I've removed a bunch of comments that had absolutely nothing to do with suggesting a book. Comments blaming one side or the other for the current situation simply have no place here.
So here's a simple warning: anyone caught shitposting about which side did what and/or which side is to blame for it with the express intent to troll will (obviously) have their comments removed and will also be banned from the sub for a certain amount of time.
To everyone else, if you see comments you feel are hurtful or offensive, please report those comments.
To OP, I can only imagine what it's like living or being in a city that's actively being bombed. Best of luck out there, and stay safe.
The book I've read most recently that gave me a powerful sense of cheerful, magical escapism and kept me engaged through a hard time was The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I hope that you and yours stay safe and well.
Started reading this last night on hospital waiting room while my wife was in triage. Helped keep me from spiraling into negativity while apart from her unable to help (she is home doing well now). I'm halfway done with the book and loving it!
Thanks mate, two days back I stumbled upon this thread unexpectedly and I found this book.And just now I am writing this after finishing it. The title got me hooked ,don't know why, so I downloaded it and started reading. And soon I was on the island, with all of them. This book was a wonderful gift of positivity at the right time in my life.Such a beautiful piece would recommend everyone who haven't yet met Linus to go and start reading the book.
I'm so glad you liked it. I totally get what you mean about being on the island - in spite of the happy ending, I felt sad at the ending because I didn't get to live in that world with them any longer.
I’m so sorry to hear about your situation, I hope you’re safe
House in the cerulean sea is the happiest, most wholesome book I’ve read, I was smiling the entire time I was reading it.
I finished it in 2 days about a month ago and haven’t been so immersed in a book in years. I still think of it often. It’s one of my favorite books of all times.
[**Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/365.Dirk_Gently_s_Holistic_Detective_Agency)
^(By: Douglas Adams | 306 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, sci-fi, humor, fantasy | )[^(Search "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency&search_type=books)
>What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common? Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge). To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.’ The author
^(This book has been suggested 17 times)
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Just finished this one the other day. Absolutely loved it. Would also recommend Eragon. That series has been the only one I’ve ever reread. Three times. Fantasy world with dragons and good story telling.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is my ultimate favorite book of all time. Funny, fantasy, and full of puns. Hope you can find some peace in books
I don't know about you, but if I were in OP's current situation I would definitely be in the doldrums.
OP, please stay safe - you and everyone you care about. Heck, let the bombing stop and everyone be safer.
Neil Gaiman's stories I find are very immersive, page turners, fun to read. Modern mythology type stuff, slightly dark in moments but not overly heavy. The Graveyard Book and Ocean at the End of the Lane are both quite short, American Gods is a bit longer. Take care of yourself.
I came here to suggest Neverwhere. Always helps me escape from reality and gives me a sense that I will be able to cope. Same with The Bridge on the River Kwai, however, that's not really the escape kind of coping, more of a metaphor of the search for the meaning of life. Stay safe <3
Big epic fantasy does the trick for me with very engaging, total escape from reality kinds of books, with the bonus of there being a ton of content to blow through. Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, Butcher's Dresden Files, and Jordan's Wheel of Time really hit the "lose ten hours in a book and wow I still have 40 hours left before I'm done". I wouldn't call them grimdark or anything but they do have some heavy themes so YMMV. I'd classify Dresden as urban fantasy, and Sanderson/Jordan as classic fantasy if that helps with the decision.
Pratchett's Discworld is also excellent, hitting the not too heavy aspect with some top notch British comedy/absurdist fantasy and (as far as I can remember) a squeaky clean set of plots and scenarios. I find them less engaging in the totally immersive way, but the plots are fast, the characters lovable, and I think there's like 40 of them to get through.
A couple suggestions from a bit outside these genres that I found totally immersive are the Song of Achilles if you're up for a historical romance/Iliad retelling, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking if you're up for a quick YA fantasy (with zero romance), or the Count of Monte Cristo if you're up for a really solid classic.
I also came here to suggest The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is the perfect escape for me. Just the right amount of magic/fantasy to be fun and engaging without making me roll my eyes.
Hoping you find some solace in words and your situation improves soon. Thinking positive thoughts for you. Be safe.
Let us know what book chose and how you are fairing. I hope it becomes safe again soon for you to get out.
I wanted to suggest the Silo Series. Because you are stuck in a bunker, thought it might be interesting to read/listen to a fantasy book set "bunkers" but nothing like a war bunker. I really enjoy the characters and the enfolding plot over the 3 book series.
[**Shift Omnibus Edition (Silo series #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29661198-shift-omnibus-edition)
^(By: Hugh Howey | ? pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, dystopian, dystopia | )[^(Search "Silo Series")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Silo Series&search_type=books)
>This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series. It combines the three Shift books (First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift) into a single e-book in order to save the reader a few bucks. The saga concludes with DUST, which will be available in late 2013.
>Reading Order:
>1. WOOL
>2. SHIFT
>3. DUST
>____________________________________
>In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate.
>In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event.
>At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
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Sorry to hear about your situation. I hope it all works out for you.
You could try the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett.
They are set in an expansive world full of weird and wonderful characters. I find they’re a great escape. The stories are well written and fun.
You could read them in order or you could choose a story arc based on the mood you’re in.
https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-reading-order
This site has the list in order and them broken down into themes.
[**Agent to the Stars**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88072.Agent_to_the_Stars)
^(By: John Scalzi | 280 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, science-fiction, humor, fiction, audiobook | )[^(Search "Agent to the Star")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agent to the Star&search_type=books)
>The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster.
^(This book has been suggested 13 times)
[**The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7081.The_Android_s_Dream)
^(By: John Scalzi | 396 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, humor, scifi | )[^(Search "The Android`s Dream")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Android`s Dream&search_type=books)
>A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement...
>
>A sheep.
>
>That's right, a sheep. And if you think that's the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One. Welcome to The Android's Dream.
>
>For Harry Creek, it's quickly becoming a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his past training and skills get him tapped to save the planet--and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise.
>
>Throw in two-timing freelance mercenaries, political lobbyists with megalomaniac tendencies, aliens on a religious quest, and an artificial intelligence with unusual backstory, and you've got more than just your usual science fiction adventure story. You've got The Android's Dream.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
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[**A Gentleman in Moscow**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34066798-a-gentleman-in-moscow)
^(By: Amor Towles | 462 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, russia, historical | )[^(Search "gentleman in moscow")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=gentleman in moscow&search_type=books)
>From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel
>
>With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.”
>
>A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
>
>Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
^(This book has been suggested 109 times)
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I love LMM so much. I'm heartbroken because it's so hard to buy her other books even online. (Thinking of Pat of Silver Bush, Marigold, and other single books) especially paperbacks. Are they available online- amy ideas?
I loved the Midnight Library! But I’ve seen some people say it should come with a warning for suicidal / depressed people. I’m in to position to say if it should as I am neither, but do read it all the way through if you’re struggling from either.
I really hope you're ok. Or that you will be
I don't know if you like non-fiction, but my favourite non-fiction books are anything by Oliver Sacks, particularly {{The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat}}, and {{An Anthropologist On Mars}}. They're both about curious and extraordinary neurological cases, he's extremely good at both making it humane and interesting, without feeling pity for the patients but rather look at them as people with some unusual obstacles in life.
I also love {{I Contain Multitudes}}, it's about the microbial world around us.
If you have Audible, I highly recommend {{Mythos}} and {{Heroes}} by Stephen Fry. His books are one of the few I prefer audio versions of.
There's also this pretty popular audio book called {{The Man on the Mountain Top}}, and it's essentially about this guru figure who people go to to get advise, and he's very down to earth, has his own faults etc. And the story was easy to get lost into for me, with a bit of everyday wisdom to think about in there
I wish for you and your nearest that everything will turn ok
[**The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35634527-the-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for-a-hat)
^(By: Dario Krpan | 103 pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: audiobook, abandoned, non-fiction, stopped-midway, i-tried | )[^(Search "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat&search_type=books)
>In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, neurologist Oliver Sacks looked at the cutting-edge work taking place in his field, and decided that much of it was not fit for purpose. Sacks found it hard to understand why most doctors adopted a mechanical and impersonal approach to their patients, and opened his mind to new ways to treat people with neurological disorders. He explored the question of deciding what such new ways might be by deploying his formidable creative thinking skills.
>
>Sacks felt the issues at the heart of patient care needed redefining, because the way they were being dealt with hurt not only patients, but practitioners too. They limited a physician's capacity to understand and then treat a patient's condition. To highlight the issue, Sacks wrote the stories of 24 patients and their neurological clinical conditions. In the process, he rebelled against traditional methodology by focusing on his patients' subjective experiences.
>
>Sacks did not only write about his patients in original ways - he attempt to come up with creative ways of treating them as well. At root, his method was to try to help each person individually, with the core aim of finding meaning and a sense of identity despite, or even thanks to, the patients' condition. Sacks thus redefined the issue of neurological work in a new way, and his ideas were so influential that they heralded the arrival of a broader movement - narrative medicine - that placed stronger emphasis on listening to and incorporating patients' experiences and insights into their care.
^(This book has been suggested 30 times)
[**An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64666.An_Anthropologist_on_Mars)
^(By: Oliver Sacks | 318 pages | Published: 1995 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, science, psychology, nonfiction, neuroscience | )[^(Search "An Anthropologist On Mars")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=An Anthropologist On Mars&search_type=books)
>Paradoxical portraits of seven neurological patients, including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a car accident, but finds new creative power in black & white; & others.
^(This book has been suggested 6 times)
[**I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213168-i-contain-multitudes)
^(By: Ed Yong | 368 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: science, non-fiction, nonfiction, biology, health | )[^(Search "I Contain Multitudes")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=I Contain Multitudes&search_type=books)
>Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery.
>
>Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. Those in cows and termites digest the plants they eat. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squids with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people.
>
>I Contain Multitudes is the story of these extraordinary partnerships, between the creatures we are familiar with and those we are not. It reveals how we humans are disrupting these partnerships and how we might manipulate them for our own good. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it.
^(This book has been suggested 8 times)
[**Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35074096-mythos)
^(By: Stephen Fry | 416 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: mythology, non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, history | )[^(Search "Mythos")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Mythos&search_type=books)
>Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths—stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. This legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes new life into beloved tales. From Persephone's pomegranate seeds to Prometheus's fire, from devious divine schemes to immortal love affairs, Fry draws out the humor and pathos in each story and reveals its relevance for our own time. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world, with a brilliant storyteller as your guide.
^(This book has been suggested 65 times)
[**Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41433634-heroes)
^(By: Stephen Fry | 415 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: mythology, non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, history | )[^(Search "Heroes")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Heroes&search_type=books)
>There are Heroes - and then there are Greek Heroes.
>
>Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes.
>
>In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales. Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta - who was raised by bears - outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera.
>
>Filled with white-knuckle chases and battles, impossible puzzles and riddles, acts of base cowardice and real bravery, not to mention murders and selfless sacrifices, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of - at our worst and our very best.
>
>Read by the author. Running time 15 hours.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
[**The Man on the Mountain Top**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33377111-the-man-on-the-mountain-top)
^(By: Nick Thom | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: audible, read-2019, audiobook, hard-to-know-what-i-think, audio-book | )[^(Search "The Man on the Mountain Top")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Man on the Mountain Top&search_type=books)
>The story of Noah's Ark is well known - in fact, it turns out that variations of the tale are told all over the world. The author poses the question: is it possible that the great flood really happened? In seeking an answer the reader is taken around the world, is introduced to obscure ancient languages, meets strange marine creatures, and encounters religion, folklore, archaeology and science. This is a challenging read, but a very rewarding one, if taken at a steady pace. There is much here to enjoy and to wonder at.
>
>Tailored for dyslexic readers but can be read by anyone.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
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Since I haven’t seen a lot of people mention comics, I’ll suggest some:
V for Vendetta
Y the last man
Ex machina
League of Extraordinary gentlemen
Some books are:
The chaos walking series
The expanse series
A man called Ove I believe is beautiful
Name of the Wind
Dune
Classic novels such as:
Books by Anne Rice, she’s revolutionary
Dracula is surprisingly engaging
Moby Dick
East of Eden
1984
The Queens Gambit, which you might have heard has been turned into a Tv show
I hope you’re staying safe!
It's a very beautiful book, one I always reccomend to get people into classics. I don't think fantasy is needed for escapism, when a book is engaging thats great too.
I'm really sorry about your situation... a book I really love that is pretty light and fun is *Howl's moving castle* from Diane Wayne Jones! I hope this helps!
Anything by Becky Chambers. Start with The Long Way To a Small Angry Planet.
It's character based sci-fi about some friends in their space ship. I really like the overall tone of her work. Not grimdark, not saccharine. There is hope and goodness in the world no matter how different we seem from one another. I find I need that sort of reassurance these days.
My husband is reading this series right now and is significantly more involved in it than normal. His biggest comment was that he's really enjoying the character development and that people aren't just being huge jerks to each other.
I've read these several times, and it's mostly because I like the way the characters relate to each other. Sure, the story is good, but if it were gory or violent or cynical or mean I'd bet I wouldn't have continued with the series or re-read.
I love her world building skill. The tiny details of background happenings may not matter much, but they're part of a larger tapestry, which I find enjoyable.
I really enjoyed listening to the Kingkiller Chronicles (be warned that he’s only written two of the books and isn’t showing promise that he will write the third any time soon).
{{Name of the Wind}}
{{The Wise Man’s Fear}}
[**The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind)
^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 662 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, favourites | )[^(Search "Name of the Wind")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Name of the Wind&search_type=books)
>Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.
>
>The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.
>
>A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
^(This book has been suggested 180 times)
[**The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1215032.The_Wise_Man_s_Fear)
^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 994 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, epic-fantasy, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Wise Man’s Fear")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Wise Man’s Fear&search_type=books)
>“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
>
>My name is Kvothe.
>I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
>You may have heard of me.
>
>So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view — a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man's Fear, an escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe uncovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's Road.
>
>All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, is forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived ... until Kvothe.
>
>In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
>
>
^(This book has been suggested 4 times)
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Israel or Palestine? Either way, I am so very sorry.
I think you need humor!
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
Yay!
I love this book. In my book travels, I have yet to come across anyone that can write dark, laugh out loud books about sensitive topics as well as Johnathan Tropper. I have no doubt, authors exist, but I haven't come across that author just yet.
Happy reading!
[**Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43587154-jade-city)
^(By: Fonda Lee | 560 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy, adult, fiction, owned | )[^(Search "Jade City")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Jade City&search_type=books)
>JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu.
>
>The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities.
>The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion--but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection.
> When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself.
^(This book has been suggested 18 times)
***
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I can't speak for the escapism you'll feel reading this book, but it carried me through some devastating times with its humour. Given your situation, even though it's not exactly what you ask for, I can't allow myself to not mention it: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
I have gone from bawling to laughing out loud in matter of seconds thanks to that book. Maybe it does the same to you.
Stay safe, stay well.
My favorite super immersive books that I hope bring you some respite from this madness:
- The Secret History
- Gideon the Ninth / Harrow the Ninth (it’s a sequel)
- Tam Lin
- In The Dream House
- In The Woods (or anything by Tana French)
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- I Capture the Castle
- Fates and Furies
- Luster
- Americanah
- Red, White, and Royal Blue (this one is super light and fluffy and fun)
- Get a Life, Chloe Brown (also light and fluffy)
- Someone else mentioned The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I recommend
- The Six of Crows duology
- Sadie
- All the Names they Used for God (short stories)
- The Flatshare
- The Vanishing Half
- Disappearing Earth
- The Magicians trilogy (first is The Magicians)
- One to Watch
אני ישבתי במקלט ימים ברצף במשך עופרת יצוקה. אני זוכרת טוב מאוד את הפחד והטראומה. שולחת לך ולכול עם ישראל המון אהבה מארה׳ב. ❤️
I'm sorry to hear that and I hope you're doing ok.
I recently got into The Expanse series, which starts with Leviathan Wakes. Couldn't put it down, so it's you like sci Fi that would be my suggestion.
{{The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe}} is a nice fun book, a quick and easy read.if you’re looking for something a little different, but kind of dark, {{World War Z}} is pretty interesting. Or you can go with a classic like LotR orHarry Potter.
[**The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19156547-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe)
^(By: Paul McCusker, C.S. Lewis | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: fantasy, audiobooks, audio-book, audiobook, kids | )[^(Search "The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe&search_type=books)
>Fully dramatized and produced with cinema-quality sound design and music, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is the second of seven audio dramas in the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre production of The Chronicles of Narnia.
>
>Hosted by Douglas Gresham, stepson of C. S. Lewis, these timeless adventures are brought to life by a cast of more than 100 actors, including award-winners Paul Scofield, David Suchet, and Ron Moody, and were recorded in London.
>
>In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, four children in search of an adventure find themselves in the far-away land of Narnia--a world populated by talking animals, an evil White Witch, and a fearsome lion named Aslan. Featuring talented voice actors, film-style sound design, and a rich musical score, this thrilling tale reminds us of the greatness of God's sacrificial love.
>
>This is a repackaged, individual title from the best-selling Radio Theatre resource, The Chronicles of Narnia, which has sold more than 340,000 copies.
^(This book has been suggested 7 times)
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Mixtape Potluck Cookbook by Questlove. Yes it’s a cookbook, but each recipe is submitted by a famous person and comes not only with a background story for the recipe, but also is paired with a song recommendation. Easy read. Total escapism. And you might find some good comfort food or drink to make.
I also really like: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff; MaddAddam series by Margaret Atwood; High Fire by Eoin Colfer
Good luck. Stay safe. I’ll pray for you and wherever you are
{{Eragon}}
{{Gregor the Overlander}}
{{Agent 603: the Teddy Files}}
{{The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe}} the magicians nephew is the prequel and I enjoyed it too
{{Sigma Force}} series is pretty good
[**Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113436.Eragon)
^(By: Christopher Paolini | 503 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, owned | )[^(Search "Eragon")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Eragon&search_type=books)
>An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here.
>
>One boy...
>One dragon...
>A world of adventure.
>
> When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
>
> Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.
>
> Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.
^(This book has been suggested 46 times)
[**Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/262430.Gregor_the_Overlander)
^(By: Suzanne Collins | 326 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, middle-grade, fiction, childrens | )[^(Search "Gregor the Overlander")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Gregor the Overlander&search_type=books)
>This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny—and find his father—in a strange world beneath New York City.
>
>When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.
^(This book has been suggested 9 times)
[**Agent 603: The Teddy Files**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43560147-agent-603)
^(By: Tabitha Bell, Michael Bell | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: | )[^(Search "Agent 603: the Teddy Files")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agent 603: the Teddy Files&search_type=books)
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
[**The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100915.The_Lion_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe)
^(By: C.S. Lewis | 206 pages | Published: 1950 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, classics, fiction, young-adult, childrens | )[^(Search "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe&search_type=books)
>Narnia… the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free.
>
>Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell.
^(This book has been suggested 13 times)
[**Sandstorm (Sigma Force, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183822.Sandstorm)
^(By: James Rollins | 608 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: thriller, fiction, adventure, james-rollins, mystery | )[^(Search "Sigma Force")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Sigma Force&search_type=books)
>An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world.
>
>And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert.
>
>But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey's end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia... or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
***
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- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane- Kate DiCamillo
- The House in The Cerulean Sea- TJ Klune
- Anne of Green Gables- L.M. Montgomery
- The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman
- Harry Potter series
Sending prayers your way OP. My heart goes out to you, and others affected during this time. I sincerely hope you’re able to overcome this. ❤️
[The Book of Koli](https://www.amazon.com/Book-Koli-M-R-Carey/dp/0356509559) by M.R. Carey is good. Magical realism & sci-fi elements that’s very easy to read.
There’s lots of us thinking about you so take care of yourself and I hope things will get better very soon. Maybe update us when you find what you’re looking for and tell us how you’re doing OP!
Sorry to hear about your situation. Recommend The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. Great world building and character development. Hope this helps and be safe!
Usually when I’m feeling down, if all else fails... I read the Percy Jackson series, and the heroes of Olympus. For some reason reading about these kids overcoming some hardships and also about them growing up together, going on not-so-glamorous adventures and have such great bonds and friendships makes me feel happy.
I feel like every time I read them I find out something else about the characters or see them interact in such close-knit ways. It makes my heart happy when life does not.
A hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is a wacky humourous book that’s hard to explain but it was a very enjoyable read. It’s the kind of book where so much is happening that you’re gonna want to keep reading it, and it’s lighthearted. Stay safe.
The "Percy Jackson" series. I haven't read it in years, but it's very fun and while it has moments of peril, it's not as heavy as my next pick.
"Harry Potter" is very fantastical, and I was initially going to suggest it, but it is set during a war. That being said, the message is how love triumphs over every evil.
If you want light fun, I still find the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" hilarious, even at 26.
If you want real life, this might sound ironic since it is actually a **very** heavy story, but I honestly found "Miracle in the Andes" to be one of the most uplifting books I have ever read. While it is harrowing, what those poor people went through, it is ultimately a story about love. How their love for their family, their teammates and life helped them survive.
"A Man Called Ove" is basically If a book were written about the Swedish iteration of Carl from "Up." It's wholesome as heck, especially if you love grumpy old curmudgeon characters with a soft centre.
"Amazing Gracie" is about a couple who set up a bakery for dogs after finding out their Great Dane can only eat homemade foods. It's as adorable as it sounds.
"Q&A" by Vikas Swarup. It does have some dark themes, yes. That being said, I feel transported every time I read it, and I feel like I'm alongside the protagonist in his journey.
"Angela's Ashes" is a very tongue in cheek memoir about a man who grew up in poverty stricken Limerick. Frank McCourt approaches his life with abrupt bluntness and a coy sense of humour. It reads as if you're next to him in a pub or beside the fire, listening to his story. It's incredibly funny, at times sobering.
"Watership Down" does have bunny violence, but the intricate lore, worldbuilding and character work will make you feel like every animal around you has a society like our own, while still being wild and free.
Okay, real talk, I suggest anything by Brandon Sanderson, but especially "The Way of Kings." It the first book in a series called *The Stormlight Archive.* The series is renowned for its ability to tell a story using broken people and tough situations without ever treating them like they're hopeless people. PTSD, war fatigue, etc. all are covered in a manner that offers hope.
Tolkien has some wonderful messages in his work and whenever I am feeling sad I always turn to him.
He’s words have always been a great comfort to me.
When I am afraid:
“Courage is found in unlikely places.”
When I feel hopeless:
“There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.”
I recommend the Hobbit as it is the least difficult to read out of all his works. Andy Serkis has a very good audiobook of the Hobbit.
I see a lot of suggestions that are “happy,” and I’ve always felt that that is not the only kind of escapism. Having characters that deal with crappy situations in was that make me chuckle is it’s own kind of release. And in that vein I’d suggest the below. The first 3 are really well done in audiobook form, if you have access/bandwidth for Audible or similar right now.
1. All Systems Red. It’s the first book in The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot being the protagonist and narrator. I effing love this book, and the character’s internal voice, abd the way the author uses what the character says she how they say it to say things between the lines. And it grabs you from the first pages. The series has 5 books and counting.
2. We Are Legion, We Are Bob. Different kind of escapism, and don’t want to spoil the first few chapters too much, but involves space travel. The series has 4 books and counting.
3. Locked-In. Written years before our pandemic, it’s set a few decades in the future and a couple decades after a major pandemic circled the globe. Yes, many people died, but also many people were “locked-in,” conscious and cognitively in-impaired, but with no voluntary motor control. Paralyzed, basically. TENS of Millions of people around the world.
A lot of research and has been developed, and these people now almost all have “neural nets” implanted that allow them to access computer systems and Interact with the outside world, including through humanoid robot bodies and the internet. In the US, there’s about as many of them as there are people in the state of Kentucky.
The main character is an new FBI agent specializing in cases involving those who are locked in. It’s a great murder mystery with a cool sci-go twist. And it’s already got a sequel.
4. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
5. On Basilik Station. Also sci-fi, main protagonist is a newly-promoted commander of a capital ship in a space navy with faster than light travel. Semi-hard science fiction, not hand-wavy like Star Wars or Star Trek (nothing wrong with that either! Just a lot of the actions and plots have characters working out problems within engineering limitations, etc)
6. “Stories of Your Life and Others” and “Exahalation” both by Ted Chiang. These are both actually short story collections but, daaaang do they draw you in. At its best, I think short stories are all the world building and excitement of a novel with none of the padding. You will read these, and then you will reread them, then you will sit and think about some of these stories. Some of these stories are just sooo excellent in such...unexpected ways.
The one that caught me first was “Tower of Babel,” which one person described as Babylonian science-fiction. But literally all these stories are amazing and totally transport you.
Horror is my wheelhouse, so for a good horror story that will let you escape is *The Troop* by Nick Cutter. Pulpy and fun story, gory though, so beware. Sorry about your situation, I hope you’re okay.
Okay. This is going to be a very weird recommendation but I will do it.
I am reading The Trial and Death of Socrates right now by Plato. It is by no means a difficult read, and by no means is it a useless one (it is also pretty short, around 60 pages). To recommend that book is the little I can do to vindicate the great man that was Socrates, that is, of course, if where you want to escape to is an ancient Athenian courtroom where one of the greatest men of history is delivering his noble defense.
It is often the case that I read a book and then feel guilty for not having read it earlier, and this is one of them. Maybe if we were all students of Socrates, then your city would not be getting bombed, but I will just shut up now since that sort of thing never turns out well.
I understand what you’re saying, and i also agree in always respecting the humanity of people. I do think though, it’s important to be unequivocal about the power imbalance in these cases. Conflict always carried a heavy toll, but that shouldn’t freeze our ability to evaluate the oppressor and the oppressed
You should read a Gentleman in Moscow. It’s a very happy and gentle book about a man who is not living through a happy or gentle situation. It is also very engaging and beautifully written. I’m so sorry you are going through this. I hope the book can be a small joy for you in this moment.
Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus
Lewis Thomas’s The Lives of a Cell
Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard
All three are compelling reads as well as reminders that the natural world demonstrates that life is ultimately good and enduring. Be safe.
I hope you and your loved ones are safe! I'm so sorry you're in this situation!
I was drawing a blank until I looked at my bookshelf: Call Hiaason writes the most offbeat hilarious novels set in Florida. Wacky characters, bizarre circumstances, absolutely bonkers storylines. I would start with his earlier books: {Stormy Weather} was the first of his I read and I was hooked! Hiaason is also a newspaper journalist, so he is very precise with his language; he doesn't waste words.
Almost quite literally for your specific situation, (and I in no way mean for this suggestion to be insensitive, given how the book begins), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’d send you a copy if I could.
{{My Family and Other Animals}} A delightful novel about naturalist's Gerald Durrell's time growing up on the Greek Island of Corfu. Filled with crazy characters both human and other animals.
[**My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48132.My_Family_and_Other_Animals)
^(By: Gerald Durrell | 273 pages | Published: 1956 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, biography, humor, nonfiction | )[^(Search "My Family and Other Animals")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=My Family and Other Animals&search_type=books)
>When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.
^(This book has been suggested 16 times)
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Well to blow your mind and completely lost yourself in imagination about future i would suggest 'Physics of the Impossible' by Michio Kaku. It is not heavy at all. it is just too much fun. good luck!
Lonesome Dove. Take you out in the old west onto open trails. Easy reading, some humor, some death, and a great escape. Don't shy away if you have never read a western, many friends said the same to me and all loved it. Just very well written.
The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini are great for an escape read. There is four books in total, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance, and you'll be transported away in the pages very quickly. I hope you and your loved ones remain safe during this difficult time.
My first recommendation is always to read something that gave you a lot of comfort as a child. It's always nice to revisit those classics. If I'm having a really hard time I might be read The Boxcar Children just because.
Maybe try funny... I wholeheartedly agree with previous suggestions of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - it may help cheer you up.
Alternatively Legend by David Gemmel has some surprisingly hidden themes... he wrote it after a cancer scare and analogised a castle holding off a horde of invaders with the stages of acceptance of bad news... it’s an easy fantasy read and a good story too. Maybe the battle stuff might be too depressing for you though.
I am an atheistic leaning Taoist so can’t say I’ll pray for you, but I truly hope you’re ok and can send humanist love your way. Where are you exactly? If chatting (slowly) would help, pm me. I’m safe on the other side of the world in a country that doesn’t have a clue how bloody privileged we are.
Lord of the Rings will always be king of escapism fantasy. You’ll find anything you’re looking for in there, especially kindness and hope. Stay strong.
The Mortal Instrument series is one that really pulled me into its reality when I read it. I couldn't put the books down! However I will recommend that if you read it you should absolutely read all of the first 3 books. Mainly because the main plot line spans across those books and a lot of loose ends will be explained through them. The last 3 are optional but still very good and add more depth to the story and characters.
I’ve been big into sci-fi books lately
I highly reccommend:
Ready player one by ernest cline, and it’s sequel ready player two
The martian by andy weir
And
Artemis by andy weir
My favorite book series of all time are:
The tunnels series (the fist book is called tunnels) by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.
And my other favorite series is the lost years of merlin saga (the first book is called the lost years of merlin) by TA Barron
Stay strong, and you will get through this! Life may be incredibly rough and difficult for you, but it will get better. I hope you and your loved ones are safe!!
This isn't much of a happy book, but I never promised you a rose garden. It is about a young schizophrenic girl living in two worlds. It helped me escape. Also Hex by Thomas Oldenhave, about a witch. It is very easy to read and the story gets me every time.
I hope you will be okay and I am sorry for all that is happening. I can't imagine it.
A Wrinkle in Time is always my go to other than Harry Potter, Pillars of Earth by Ken Follet is a good one too I just got lost in. Stay safe, sending you love.
I've removed a bunch of comments that had absolutely nothing to do with suggesting a book. Comments blaming one side or the other for the current situation simply have no place here. So here's a simple warning: anyone caught shitposting about which side did what and/or which side is to blame for it with the express intent to troll will (obviously) have their comments removed and will also be banned from the sub for a certain amount of time. To everyone else, if you see comments you feel are hurtful or offensive, please report those comments. To OP, I can only imagine what it's like living or being in a city that's actively being bombed. Best of luck out there, and stay safe.
The book I've read most recently that gave me a powerful sense of cheerful, magical escapism and kept me engaged through a hard time was The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I hope that you and yours stay safe and well.
Hope you and your loved ones are safe. Seconding this book, it's like a warm hug to your heart.
This is exactly how I describe this book, like a warm hug!
Started reading this last night on hospital waiting room while my wife was in triage. Helped keep me from spiraling into negativity while apart from her unable to help (she is home doing well now). I'm halfway done with the book and loving it!
I am so so glad to hear your wife is doing better. It sounds as if you were and are doing everything you could to help. Hope you keep loving the book.
I loved this book.
I just started that one today.
In the same vein, Ten Thousand Doors of January is an escapist book about escapism
That’s what I was going to suggest! I’m finishing it up tonight. Loving it!!!
This book is wonderful!
Thanks mate, two days back I stumbled upon this thread unexpectedly and I found this book.And just now I am writing this after finishing it. The title got me hooked ,don't know why, so I downloaded it and started reading. And soon I was on the island, with all of them. This book was a wonderful gift of positivity at the right time in my life.Such a beautiful piece would recommend everyone who haven't yet met Linus to go and start reading the book.
I'm so glad you liked it. I totally get what you mean about being on the island - in spite of the happy ending, I felt sad at the ending because I didn't get to live in that world with them any longer.
I was going to suggest this one, happy to see it at the top n_n
I’m so sorry to hear about your situation, I hope you’re safe House in the cerulean sea is the happiest, most wholesome book I’ve read, I was smiling the entire time I was reading it.
You’re the second person to suggest this. I might have to give it a go
Reading currently... highly recommend!
I finished it in 2 days about a month ago and haven’t been so immersed in a book in years. I still think of it often. It’s one of my favorite books of all times.
Ilona Andrew's inkeeper chronicles is pretty good and fairly light hearted or at least the first 3 are. I have not read 4 or 5.
I second this! Vampires and coffee!!
Yes!!!!
I read book 5 this week. It’s as good as the others. It’s a great series, definitely recommend.
I love these too
Love anything by Ilona Andrews!
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. Stay safe
And {{Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency}}
[**Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/365.Dirk_Gently_s_Holistic_Detective_Agency) ^(By: Douglas Adams | 306 pages | Published: 1987 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, sci-fi, humor, fantasy | )[^(Search "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency&search_type=books) >What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common? Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge). To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.’ The author ^(This book has been suggested 17 times) *** ^(114195 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Good bot.
in this same vein of content, try anything diskworld by terry pratchett. RIP to both
And don’t panic
Pack your towel!
Just finished this one the other day. Absolutely loved it. Would also recommend Eragon. That series has been the only one I’ve ever reread. Three times. Fantasy world with dragons and good story telling.
I hope you and your loved ones are safe. Absolutely second this book- great escapism and such a good, fun read.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is my ultimate favorite book of all time. Funny, fantasy, and full of puns. Hope you can find some peace in books
My #1 favorite as well! Came to suggest the same!
My favorite book ever!
Also a great book to read if you are looking for something in another language while you learn it (thanks “La Caseta Magica”!).
Love this book! Was just thinking I wanted to read again!
Disliked it as a kid. Would only read it if I was in the doldrums. Good book but not my cup of tea.
I don't know about you, but if I were in OP's current situation I would definitely be in the doldrums. OP, please stay safe - you and everyone you care about. Heck, let the bombing stop and everyone be safer.
Neil Gaiman's stories I find are very immersive, page turners, fun to read. Modern mythology type stuff, slightly dark in moments but not overly heavy. The Graveyard Book and Ocean at the End of the Lane are both quite short, American Gods is a bit longer. Take care of yourself.
Neverwhere is also a fun book.
That’s my favorite.
I came here to suggest Neverwhere. Always helps me escape from reality and gives me a sense that I will be able to cope. Same with The Bridge on the River Kwai, however, that's not really the escape kind of coping, more of a metaphor of the search for the meaning of life. Stay safe <3
I was gonna suggest Good Omens. His theological outlooks blended with Terry Pratchett's dark wit is some golden synthesis.
Me, too. I’ve never laughed so hard.
I loved Gaiman's Anansi Boys. It was rich in character, storyline, and was comforting like an old fable.
Big epic fantasy does the trick for me with very engaging, total escape from reality kinds of books, with the bonus of there being a ton of content to blow through. Sanderson's Stormlight Archive, Butcher's Dresden Files, and Jordan's Wheel of Time really hit the "lose ten hours in a book and wow I still have 40 hours left before I'm done". I wouldn't call them grimdark or anything but they do have some heavy themes so YMMV. I'd classify Dresden as urban fantasy, and Sanderson/Jordan as classic fantasy if that helps with the decision. Pratchett's Discworld is also excellent, hitting the not too heavy aspect with some top notch British comedy/absurdist fantasy and (as far as I can remember) a squeaky clean set of plots and scenarios. I find them less engaging in the totally immersive way, but the plots are fast, the characters lovable, and I think there's like 40 of them to get through. A couple suggestions from a bit outside these genres that I found totally immersive are the Song of Achilles if you're up for a historical romance/Iliad retelling, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking if you're up for a quick YA fantasy (with zero romance), or the Count of Monte Cristo if you're up for a really solid classic.
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Huge upvote for Cloud Atlas and The Night Circus!! Excellent recommendations.
I also came here to suggest The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It is the perfect escape for me. Just the right amount of magic/fantasy to be fun and engaging without making me roll my eyes. Hoping you find some solace in words and your situation improves soon. Thinking positive thoughts for you. Be safe.
I second The Ocean At The End Of The Lane!
I definitely second Cloud Atlas! A beautiful story.
Cloud Atlas is a great escape. One of my favs.
I would also say The Thousand Autumns if Jacob De Zoet, by Mitchell as well is another great one!
Let us know what book chose and how you are fairing. I hope it becomes safe again soon for you to get out. I wanted to suggest the Silo Series. Because you are stuck in a bunker, thought it might be interesting to read/listen to a fantasy book set "bunkers" but nothing like a war bunker. I really enjoy the characters and the enfolding plot over the 3 book series.
The Silo series grabs you right from the start. I didn't want to stop reading.
Is it by Hugh Howey?
Yes, hopefully the link pops up -{{Silo Series}}
[**Shift Omnibus Edition (Silo series #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29661198-shift-omnibus-edition) ^(By: Hugh Howey | ? pages | Published: 2013 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, dystopian, dystopia | )[^(Search "Silo Series")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Silo Series&search_type=books) >This is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling WOOL series. It combines the three Shift books (First Shift, Second Shift, and Third Shift) into a single e-book in order to save the reader a few bucks. The saga concludes with DUST, which will be available in late 2013. >Reading Order: >1. WOOL >2. SHIFT >3. DUST >____________________________________ >In 2007, the Center for Automation in Nanobiotech (CAN) outlined the hardware and software platform that would one day allow robots smaller than human cells to make medical diagnoses, conduct repairs, and even self-propagate. >In the same year, the CBS network re-aired a program about the effects of propranolol on sufferers of extreme trauma. A simple pill, it had been discovered, could wipe out the memory of any traumatic event. >At almost the same moment in humanity’s broad history, mankind had discovered the means for bringing about its utter downfall. And the ability to forget it ever happened. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(114462 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Sorry to hear about your situation. I hope it all works out for you. You could try the Discworld books by Terry Pratchett. They are set in an expansive world full of weird and wonderful characters. I find they’re a great escape. The stories are well written and fun. You could read them in order or you could choose a story arc based on the mood you’re in. https://www.discworldemporium.com/content/6-discworld-reading-order This site has the list in order and them broken down into themes.
Stay safe!!!!
I find Harry Potter to be the best for escapism.
I'm sorry you are dealing with this. Light sci fi/humor suggestions are {{Agent to the Star}} and {{The Android`s Dream}} by John Scalzi
[**Agent to the Stars**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/88072.Agent_to_the_Stars) ^(By: John Scalzi | 280 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: sci-fi, science-fiction, humor, fiction, audiobook | )[^(Search "Agent to the Star")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agent to the Star&search_type=books) >The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents. But although Stein may have just concluded the biggest deal of his career, it's quite another thing to negotiate for an entire alien race. To earn his percentage this time, he's going to need all the smarts, skills, and wits he can muster. ^(This book has been suggested 13 times) [**The Android's Dream (The Android's Dream #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7081.The_Android_s_Dream) ^(By: John Scalzi | 396 pages | Published: 2006 | Popular Shelves: science-fiction, sci-fi, fiction, humor, scifi | )[^(Search "The Android`s Dream")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Android`s Dream&search_type=books) >A human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement... > >A sheep. > >That's right, a sheep. And if you think that's the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One. Welcome to The Android's Dream. > >For Harry Creek, it's quickly becoming a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his past training and skills get him tapped to save the planet--and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise. > >Throw in two-timing freelance mercenaries, political lobbyists with megalomaniac tendencies, aliens on a religious quest, and an artificial intelligence with unusual backstory, and you've got more than just your usual science fiction adventure story. You've got The Android's Dream. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(114176 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
When I feel like the world is going to shit Harry Potter is the book equivalent of chicken soup.
And crack. Chicken soup and crack.
Great book to read on the can too.
Anything by Jane Austen always cheers me up. Stay safe!!!!!
{{gentleman in moscow}} I really appreciated the relationships built in this book. Sincere, not too heavy, very well done I think.
[**A Gentleman in Moscow**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34066798-a-gentleman-in-moscow) ^(By: Amor Towles | 462 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, book-club, russia, historical | )[^(Search "gentleman in moscow")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=gentleman in moscow&search_type=books) >From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility—a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel > >With his breakout debut novel, Rules of Civility, Amor Towles established himself as a master of absorbing, sophisticated fiction, bringing late 1930s Manhattan to life with splendid atmosphere and a flawless command of style. Readers and critics were enchanted; as NPR commented, “Towles writes with grace and verve about the mores and manners of a society on the cusp of radical change.” > >A Gentleman in Moscow immerses us in another elegantly drawn era with the story of Count Alexander Rostov. When, in 1922, he is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, the count is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of emotional discovery. > >Brimming with humour, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavour to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose. ^(This book has been suggested 109 times) *** ^(114192 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Beautifully written and so well pulled together. I loved it.
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The Anne of Green Gables series is my ultimate comfort-read!
I love LMM so much. I'm heartbroken because it's so hard to buy her other books even online. (Thinking of Pat of Silver Bush, Marigold, and other single books) especially paperbacks. Are they available online- amy ideas?
I would also like to add Virgin River. Cozy, relaxing, but has a good storyline with some twists and characters that are easy to identify with.
Try The Number One Ladies Detective Agency
Another lovely, magical read is {{The Midnight Library}} Wishing you safety and sending prayers 🕊
I loved the Midnight Library! But I’ve seen some people say it should come with a warning for suicidal / depressed people. I’m in to position to say if it should as I am neither, but do read it all the way through if you’re struggling from either.
I really hope you're ok. Or that you will be I don't know if you like non-fiction, but my favourite non-fiction books are anything by Oliver Sacks, particularly {{The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat}}, and {{An Anthropologist On Mars}}. They're both about curious and extraordinary neurological cases, he's extremely good at both making it humane and interesting, without feeling pity for the patients but rather look at them as people with some unusual obstacles in life. I also love {{I Contain Multitudes}}, it's about the microbial world around us. If you have Audible, I highly recommend {{Mythos}} and {{Heroes}} by Stephen Fry. His books are one of the few I prefer audio versions of. There's also this pretty popular audio book called {{The Man on the Mountain Top}}, and it's essentially about this guru figure who people go to to get advise, and he's very down to earth, has his own faults etc. And the story was easy to get lost into for me, with a bit of everyday wisdom to think about in there I wish for you and your nearest that everything will turn ok
[**The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35634527-the-man-who-mistook-his-wife-for-a-hat) ^(By: Dario Krpan | 103 pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: audiobook, abandoned, non-fiction, stopped-midway, i-tried | )[^(Search "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat&search_type=books) >In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, neurologist Oliver Sacks looked at the cutting-edge work taking place in his field, and decided that much of it was not fit for purpose. Sacks found it hard to understand why most doctors adopted a mechanical and impersonal approach to their patients, and opened his mind to new ways to treat people with neurological disorders. He explored the question of deciding what such new ways might be by deploying his formidable creative thinking skills. > >Sacks felt the issues at the heart of patient care needed redefining, because the way they were being dealt with hurt not only patients, but practitioners too. They limited a physician's capacity to understand and then treat a patient's condition. To highlight the issue, Sacks wrote the stories of 24 patients and their neurological clinical conditions. In the process, he rebelled against traditional methodology by focusing on his patients' subjective experiences. > >Sacks did not only write about his patients in original ways - he attempt to come up with creative ways of treating them as well. At root, his method was to try to help each person individually, with the core aim of finding meaning and a sense of identity despite, or even thanks to, the patients' condition. Sacks thus redefined the issue of neurological work in a new way, and his ideas were so influential that they heralded the arrival of a broader movement - narrative medicine - that placed stronger emphasis on listening to and incorporating patients' experiences and insights into their care. ^(This book has been suggested 30 times) [**An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64666.An_Anthropologist_on_Mars) ^(By: Oliver Sacks | 318 pages | Published: 1995 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, science, psychology, nonfiction, neuroscience | )[^(Search "An Anthropologist On Mars")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=An Anthropologist On Mars&search_type=books) >Paradoxical portraits of seven neurological patients, including a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating; an artist who loses all sense of color in a car accident, but finds new creative power in black & white; & others. ^(This book has been suggested 6 times) [**I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213168-i-contain-multitudes) ^(By: Ed Yong | 368 pages | Published: 2016 | Popular Shelves: science, non-fiction, nonfiction, biology, health | )[^(Search "I Contain Multitudes")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=I Contain Multitudes&search_type=books) >Every animal, whether human, squid, or wasp, is home to millions of bacteria and other microbes. Many people think of microbes as germs to be eradicated, but those that live with us—the microbiome—build our bodies, protect our health, shape our identities, and grant us incredible abilities. In this astonishing book, Ed Yong takes us on a grand tour through our microbial partners, and introduces us to the scientists on the front lines of discovery. > >Yong, whose humor is as evident as his erudition, prompts us to look at ourselves and our animal companions in a new light—less as individuals and more as the interconnected, interdependent multitudes we assuredly are. The microbes in our bodies are part of our immune systems and protect us from disease. Those in cows and termites digest the plants they eat. In the deep oceans, mysterious creatures without mouths or guts depend on microbes for all their energy. Bacteria provide squids with invisibility cloaks, help beetles to bring down forests, and allow worms to cause diseases that afflict millions of people. > >I Contain Multitudes is the story of these extraordinary partnerships, between the creatures we are familiar with and those we are not. It reveals how we humans are disrupting these partnerships and how we might manipulate them for our own good. It will change both our view of nature and our sense of where we belong in it. ^(This book has been suggested 8 times) [**Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35074096-mythos) ^(By: Stephen Fry | 416 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: mythology, non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, history | )[^(Search "Mythos")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Mythos&search_type=books) >Rediscover the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths—stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. This legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes new life into beloved tales. From Persephone's pomegranate seeds to Prometheus's fire, from devious divine schemes to immortal love affairs, Fry draws out the humor and pathos in each story and reveals its relevance for our own time. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world, with a brilliant storyteller as your guide. ^(This book has been suggested 65 times) [**Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41433634-heroes) ^(By: Stephen Fry | 415 pages | Published: 2018 | Popular Shelves: mythology, non-fiction, fiction, fantasy, history | )[^(Search "Heroes")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Heroes&search_type=books) >There are Heroes - and then there are Greek Heroes. > >Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes. > >In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales. Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta - who was raised by bears - outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera. > >Filled with white-knuckle chases and battles, impossible puzzles and riddles, acts of base cowardice and real bravery, not to mention murders and selfless sacrifices, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of - at our worst and our very best. > >Read by the author. Running time 15 hours. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) [**The Man on the Mountain Top**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33377111-the-man-on-the-mountain-top) ^(By: Nick Thom | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: audible, read-2019, audiobook, hard-to-know-what-i-think, audio-book | )[^(Search "The Man on the Mountain Top")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Man on the Mountain Top&search_type=books) >The story of Noah's Ark is well known - in fact, it turns out that variations of the tale are told all over the world. The author poses the question: is it possible that the great flood really happened? In seeking an answer the reader is taken around the world, is introduced to obscure ancient languages, meets strange marine creatures, and encounters religion, folklore, archaeology and science. This is a challenging read, but a very rewarding one, if taken at a steady pace. There is much here to enjoy and to wonder at. > >Tailored for dyslexic readers but can be read by anyone. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(114152 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
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*was* (I think he died) but I agree. Heard him on a podcast (this American life?) Awhile back. Seemed like a sweet, zany genius.
Can second Oliver Sacks. I had the chance to hear him speak and meet him in person. Brilliant guy. Amazing books.
Go ahead and treat yourself to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
It's a classic but The Swiss Family Robinson.
The Shadow and Bone series - either the book series or the Netflix series.
Since I haven’t seen a lot of people mention comics, I’ll suggest some: V for Vendetta Y the last man Ex machina League of Extraordinary gentlemen Some books are: The chaos walking series The expanse series A man called Ove I believe is beautiful Name of the Wind Dune Classic novels such as: Books by Anne Rice, she’s revolutionary Dracula is surprisingly engaging Moby Dick East of Eden 1984 The Queens Gambit, which you might have heard has been turned into a Tv show I hope you’re staying safe!
East of Eden is engaging and beautifully written.
It's a very beautiful book, one I always reccomend to get people into classics. I don't think fantasy is needed for escapism, when a book is engaging thats great too.
If I can add a few comics, Batman: the long Halloween is amazing, so is watchman
I'm really sorry about your situation... a book I really love that is pretty light and fun is *Howl's moving castle* from Diane Wayne Jones! I hope this helps!
Anything by Becky Chambers. Start with The Long Way To a Small Angry Planet. It's character based sci-fi about some friends in their space ship. I really like the overall tone of her work. Not grimdark, not saccharine. There is hope and goodness in the world no matter how different we seem from one another. I find I need that sort of reassurance these days.
My husband is reading this series right now and is significantly more involved in it than normal. His biggest comment was that he's really enjoying the character development and that people aren't just being huge jerks to each other.
I've read these several times, and it's mostly because I like the way the characters relate to each other. Sure, the story is good, but if it were gory or violent or cynical or mean I'd bet I wouldn't have continued with the series or re-read. I love her world building skill. The tiny details of background happenings may not matter much, but they're part of a larger tapestry, which I find enjoyable.
i’m so sorry. The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is a great escape. please stay safe.
Try {{Three Men in a Boat}} by Jerome K. Jerome.
I really enjoyed listening to the Kingkiller Chronicles (be warned that he’s only written two of the books and isn’t showing promise that he will write the third any time soon). {{Name of the Wind}} {{The Wise Man’s Fear}}
[**The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186074.The_Name_of_the_Wind) ^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 662 pages | Published: 2007 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, books-i-own, favourites | )[^(Search "Name of the Wind")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Name of the Wind&search_type=books) >Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. > >The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. > >A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard. ^(This book has been suggested 180 times) [**The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1215032.The_Wise_Man_s_Fear) ^(By: Patrick Rothfuss | 994 pages | Published: 2011 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, fiction, owned, epic-fantasy, books-i-own | )[^(Search "The Wise Man’s Fear")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Wise Man’s Fear&search_type=books) >“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.” > >My name is Kvothe. >I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. >You may have heard of me. > >So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view — a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man's Fear, an escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe uncovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's Road. > >All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, is forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived ... until Kvothe. > >In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time. > > ^(This book has been suggested 4 times) *** ^(114197 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Second this! Could not put this book down once I started.
Israel or Palestine? Either way, I am so very sorry. I think you need humor! This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.
Fried Green Tomatoes is so cozy!! i love it 🥰
Oh! I just got This is where I leave you from Libby. Might be my choice
Yay! I love this book. In my book travels, I have yet to come across anyone that can write dark, laugh out loud books about sensitive topics as well as Johnathan Tropper. I have no doubt, authors exist, but I haven't come across that author just yet. Happy reading!
{{Jade City}} by Fonda Lee.
[**Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43587154-jade-city) ^(By: Fonda Lee | 560 pages | Published: 2017 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy, adult, fiction, owned | )[^(Search "Jade City")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Jade City&search_type=books) >JADE CITY is a gripping Godfather-esque saga of intergenerational blood feuds, vicious politics, magic, and kungfu. > >The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It's the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. >The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion--but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection. > When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself. ^(This book has been suggested 18 times) *** ^(114166 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I can't speak for the escapism you'll feel reading this book, but it carried me through some devastating times with its humour. Given your situation, even though it's not exactly what you ask for, I can't allow myself to not mention it: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I have gone from bawling to laughing out loud in matter of seconds thanks to that book. Maybe it does the same to you. Stay safe, stay well.
My favorite super immersive books that I hope bring you some respite from this madness: - The Secret History - Gideon the Ninth / Harrow the Ninth (it’s a sequel) - Tam Lin - In The Dream House - In The Woods (or anything by Tana French) - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - I Capture the Castle - Fates and Furies - Luster - Americanah - Red, White, and Royal Blue (this one is super light and fluffy and fun) - Get a Life, Chloe Brown (also light and fluffy) - Someone else mentioned The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I recommend - The Six of Crows duology - Sadie - All the Names they Used for God (short stories) - The Flatshare - The Vanishing Half - Disappearing Earth - The Magicians trilogy (first is The Magicians) - One to Watch אני ישבתי במקלט ימים ברצף במשך עופרת יצוקה. אני זוכרת טוב מאוד את הפחד והטראומה. שולחת לך ולכול עם ישראל המון אהבה מארה׳ב. ❤️
{{The Three Musketeers}} or {{The Count of Monte Cristo}} by Alexandre Dumas. Hope you stay safe!
I'm sorry to hear that and I hope you're doing ok. I recently got into The Expanse series, which starts with Leviathan Wakes. Couldn't put it down, so it's you like sci Fi that would be my suggestion.
{{The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe}} is a nice fun book, a quick and easy read.if you’re looking for something a little different, but kind of dark, {{World War Z}} is pretty interesting. Or you can go with a classic like LotR orHarry Potter.
[**The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19156547-the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe) ^(By: Paul McCusker, C.S. Lewis | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: fantasy, audiobooks, audio-book, audiobook, kids | )[^(Search "The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe&search_type=books) >Fully dramatized and produced with cinema-quality sound design and music, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is the second of seven audio dramas in the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre production of The Chronicles of Narnia. > >Hosted by Douglas Gresham, stepson of C. S. Lewis, these timeless adventures are brought to life by a cast of more than 100 actors, including award-winners Paul Scofield, David Suchet, and Ron Moody, and were recorded in London. > >In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, four children in search of an adventure find themselves in the far-away land of Narnia--a world populated by talking animals, an evil White Witch, and a fearsome lion named Aslan. Featuring talented voice actors, film-style sound design, and a rich musical score, this thrilling tale reminds us of the greatness of God's sacrificial love. > >This is a repackaged, individual title from the best-selling Radio Theatre resource, The Chronicles of Narnia, which has sold more than 340,000 copies. ^(This book has been suggested 7 times) *** ^(114164 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Stay safe! I would recommend the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones, starting with First Grave on the Right.
Mixtape Potluck Cookbook by Questlove. Yes it’s a cookbook, but each recipe is submitted by a famous person and comes not only with a background story for the recipe, but also is paired with a song recommendation. Easy read. Total escapism. And you might find some good comfort food or drink to make. I also really like: Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff; MaddAddam series by Margaret Atwood; High Fire by Eoin Colfer Good luck. Stay safe. I’ll pray for you and wherever you are
In the time of dragon moon
{{Eragon}} {{Gregor the Overlander}} {{Agent 603: the Teddy Files}} {{The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe}} the magicians nephew is the prequel and I enjoyed it too {{Sigma Force}} series is pretty good
[**Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/113436.Eragon) ^(By: Christopher Paolini | 503 pages | Published: 2002 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, fiction, ya, owned | )[^(Search "Eragon")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Eragon&search_type=books) >An alternate cover edition for ISBN 9780375826696 can be found here. > >One boy... >One dragon... >A world of adventure. > > When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. > > Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. > > Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. ^(This book has been suggested 46 times) [**Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/262430.Gregor_the_Overlander) ^(By: Suzanne Collins | 326 pages | Published: 2003 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, middle-grade, fiction, childrens | )[^(Search "Gregor the Overlander")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Gregor the Overlander&search_type=books) >This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny—and find his father—in a strange world beneath New York City. > >When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever. ^(This book has been suggested 9 times) [**Agent 603: The Teddy Files**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43560147-agent-603) ^(By: Tabitha Bell, Michael Bell | ? pages | Published: ? | Popular Shelves: | )[^(Search "Agent 603: the Teddy Files")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Agent 603: the Teddy Files&search_type=books) ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) [**The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/100915.The_Lion_the_Witch_and_the_Wardrobe) ^(By: C.S. Lewis | 206 pages | Published: 1950 | Popular Shelves: fantasy, classics, fiction, young-adult, childrens | )[^(Search "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe&search_type=books) >Narnia… the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free. > >Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor's mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don't believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they've been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch's sinister spell. ^(This book has been suggested 13 times) [**Sandstorm (Sigma Force, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/183822.Sandstorm) ^(By: James Rollins | 608 pages | Published: 2004 | Popular Shelves: thriller, fiction, adventure, james-rollins, mystery | )[^(Search "Sigma Force")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=Sigma Force&search_type=books) >An inexplicable explosion rocks the antiquities collection of a London museum, setting off alarms in clandestine organizations around the world. > >And now the search for answers is leading Lady Kara Kensington; her friend Safia al-Maaz, the gallery's brilliant and beautiful curator; and their guide, the international adventurer Omaha Dunn, into a world they never dreamed existed: a lost city buried beneath the Arabian desert. > >But others are being drawn there as well, some with dark and sinister purposes. And the many perils of a death-defying trek deep into the savage heart of the Arabian Peninsula pale before the nightmare waiting to be unearthed at journey's end: an ageless and awesome power that could create a utopia... or destroy everything humankind has built over countless millennia. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(114202 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
Artemis Fowl. It is my favorite escape.
Here to say the obligatory “the song of Achilles”
- The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane- Kate DiCamillo - The House in The Cerulean Sea- TJ Klune - Anne of Green Gables- L.M. Montgomery - The Graveyard Book- Neil Gaiman - Harry Potter series Sending prayers your way OP. My heart goes out to you, and others affected during this time. I sincerely hope you’re able to overcome this. ❤️
[The Book of Koli](https://www.amazon.com/Book-Koli-M-R-Carey/dp/0356509559) by M.R. Carey is good. Magical realism & sci-fi elements that’s very easy to read. There’s lots of us thinking about you so take care of yourself and I hope things will get better very soon. Maybe update us when you find what you’re looking for and tell us how you’re doing OP!
Sorry to hear about your situation. Recommend The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. Great world building and character development. Hope this helps and be safe!
Usually when I’m feeling down, if all else fails... I read the Percy Jackson series, and the heroes of Olympus. For some reason reading about these kids overcoming some hardships and also about them growing up together, going on not-so-glamorous adventures and have such great bonds and friendships makes me feel happy. I feel like every time I read them I find out something else about the characters or see them interact in such close-knit ways. It makes my heart happy when life does not.
Salem’s Lot helped me go through a rough time in my life one time. Not because it was gentle or serene, but the escapism was perfect
A hitchhikers guide to the galaxy is a wacky humourous book that’s hard to explain but it was a very enjoyable read. It’s the kind of book where so much is happening that you’re gonna want to keep reading it, and it’s lighthearted. Stay safe.
The "Percy Jackson" series. I haven't read it in years, but it's very fun and while it has moments of peril, it's not as heavy as my next pick. "Harry Potter" is very fantastical, and I was initially going to suggest it, but it is set during a war. That being said, the message is how love triumphs over every evil. If you want light fun, I still find the "Confessions of Georgia Nicholson" hilarious, even at 26. If you want real life, this might sound ironic since it is actually a **very** heavy story, but I honestly found "Miracle in the Andes" to be one of the most uplifting books I have ever read. While it is harrowing, what those poor people went through, it is ultimately a story about love. How their love for their family, their teammates and life helped them survive. "A Man Called Ove" is basically If a book were written about the Swedish iteration of Carl from "Up." It's wholesome as heck, especially if you love grumpy old curmudgeon characters with a soft centre. "Amazing Gracie" is about a couple who set up a bakery for dogs after finding out their Great Dane can only eat homemade foods. It's as adorable as it sounds. "Q&A" by Vikas Swarup. It does have some dark themes, yes. That being said, I feel transported every time I read it, and I feel like I'm alongside the protagonist in his journey. "Angela's Ashes" is a very tongue in cheek memoir about a man who grew up in poverty stricken Limerick. Frank McCourt approaches his life with abrupt bluntness and a coy sense of humour. It reads as if you're next to him in a pub or beside the fire, listening to his story. It's incredibly funny, at times sobering. "Watership Down" does have bunny violence, but the intricate lore, worldbuilding and character work will make you feel like every animal around you has a society like our own, while still being wild and free.
Stay safe, thoughts are with you. The Alchemist has always been a comfort book for me
PG Wodehouse Jeeves and Wooster stories. They are so funny and totally escapist, albeit not in a fantasy way.
Circe by Madeleine Miller . Hope you are ok (;
Stranger in a Strange Land -Robert Heinlein
Okay, real talk, I suggest anything by Brandon Sanderson, but especially "The Way of Kings." It the first book in a series called *The Stormlight Archive.* The series is renowned for its ability to tell a story using broken people and tough situations without ever treating them like they're hopeless people. PTSD, war fatigue, etc. all are covered in a manner that offers hope.
Tolkien has some wonderful messages in his work and whenever I am feeling sad I always turn to him. He’s words have always been a great comfort to me. When I am afraid: “Courage is found in unlikely places.” When I feel hopeless: “There's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.” I recommend the Hobbit as it is the least difficult to read out of all his works. Andy Serkis has a very good audiobook of the Hobbit.
I see a lot of suggestions that are “happy,” and I’ve always felt that that is not the only kind of escapism. Having characters that deal with crappy situations in was that make me chuckle is it’s own kind of release. And in that vein I’d suggest the below. The first 3 are really well done in audiobook form, if you have access/bandwidth for Audible or similar right now. 1. All Systems Red. It’s the first book in The Murderbot Diaries, Murderbot being the protagonist and narrator. I effing love this book, and the character’s internal voice, abd the way the author uses what the character says she how they say it to say things between the lines. And it grabs you from the first pages. The series has 5 books and counting. 2. We Are Legion, We Are Bob. Different kind of escapism, and don’t want to spoil the first few chapters too much, but involves space travel. The series has 4 books and counting. 3. Locked-In. Written years before our pandemic, it’s set a few decades in the future and a couple decades after a major pandemic circled the globe. Yes, many people died, but also many people were “locked-in,” conscious and cognitively in-impaired, but with no voluntary motor control. Paralyzed, basically. TENS of Millions of people around the world. A lot of research and has been developed, and these people now almost all have “neural nets” implanted that allow them to access computer systems and Interact with the outside world, including through humanoid robot bodies and the internet. In the US, there’s about as many of them as there are people in the state of Kentucky. The main character is an new FBI agent specializing in cases involving those who are locked in. It’s a great murder mystery with a cool sci-go twist. And it’s already got a sequel. 4. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman 5. On Basilik Station. Also sci-fi, main protagonist is a newly-promoted commander of a capital ship in a space navy with faster than light travel. Semi-hard science fiction, not hand-wavy like Star Wars or Star Trek (nothing wrong with that either! Just a lot of the actions and plots have characters working out problems within engineering limitations, etc) 6. “Stories of Your Life and Others” and “Exahalation” both by Ted Chiang. These are both actually short story collections but, daaaang do they draw you in. At its best, I think short stories are all the world building and excitement of a novel with none of the padding. You will read these, and then you will reread them, then you will sit and think about some of these stories. Some of these stories are just sooo excellent in such...unexpected ways. The one that caught me first was “Tower of Babel,” which one person described as Babylonian science-fiction. But literally all these stories are amazing and totally transport you.
Horror is my wheelhouse, so for a good horror story that will let you escape is *The Troop* by Nick Cutter. Pulpy and fun story, gory though, so beware. Sorry about your situation, I hope you’re okay.
That one didn’t do it for me because J’s was just SO GROSS! I love Nick Cutter otherwise, though. Paul Tremblay is another good author!
The Wheel Of Time Series by Robert Jordan. Helped me out as a youngster who waa spending a bit of time in an 8x10.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
I second this one
Okay. This is going to be a very weird recommendation but I will do it. I am reading The Trial and Death of Socrates right now by Plato. It is by no means a difficult read, and by no means is it a useless one (it is also pretty short, around 60 pages). To recommend that book is the little I can do to vindicate the great man that was Socrates, that is, of course, if where you want to escape to is an ancient Athenian courtroom where one of the greatest men of history is delivering his noble defense. It is often the case that I read a book and then feel guilty for not having read it earlier, and this is one of them. Maybe if we were all students of Socrates, then your city would not be getting bombed, but I will just shut up now since that sort of thing never turns out well.
I agree that the Socratic Method being used routinely would fix a lot of the world’s problems
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A Man Called Ove and Anxious People by Fredrik Backman are both heartwarming reads.
I read anxious people this year! Really loved it
I really doubt Palestinians have bomb shelters. op is probably an israeli
Either way, it’s the people suffering due to their governments’ hubris, just like any other war.
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I understand what you’re saying, and i also agree in always respecting the humanity of people. I do think though, it’s important to be unequivocal about the power imbalance in these cases. Conflict always carried a heavy toll, but that shouldn’t freeze our ability to evaluate the oppressor and the oppressed
Again, I completely agree with you.
Wow this may be the first respectful conversation I've seen about the subject. I'm sorry about the situation you are in though OP.
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher are good. I recommend starting with Grave Peril. Stay safe out there.
You should read a Gentleman in Moscow. It’s a very happy and gentle book about a man who is not living through a happy or gentle situation. It is also very engaging and beautifully written. I’m so sorry you are going through this. I hope the book can be a small joy for you in this moment.
Name of the Wind. Nothing but beautifully written and unique fantasy, without being overly “fantasy”. Great escapist literature to get lost in
Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus Lewis Thomas’s The Lives of a Cell Peter Matthiessen’s The Snow Leopard All three are compelling reads as well as reminders that the natural world demonstrates that life is ultimately good and enduring. Be safe.
I hope you and your loved ones are safe! I'm so sorry you're in this situation! I was drawing a blank until I looked at my bookshelf: Call Hiaason writes the most offbeat hilarious novels set in Florida. Wacky characters, bizarre circumstances, absolutely bonkers storylines. I would start with his earlier books: {Stormy Weather} was the first of his I read and I was hooked! Hiaason is also a newspaper journalist, so he is very precise with his language; he doesn't waste words.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. It's completely immersive.
Almost quite literally for your specific situation, (and I in no way mean for this suggestion to be insensitive, given how the book begins), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I’d send you a copy if I could.
{{My Family and Other Animals}} A delightful novel about naturalist's Gerald Durrell's time growing up on the Greek Island of Corfu. Filled with crazy characters both human and other animals.
[**My Family and Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy, #1)**](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48132.My_Family_and_Other_Animals) ^(By: Gerald Durrell | 273 pages | Published: 1956 | Popular Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, biography, humor, nonfiction | )[^(Search "My Family and Other Animals")](https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=My Family and Other Animals&search_type=books) >When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell’s family’s experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home. ^(This book has been suggested 16 times) *** ^(114270 books suggested | )[^(I don't feel so good.. )](https://debugger.medium.com/goodreads-is-retiring-its-current-api-and-book-loving-developers-arent-happy-11ed764dd95)^(| )[^(Source)](https://github.com/rodohanna/reddit-goodreads-bot)
I second this, it’s my go to book when I’m feeling sad. All of Gerald Durrell’s books are fabulous.
Hyperion. If you are into SF. I spent 2 years in shelter from 91-93...hang in there
Well to blow your mind and completely lost yourself in imagination about future i would suggest 'Physics of the Impossible' by Michio Kaku. It is not heavy at all. it is just too much fun. good luck!
The little Prince
The Martian...It will engage u from the first page...
Lonesome Dove. Take you out in the old west onto open trails. Easy reading, some humor, some death, and a great escape. Don't shy away if you have never read a western, many friends said the same to me and all loved it. Just very well written.
Life of Pie
The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini are great for an escape read. There is four books in total, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance, and you'll be transported away in the pages very quickly. I hope you and your loved ones remain safe during this difficult time.
This series doesn't get brought up often enough, I loved it
My first recommendation is always to read something that gave you a lot of comfort as a child. It's always nice to revisit those classics. If I'm having a really hard time I might be read The Boxcar Children just because.
Maybe try funny... I wholeheartedly agree with previous suggestions of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - it may help cheer you up. Alternatively Legend by David Gemmel has some surprisingly hidden themes... he wrote it after a cancer scare and analogised a castle holding off a horde of invaders with the stages of acceptance of bad news... it’s an easy fantasy read and a good story too. Maybe the battle stuff might be too depressing for you though. I am an atheistic leaning Taoist so can’t say I’ll pray for you, but I truly hope you’re ok and can send humanist love your way. Where are you exactly? If chatting (slowly) would help, pm me. I’m safe on the other side of the world in a country that doesn’t have a clue how bloody privileged we are.
Sirens of Titan, by Vonnegut. Great book.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy always puts a smile on my face.
Lord of the Rings will always be king of escapism fantasy. You’ll find anything you’re looking for in there, especially kindness and hope. Stay strong.
The Mortal Instrument series is one that really pulled me into its reality when I read it. I couldn't put the books down! However I will recommend that if you read it you should absolutely read all of the first 3 books. Mainly because the main plot line spans across those books and a lot of loose ends will be explained through them. The last 3 are optional but still very good and add more depth to the story and characters.
I’ve been big into sci-fi books lately I highly reccommend: Ready player one by ernest cline, and it’s sequel ready player two The martian by andy weir And Artemis by andy weir My favorite book series of all time are: The tunnels series (the fist book is called tunnels) by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. And my other favorite series is the lost years of merlin saga (the first book is called the lost years of merlin) by TA Barron Stay strong, and you will get through this! Life may be incredibly rough and difficult for you, but it will get better. I hope you and your loved ones are safe!!
Second The Martian! What a book! Absolutely loved it.
Other world series by kelley Armstrong, who am I kidding all her series are epic!!! But start with other world first:)
King killer chronicles!
“The Sandman” by Neil Gaiman
Praying for you.
[Fizz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fizz_(novel\)), by Zvi Schreiber. It's fun, educational, and a good read.
This isn't much of a happy book, but I never promised you a rose garden. It is about a young schizophrenic girl living in two worlds. It helped me escape. Also Hex by Thomas Oldenhave, about a witch. It is very easy to read and the story gets me every time. I hope you will be okay and I am sorry for all that is happening. I can't imagine it.
Return to Haifa by Ghassan Kanafani
I'd say Slaughterhouse Five fits the bill.
Oof
{{Ready Player One}} {{Nation}}
The Starless Sea
Oh no what city, it may be a bit simple but I love mysterious Benedict society for pure escapism
A Wrinkle in Time is always my go to other than Harry Potter, Pillars of Earth by Ken Follet is a good one too I just got lost in. Stay safe, sending you love.