Book recommendations for when you can’t even

Okay! I started Records of a Spaceborn Few and boom!, first thing that happens is a terrible, terrible accident that kills 46,000 people.

You know what I am not in the mood for right now? That.

In case some, most, or possibly even all of you feel the same way, let’s take a look at some Books Where Terrible Things Do Not Happen.

I will also point out this post by Jo Walton at tor.com: Books in Which No Bad Things Happen

That’s what I’m talking about! Thanks, Jo!

Let me see what Jo Walton suggests … Ah! Cotillion by Georgette Heyer. Excellent choice. A few others, and then she finishes the post this way:

And now, my one actual real solid in-genre example of a book where nothing bad happens!

Phyllis Ann Karr’s At Amberleaf Fair is about a far future where people have evolved to be nicer, and there’s a fair, and a woodcarver who can make toys come to life, and there is sex and love and nothing bad happens and everything is all right. It’s gentle and delightful and I genuinely really like this odd sweet little book, and unless I’m forgetting something I don’t think anything bad happens at all.

Yes, thank you, that sounds perfect.

A commenter at that post recommends the one that probably leaps to mind for many of us here: MCA Hogarth’s Dreamhealer’s series. This is obviously a great choice, but since I just read it a few months ago, well, now what?

We have all shared “comfort reads” here from time to time, such as this post or this one or this one here or this one.

Whole genres do exist where problems are minimal and happy endings assured, particularly romances (obviously), but also cozy mysteries, which as I have argued elsewhere are fundamentally mysteries that are also romances. We have also seen posts here about cozy SF, a category which some of you helped flesh out.

For me, stories that fall into this category AND are new to me this year:

MCA Hogarth’s Dreamhealers seriesFrom All False Doctrine by Alice DeganElizabeth Peters’ mysteriesWhat else?

If you have read a nice, calm novel this year, one in which nothing particularly bad happens, with low stakes and minimal tension, by all means drop it in the comments!

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