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
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Greater Victoria Public Library
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Anne of Avonlea
Montgomery, L. M. (Lucy Maud) 1874-1942
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
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 (Jennifer L.)
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 Chilbury Ladies' Choir
Ryan, Jennifer (Jennifer L.)
NATIONAL BESTSELLER * "A delightful debut."--People    For readers of Lilac Girls and The Nightingale, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II. ...

Also available in CD, eBook and eAudiobook.

Lessons in chemistry
Garmus, Bonnie
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * GMA BOOK CLUB PICK * Meet Elizabeth Zott: "a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention" (The Washington Post) in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a ...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook format.

Flying solo : a novel
Holmes, Linda
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.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann
#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
* INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER * "This novel delivers sweet, smart escapism." --People "Fans of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will adore The Jane Austen Society... A charming and...

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

Remarkably bright creatures : a novel
Van Pelt, Shelby
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today "Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook.

One night on the island : a novel
Silver, Josie
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December . . . When a double-booking at a remote one-room cabin accidentally throws two solace seekers together, it feels like a cruel twist of fate. But what if it's fate of a different kind? "A perfectly...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and eAudiobook.


A man called Ove : a novel
Backman, Fredrik 1981-
Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks! #1 New York Times bestseller--more than 3 million copies sold! Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon--the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside...

Also available in Large Print, eAudiobook and CD format.

Marilla of Green Gables : a novel
McCoy, Sarah 1980-
A bold, heartfelt tale of life at Green Gables . . . before Anne: A marvelously entertaining and moving historical novel, set in rural Prince Edward Island in the nineteenth century, that imagines the young life of spinster Marilla Cuthbert, and the choices that will open her life to the...

Also available in Large Print, eBook and DAISY format.

A single thread
Chevalier, Tracy
"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
"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.

The wonder boy of Whistle Stop : a novel
Flagg, Fannie
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.


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