Challenge: 50 Books discussion

I don't know about where you are, but we've got hail, driving rain, wind and grey clouds (still). The winter doldrums are beyond set in.

Which leads me to want to know - What's the most uplifting book you've read?

The Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill. It's about Julia Hill's 2 years she spent living in a giant redwood to save the redwood forests of Northern California. She goes through quite a spiritual journey and basically finds herself during her time up there. One of those books that make you realize that any one of us can change the world for the better:)

Plainsong by Kent Haruf was a book that took me completely by surprise and stuck with me for days after I finished it. It is such a quiet little story, but the characters are so clearly defined that you can't help but connect to them. What could be more uplifting than finding family in unexpected places and learning about real love? Hope Spring finds you soon!

I read this book years about but I remember telling everyone that it was just a beautiful book: The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. I would say this one would give you a pick-me-up!

I just finished Beth Revis' Across the Universe, and it was surprisingly uplifting. I'd also put John Green's An Abundance of Katherines in the uplifting category.

Oh! Also, it's a short story, but Gregory Maguire's Matchless. It never fails.

I'm pulling the classic card. "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I reread this every decade or so. It's the only assigned reading from high school, other than Shakespeare, that I own a copy of. There are so many moments in it that just make my heart sing.

i'll go classic too. for me, it's The Count of Monte Cristo, simply because i alway go back to it when i feel bad (revenge = ha! i will show you so too, you unjust b******). it never fails to make me happy.

Ha ha Antonia! I have never read The Count of Monte Cristo but it has been on my TBR for quite a while, your comment just made me want to bump it up!

:) i hope you'll like it when you do read it! it is a well crafted piece of literature, too.

There's lots of books I find "uplifting" that aren't actually happy stories... But for a story that makes me feel like there really is a purpose to life, even if I don't always see it -- I nominate "A Prayer for Owen Meany". Every time I read it, I come away feeling better than when I started.