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
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Anne of Avonlea
Montgomery, L. M.
Paper Book
If you love a good story, then look no further. Oxford Children's Classics bring together the most unforgettable stories ever told. They're books to treasure and return to again and again.At half past sixteen, Anne is now ready to take her place in Avonlea society as a teacher at her old school. She...

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

Anything is possible
Strout, Elizabeth
Paper Book
A novel in stories by the No. 1New York Timesbestselling and Man Booker long-listed author of My Name is Lucy Barton Years ago, Lucy Barton, a successful New York writer, spent time in hospital, with her mother at the foot of her bed to keep her company. Avoiding the...

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

The kitchen front : a novel
Ryan, Jennifer
Paper Book
From Jennifer Ryan, the bestselling author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, comes an unforgettable story inspired by the true events of a BBC-sponsored wartime cooking competition. 'The Great British Bake Off set in World War Two . . . an enchanting hug of a...

Also available in Large Print and eBook.

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir : a novel
Ryan, Jennifer
Paper Book
'The writing glows with emotional intelligence. This atmospheric debut...had me sniffing copiously' Daily Mail IN WARTIME, SURVIVAL IS AS MUCH ABOUT FRIENDSHIP AS IT IS ABOUT COURAGE... Kent, 1940. In the idyllic village of Chilbury change is afoot. Hearts are breaking as sons and...

Also available in CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

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.

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 (Radio talk show host)
Paper Book
"... a testament to the truth that love comes in all shapes, sizes, and situations; that being alone does not mean being lonely. And Linda Holmes creates characters and conversations so real that sometimes I wonder if she is hiding in my closet, eavesdropping."-Jodi Picoult, New York...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook format.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann.
Paper Book
The beloved, life-affirming international bestseller which has sold over half a million copies worldwide - soon to be a major film coming in April 2018, starring Lily James, Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Courtenay and Penelope WiltonIt's 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton...

Also available in CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

The Jane Austen Society: A Novel
Jenner, Natalie
Paper Book

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

One night on the island : a novel
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 : a novel
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 wonder boy of Whistle Stop : a novel
Flagg, Fannie
Ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A heartwarming novel about secrets of youth rediscovered, hometown memories, and the magical moments in ordinary lives, from the beloved author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe "A gift, a blessing and a triumph . . ....

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

You are here : a novel
Nicholls, David
Paper Book
A 2024 highlight for The Times, Sunday Times, Observer, Financial Times, Guardian, Evening Standard, Irish Independent and Scotsman Winner of the Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Fiction 2024 ...

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