Feel Good Reads
American humourist P.J. O'Rourke once said, "Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." But sometimes we simply feel like reading something other than all those worthy and impressive literary award winners - something lighter but still well-written, something wonderfully witty which makes us laugh out loud, or maybe just a cracking good adventure. So for all of you who wander in and tell us that you're looking for something different to read, but you don't really know what you want; or who need something for a friend in hospital; or a book to take on holiday; or just something to escape from the grimness of the nightly news - we are delighted to present a new area in our bookshop entitled "Feel-Good Reads."
Titles include both fiction and non-fiction options - beloved classics from P.G. Wodehouse, Barbara Pym, and Nancy Mitford; hilarious travel narratives from Bill Bryson; amusing essays from David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs; modern Australian classics from John Clarke, Shane Maloney, and Thea Astley; plus many more from Kurt Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions to Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole series; from Alexander McCall-Smith's warm and witty Scottish tales to Paul Carter's gripping and often hilarious true-life adventures.
We will also be promoting Feel-Good Friday where we will feature a chosen title from these shelves and posting on facebook, twitter and instagram so keep an eye out for your next great read.
The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village by Joanna Nell
$29.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Reading Level: good
A moving, funny, heartwarming tale of love and friendship, for anyone who loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Keeper of Lost Things and Three Things About Elsie. It's never too late to grow old disgracefully... The life of 79-year-old pensioner Peggy Smart is as beige as the décor in her re ...Show more
The Rosie Result (C-format) by Graeme Simsion
$29.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: Don Tillman Ser. | Reading Level: very good
I was standing on one leg shucking oysters when the problems began...' Don and Rosie are back in Melbourne after a decade in New York, and they're about to face their most important project. Their son, Hudson, is having trouble at school- his teachers say he isn't fitting in with the other kids. Meanwhi ...Show more
Time of Love and Tartan (44 Scotland Street #12) by Alexander McCall Smith
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Series: 44 Scotland Street Ser.
The latest installment of Alexander McCall Smith's perennially popular and irresistibly charming 44 Scotland Street series. When Pat accepts her narcissistic ex-boyfriend Bruce's invitation for coffee, she has no idea of the complications in her romantic and professional life that will follow. Meanw ...Show more
Lovebirds by Amanda Hampson
$32.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
Not all marriages end in happily ever after... In their youth, lovebirds Elizabeth and Ray had to fight to be together. Their future was full of promise and, blessed with children and careers, their happiness complete. But a twist of fate changed their lives forever. Now in her sixties, Elizabeth is d ...Show more
The Drover's Wives by O'Neill , Ryan
$26.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
The new book from the winner of the 2017 Prime Ministers Literary award for fiction. Henry Lawson’s short story ‘The Drover’s Wife’ is an Australian classic that has sparked interpretations on the page, on canvas and on the stage. But it has never been so thoroughly, or hilariously, reimagined as by Ry ...Show more
Really Good, Actually by Monica Heisey
$29.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction | Reading Level: near fine
One of the most hotly anticipated, hilarious and addictive debut novels of 2023, from Schitt’s Creek screenwriter and electric new voice in fiction, Monica Heisey. I feel like when you get a divorce everyone’s wondering how you ruined it all, what made you so unbearable to be with. If your husband dies, ...Show more
The No-Show: The utterly heart-warming new novel from the author of The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary
$22.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
'Ingenious, heartwarming and romantic' Sophie Kinsella'Surprising and deeply satisfying' Emily Henry'The kind of book that leaves an impression on your heart' Holly Miller'Such a clever, finely woven, sweet and heart-rending story' Bolu BabalolaThe funny, heart-breaking and uplifting new novel from the ...Show more
Prettier if She Smiled More by Toni Jordan
$32.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
One perfect life. One disastrous week. The brand-new novel from bestselling, acclaimed and beloved author Toni Jordan As the eldest child in a single-parent family, Kylie's always had more important things on her mind than smiling. Controlling her job, her home, her romantic life - and most importantly, ...Show more
Remainders of the Day - More Diaries from The Bookshop, Wigtown by Shaun Bythell
$34.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Non-fiction | Reading Level: very good
The Bookshop in Wigtown is a bookworm's idyll - with thousands of books across nearly a mile of shelves, a real log fire, and Captain, the bookshop cat. You'd think after twenty years, owner Shaun Bythell would be used to the customers by now. Don't get him wrong - there are some good ones among the ant ...Show more
Duck à l'Orange for Breakfast by Karina May
$34.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
What if the person getting you through the hardest time in your life is someone you've never met? Maxine 'Max' Mayberry, an ad executive with writing ambitions, is holed up in a friend's apartment after discovering her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. If that wasn't bad enough, Max has rec ...Show more
This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs
$22.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
A delightfully funny and romantic debut novel from Susanna Hoffs, the celebrated performer and co-founder of The Bangles, that is 'part romcom, part Jane Eyre, and one hundred 'percent enjoyable (Tom Perrotta).Jane Start is thirty-three, broke, and recently single. Ten years prior, she had a hit song-wr ...Show more
The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club by Sophie Green
$19.99 AUD
Category: Feel Good Fiction
You are warmly invited to . . . The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book ClubSunday 25th June 1978, 10 o'clockRSVP to Sybil Baxter - ask the operator for 'Fairvale'~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 'Brimming with atmosphere and warmth' Jenny Ashcroft, author of Island in the East'An absolute gem of a novel' Bette ...Show more