The hopeful readers group discussion

Hi all :)

So tell me, what are some of your go-to comfort books that you can re-read over and over again, and they still make you feel better?

Mine are:

Venetia; my love for this classic romance knows no bounds. There's also a (sadly) abridged audiobook read by the wonderful Richard Armitage, who I could listen to all day.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton; Colin was one of my first book crushes :D

Glitterland; amazing both in print and in audio (read by Nicholas Boulton, who is just amazing)

I'd say Venetia as well :D read by the wonderful Richard Armitage ( thank you for introducing me to this book and to the narrator's beautiful voice!!)
Romancing Mister Bridgerton too! I loved it the first time I read it and I still love it to this day. It's one of those books that will always put a smile to my face.
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake forever my favorite!! I love this one and have read it so many times ♥
And I'll add Five Little Pigs which doesn't bring a smile to my face exactly but I love it.

I'm so glad I made you and Becca listen to Venetia :D

Five little pigs was awesome… And I loved the adaptation from the TV show!

Yes! The TV show adaptation was so beautiful ♥ it's why I love it the book even more ♥

Persuasion is my time favourite book! But to be honest anything by Jane Austen is great for a bit of sharp wit, feisty heroines and classic period romance. Other great choices are Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

You also can't go wrong with picking up practically any novel by Nora Roberts and she has quite the back catalogue ranging from straight contemporary romance, to romance suspense and paranormal romance. She always write incredible characters and her attention to detail in researching core elements of her plot, character traits and world building is enviable.

A slight tangent to the above, my fav books by Roberts are actually the In Death series - a romance suspense set in near future New York under her pseudonym J.D. Robb which follow the exploits of New York homicide cop Lieutenant Eve Dallas, her main squeeze Billionaire Irish business man and reformed criminal Roarke and an assortment of cops, scientists, reformed criminals, psychiatrists, lecturers, lawyers, high class escorts, reporters, superstar singers, designers, beauticians and club owners. Originally envisioned as a trilogy, the series just celebrated it's 50th full length novel and has quite a few novellas too. I can just about fit an entire re-read of the series once about every 18 months and have read the fist book Naked in Death at least 6 times already and just finished the 50th book Golden in Death, which is another solid instalment and like coming home to old friends. Also the narration by Susan Erickson of the entire series (including all novellas) is superb, she has very distinctive range of voice styles for all the key characters (she makes Roarke's Irish brogue incredibly sexy), with good male and female tones that she keeps consistent throughout all the recordings. All the novels and novellas are available on audible.

Nalini Singh's Psy-Changling and Guild Hunter series are fabulous. I often do a re-read before reading the latest novel, but with the psy-changeling series now at 18 full novels and an assortment of shorts and novellas and Guild Hunter with 12 full novels again with quite a few shorts and novellas it can take quite a while! I've also got all the full novels and novellas on audible, so enjoy listening to them too.

I also really enjoy the Vampires in America series by D.B. Reynolds. The stories involving Cyn and Raphael (the protagonists from the first two novels and the series of novellas and a few other novels in the series) are the best in my opinion. These vampires are passionate and love deeply, but they are also a bit more morally ambiguous and gritty. A great antidote to sparkly Edward depictions.

Any of Roald Dahl's kid's books, really short reads and great fun. I can't wait until my niece Charlie is a bit older to hopefully share these stories with her. My favourites are Matilda, George's Marvelous Medicine, The Magic Finger and The Witches.

Listening to Stephen Fry narrate J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is great and these are now available on audible, so not only did I spend a fortune on the CDs many moons ago I now have then on audible!

^^^^This family is always a comfort.




And anything that I have previously read.

I cannot handle any Plot Twist right now unless I know it is coming.

Gio wrote: "

^^^^This family is always a comfort.




And anything that I have previously read.

I cannot han..."

I was just thinking about listening to the complete Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry :D Coincidence?

Andrea wrote: "Gio wrote: "

^^^^This family is always a comfort.




And anything that I have previously read.

..."

This group is Helpful.

No Coincidence! Happy Accidents.

I am finding much comfort in Stephen Fry and many of my fav celebrities.