Gentle Reads for Adults

Stories to curl up with that aren't going to get your heart racing. We've included a selection of fiction and non-fiction titles that feature folks you might like to spend time with. These titles were selected with accessibility to multiple formats.

Updated August 15, 2023
G
Greater Victoria Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
Anne of Avonlea
Montgomery, L. M.
Paper Book
A century ago, with the publication of the classic book Anne of Green Gables, one of the most appealing heroines in children's literature was born. Of course, fans wanted a sequel, and here it is. When twelve-year-old Anne Shirley came to Avonlea, she...

Also available in Large Print, eBook, eAudiobook and CD format.

Anything is possible
Strout, Elizabeth
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * An unforgettable cast of small-town characters copes with love and loss in this "compulsively readable" (San Francisco Chronicle) novel from #1 bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout "This book, this writer, are...

Also available in Large Print, CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

The kitchen front : a novel
Ryan, Jennifer
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir comes an unforgettable novel of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition and the four women who enter for a chance to better their lives. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *...

Also available in Large Print and eBook.

The dig
Preston, John
Paper Book
In the long hot summer of 1939 Britain is preparing for war. But on a riverside farm in Suffolk there is excitement of another kind- Mrs Pretty, the widowed farmer, has had her hunch proved correct that the strange mounds on her land hold buried treasure. As the dig proceeds against a background of...

Also available in Large Print.

Lessons in chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie
Paper Book
The perfect Christmas gift! THE MULTI-AWARD-WINNING MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER, now a major Apple TV series starring Brie Larson. ___________ 'The most charming, life-enhancing novel I've read in ages' Sunday Times 'Thought-provoking and...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook format.

Flying solo a novel
Holmes, Linda
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * A woman returns to her small Maine hometown, uncovering family secrets that take her on a journey of self-discovery and new love, in this warm and charming novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over. "A...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook format.

An Irish country welcome
Taylor, Patrick
Paper Book
An Irish Country Welcome is a charming entry in Patrick Taylor's internationally bestselling Irish Country series. In the close-knit Northern Irish village of Ballybucklebo, it's said that a new baby brings its own welcome. Young doctor Barry Laverty and his wife Sue...

Also available in Large Print, CD and eAudiobook.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NOW A NETFLIX FILM * A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. "Treat yourself to this book, please--I can't recommend it highly enough."--Elizabeth Gilbert,...

Also available in CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

The Jane Austen Society
Jenner, Natalie
Paper Book
'Hope can sometimes be just enough.'It's only a few months since the war ended but the little village of Chawton is about to be hit by another devastating blow. The heart of the community, the Chawton estate, and site of Jane Austen's cherished former home, is in danger of being sold to the...

Also available in Large Print, CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

One night on the island
Silver, Josie
Paper Book
When Cleo's editor requests that she marry herself on a remote island for her dating column, she envisions skinny-dipping in the crystalline waters and revelling in the blissful quiet. But when she arrives at Otter Lodge, Mack, a grumpy, yet undeniably handsome American, insists that...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook.


A man called Ove
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING TOM HANKS The million-copy bestselling phenomenon: a funny, moving, uplifting tale of love and community that will leave you with a spring in your step. 'Warm, funny, and almost unbearably moving' Daily Mail...

Also available in Large Print, eAudiobook and CD format.

Remarkably bright creatures
Van Pelt, Shelby
Paper Book
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER** OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK OVER 60,000 5 STAR REVIEWS GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST BOOKS OF 2022 GLAMOUR BEST BOOKS OF 2022 'Remarkably Bright...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook.

A single thread
Chevalier, Tracy
Paper Book
"A buoyant tale about the path to acceptance and joy--beginning, like all journeys, with one brave step."--People "The best-selling novelist has done a masterful job of depicting the circumstances of a generation of women we seldom think about: the mothers, sisters, wives and...

Also available in Large Print, eBook, CD and DAISY format.

The story of Arthur Truluv a novel
Berg, Elizabeth
Paper Book
"I dare you to read this novel and not fall in love with Arthur Truluv. His story will make you laugh and cry, and will show you a love that never ends, and what it means to be truly human."--Fannie Flagg An emotionally powerful novel about three people who each lose the one they...

Also available in Large Print and eBook.

You Are Here
Nicholls, David.
Paper Book
A highlight for 2024 for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, i, Observer, Grazia, GQ, Irish Times, Sunday Independent, Prima, Good Housekeeping'Magnificent' MARIAN KEYES'A beautiful book'...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.