
4.07 avg rating — 2,045 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.94 avg rating — 68,553 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.83 avg rating — 81,236 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,447,403 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.23 avg rating — 10,146 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
4.01 avg rating — 31,807 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.06 avg rating — 55,900 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
336 books · 290 voters · list created April 13th, 2010 by April (votes) .
72 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


April 1006 books
8 friends
Charlotte 511 books
14 friends
Natalia 1031 books
12 friends
Susan 344 books
5 friends
Ragnheiður 1246 books
32 friends
Nadia 1707 books
1 friend
Patrik 710 books
0 friends
Rei ⭐ 3422 books
281 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-13 of 13 (13 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Oh, thank you for this list! I've been exposed to so much dystopia and melodrama and explicit & gratuitous nasty stuff in books that my friends and groups are reading lately I'm just exhausted.

Is there a way to save this list to my profile or some place handy so I can refer to it readily?


message 2: by Susan (last edited Feb 07, 2011 09:33PM) (new)

Susan Cheryl wrote: "Oh, thank you for this list! I've been exposed to so much dystopia and melodrama and explicit & gratuitous nasty stuff in books that my friends and groups are reading lately I'm just exhausted.

I..."

It should be on your "Listopia Votes" and "Your Lists" on your profile, if you've voted on this list. Also check out this list: Best Stress Free Books!


message 3: by April (new)

April Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Oh, thank you for this list! I've been exposed to so much dystopia and melodrama and explicit & gratuitous nasty stuff in books that my friends and groups are reading lately I'm just exhausted."

Exactly! That's why I started this list- to get good fiction recommendations that wouldn't depress me. I've been reading some of the books on this list. Last year, I started reading the Newberry Award winning books- starting from the most recent. That has been so fun. They are for kids, but they are some very well-written books that aren't too dark.


message 4: by Cheryl (new)

Cheryl Thank you!


message 5: by Chana (new)

Chana Thanks for inviting me to vote on this list. Fun!


message 6: by Alexa (new)

Alexa Yes, I realised that most books I have read have a strong dystopic element - so I actively made the effort of searching for a list of 'Uplifting' reads. However, having read some of the books on the list - I can say that I do not agree!

The Goldfinch? (Masterpiece but far from uplifting)
No Terry Pratchett! No Night Circus!


message 7: by April (new)

April Hi Alexandra,
I hope you'll add fiction you've found uplifting and vote for the books on the list that you think fit the bill. Thanks for stopping by!


message 8: by Marie (UK) (new)

Marie (UK) OK so explain to me THE HANDMAIDS TALE - uplifting someone needs their bumps read


message 9: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited May 16, 2020 01:22PM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) It says in the description "Some of these books may deal with the dark side of life, but they still convey that overall it is good to be alive and leave you feeling uplifted', so maybe that's why it's on this list. Among other things, it can make you feel happy that it is not true to life...


message 10: by April (new)

April Kara wrote: "Yes, I realised that most books I have read have a strong dystopic element - so I actively made the effort of searching for a list of 'Uplifting' reads. However, having read some of the books on th..."

Hi Kara! Please add the books to the list that you find most uplifting. I know everyone will find different books uplifting.


message 11: by April (new)

April Booklovinglady wrote: "It says in the description "Some of these books may deal with the dark side of life, but they still convey that overall it is good to be alive and leave you feeling uplifted', so maybe that's why i..."

Hi Booklovinglady!
(I'm a book loving lady too!) This is an open list that everyone can add to and vote on. I hope you'll vote for the books you find uplifting and add your own choices as well.


message 12: by Tate (new)

Tate why is the tunnel on this list?


message 13: by Alexa (new)

Alexa April wrote: "Booklovinglady wrote: "It says in the description "Some of these books may deal with the dark side of life, but they still convey that overall it is good to be alive and leave you feeling uplifted'..."

True. Still looking for uplifting reads as I've ventured into the territory of horror.


back to top



Related News

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...

Anyone can add books to this list.