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Relaxing Reads
 

What makes a book a “relaxing read?”  For this list, we’ve tried to indicate authors and titles that feature leisurely-paced, heart-warming stories.  Family and friendship – and all the humor, sadness and just plain everyday drama they entail – is often a major theme.  Some also may include elements of the Mystery, Romance, or Inspirational genres.  For those times when you’re just looking for a plain old “good story” try one of these!

Some authors whose works usually fall into this category include:


Jennifer Chiaverini – Elm Creek Quilts series
Maeve Binchy
Barbara Delinsky
Fannie Flagg
Philip Gulley – Harmony series
Jan Karon – Mitford series
Thomas Kinkade
Debbie Macomber
Joan A. Medlicott
Emilie Richards
Nicholas Sparks
Joanna Trollope
Marcia Willett
Miss Read

Selected Titles

Wish You Well by David Baldacci
Open House by Elizabeth Berg
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
Queen Lucia by E. F. Benson
Rose’s Garden by Carrie Brown
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God by Joe Coomer
The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
My Friends George and Tom by Jane Duncan
Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
Going Home by Harriet Evans
Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank
Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
A Painted House by John Grisham
East of the Mountains by David Guterson
The Gazebo by Emily Grayson
A Green Journey by Jon Hassler
Friendship Cake by J. Lynne Hinton
Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor
Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver
The Good News from North Haven by Michael L. Lindvall
A Good Year by Peter Mayle
Don’t Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford
The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones
Swimming Lessons by Mary Alice Monroe
Bitsy’s Bait and BBQ by Pamela Morsi
London Holiday by Richard Peck
The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard
Pastures New by Ann Purser
Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray
The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice
Bachelor Brothers’ Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson
The Secrets of Barneveld Calvary by James C. Schaap
Village Matters by Rebecca Shaw
Selling the Lite of Heaven by Suzanne Strempek Shea
The Lemon Jelly Cake by Madeline Babcock Smith
Celia’s House by D. E. Stevenson
World of Pies by Karen Stolz
The Cape Ann by Faith Sullivan
Happy Returns by Angela Mackail Thirkell
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
The Angels of Morgan Hill by Donna VanLiere
Miz Lil & the Chronicles of Grace by Walter Wangerin
Out to Pasture: (But Not Over the Hill) by Effie Leland Wilder


For help finding these or similar titles, contact Readers Services.

Updated 6/07 mcs

 

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