Sometimes, life gets hard and it brings us down. One bad thing after another and it's depressing and difficult to deal with. Today, however, is International Happiness Day, and so at least for today, you should lock those fears and worries out and look for the good in life. You know what they say; every cloud has a silver lining. We appreciate that it's not always easy to find, so to help bring a smile to your face, we're recommending to you some of our favourite 'happy' books so we can spread the joy! If we manage to make one person smile with our selection, which I'm sure we will, then we will have done our job.
Six Bullerby Children by Astrid Lindgren (the US title: The Children of Noisy Village)
Everyone must have this one special book that they gladly re-read once in a while. My happy book takes my right back to my childhood. Even though I have come across many adult, sophisticated, fulfilling and feeding imagination books, none has managed to beat the one written by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren so far. It does not present a remarkable storyline, memorable characters or images out of this world. I suppose it is charm of its simplicity that has kept me loyal all these years.
Six Bullerby Children is nothing more than an insight into the ordinary life of six and a half (new-born sister is perceived by other kids as a half-person) children - neighbours and siblings aged nine and less, living in a small Swedish village. The story is based in the 1940s. Do you know what that means? No mobile phones, no PCs, no Facebook, basically no TV as well. These kids actually spend their time outdoors and with the use of their imagination, experience their little-big adventures! Children are poor (during summer they wear no shoes and candies from the only shop available are a luxury), but are also good, genuine, obedient, respectful, helpful and innocent.
It is children literature, a proper old-fashioned one. Boys do not like girls and vice versa and “playing home” does not end with practising kisses behind the barn, yuck! The image is idyllic, nothing overwhelming takes place, every adventure gets its happy ending. Simple life is a happy one. The book opens one’s eyes to the things that were lost in urbanization and the technological development process. Of course, this revelation is not wrapped up in some big words as it is through children’s eyes that the story is told. It really makes me happy to travel back in time and remind myself what truly matters – meadow in the spring, mother’s cake, ripen cherries eaten straight from the tree. The book gives me the feeling of relief. It is not demanding at all but I doubt I could ever get too old for it. Your inner child lights up when you open your mind to this inconspicuous creation.
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
I’m going to cheat and name Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising series. Written from 1965-1977, I can’t remember when I actually picked up the first one, but when I did I was pretty much hooked. It tells the tale of Will Stanton, and his part in the battle between the Light and the Dark, with more than a few Arthurian references, and one very aptly named, Merriman. It was captivating and compelling, and those five books went with me in my suitcase from Sydney to Toronto to Amsterdam and back to Sydney. They’re my happy place!
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
A faithful go-to book I use to cure all ailments, to sooth heartache and to bring a smile to my face is definitely Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding. I remember first coming across this book well before the big-screen adaptation came out in 2001 and loving it from the very start. The way that Fielding writes in the first person with Bridget's voice in the form of an actual diary was a breath of fresh air and was very fitting to the story itself. I could relate to Bridget in a way which I'd never come across with any other literary character. After all, I was reading her diary every night!
Bridget Jones' Diary came about after Fielding was approached by the London Newspaper The Independent and asked to write a regular column as herself about single life living in the capital. After gaining a following, it was published in paperback form in 1997 and resided in the best-sellers chart for over six months, and went on to becoming a worldwide best-seller. Hollywood actress Renee Zellweger played our heroine in the film, and went on to reprise the role in 2004 with Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, a sequel based on Fielding's 1999 novel of the same name.
Famous for being a 'normal girl' who gets in all sorts of mishaps and sticky situations, Bridget Jones is a protagonist with many flaws and common human qualities, but they are all which we love to know about. She is far from being a Disney princess, and especially the concept of an 'ideal' woman, and that's why she is so easy for a reader to empathise with. You see bits of yourself in her, and that is why you can never shun her when she makes embarrassing mistakes, or sleeps with the wrong man. Personally, I have always felt that if I were ever to meet Bridget Jones in real life, we would be the best of friends!
Being able to relate to a central character only makes you fall in love with both them and their story even more, and this is why Bridget Jones Diary is my 'happy book' for International Happiness Day!
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
For most young adults like myself, it comes as no surprise that the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling has had a very large affect on them. These books have given me so much joy and happiness over the years and when asked what book brings me the most happiness, I could only think of one logical option to choose.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is my choice, and here is my reason for this choice; ultimitely, no matter how old I get, this book will always hold a special place in my heart. It is my favourite out of all seven in the series, and it is the one book that has taught me very important life lessons.
I think the main reason why I love this book and why it brings me so much joy whenever I pick it up is the fact that it has always just been lying around for me to turn to any page and read. No book-marks or dog-earing is required with my personal copy. Although it is beat up and frayed, and has grown old over its life on my shelf, whenever I am having a tough time, Prisoner of Azkaban is my go-to book to cheer myself up.
The message of Prisoner of Azkaban specifically has really helped me. Harry is going through a lot in this stage of his story, and the books begin to get darker with creatures such as the Dementors getting introduced. I always found that the Dementors were the main focus of this book for some reason, and when I learned of Ms. Rowlings struggle with depression, I finally knew why, and saw the symbolism of depression in the dark, scary, soul eating creatures that she had created.
Whilst the Dementors are, yes, a symbol for depression, this book makes me very happy indeed, because of the introduction of the patronus charm. The simple idea that one happy memory can banish all of the monsters and sadness is beautiful, in my opinion, and through tough times, when reading this book it really helped me through certain things in my life. I also liked the added idea that chocolate can cure you after encountering a Dementor (or bad thoughts/experiences, like Rowling was aiming for with the symbolism).
To conclude, this book lifts me up when I am down, and when I am up, lifts me higher. I will never stop praising this book, and I think we can all agree that the world is a happier place with Harry Potter in our lives.
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
If I had to pick any book that made me happy, I’d have to say it would be Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. It was the beginning of what would become the biggest book series of my young adult (and early 20’s) life. It allowed (and still allows) me to escape for several hours at a time and not worry about anything going on. The first book also made me excited for the next book (and the remaining five afterwards). Yes, the series may be geared towards children, but honestly, it’s made for all ages, whether that age may be 7 or 70. The characters are wonderful, the story exciting, triumphant moments galore, the general mood of the entire book uplifting - there isn't much in the book to make one sad. The book, and the entire series, is near and dear to me, so that’s why I picked the first book as a book that makes me happy.
Icefire by Chris D'Lacey
It is much more difficult to chose a book that makes me happy than I had initially thought it would be. I finally decided upon a book that really does make me happy and that's why I keep rereading the series, despite the last two books being quite the confusing disappointment. IceFire, written by Chris D'Lacey, is book two of The Last Dragon Chronicles, out of a seven book series.
The series is about dragons, and not just in the way you imagine (those dragons come later!). Elizabeth Pennykettle makes unique clay dragons for a living, but what many people don't realise, is that these creatures are alive. David can't see this to start with but as soon as he opens his heart and is willing to believe, he can interact with them. Many books follow this trend of people only seeing what they can understand and what they choose to see. As soon as David chose to see the dragons as they really were, they appeared to him, and one, his own special little dragon named Gadzooks, helped him to write a story.
In Icefire, David is working on winning a fully funded research trip to the Arctic for his university course. He meets an interesting girl called Zanna, who seems to become a bit of a stalker, and starts to learn about some myths involving Polar Bears in the Arctic and this leads him to a link between them and the dragons. At the same time, Gwilanna is causing havoc back home and their neighbour, Henry Bacon, is his usual charmingly angry and grumpy self. He is lovable for it though.
Elizabeth Pennykettle is a charming woman and her daughter, Lucy, is an annoying young child but very sweet at the same time. Each character in the series has their own personality entirely separate from everyone else. Gwilanna is that evil aunt who is plotting against the family whilst pretending to just be a grumpy old woman, but her plans are much larger than that. I love how simple this book, and book one, The Fire Within, are as the last two books are really convoluted and are a major disappointment. The cliffhanger at the end of book five, Dark Fire, is brilliant and played on my mind constantly until the next book was released.
Despite the negative comments, it is a great series and is worth a read. The second book makes me happy because there is more interaction with the dragons now that they are trying to get David's attention and he gradually lets them in, and Liz and Lucy are as zany as ever and their cat is very funny, especially in future books.
The series starts out simple and has a very light hearted feel to it in D'Lacey's writing. This book cheers me up more than any other. Any time I'm down, I just look at this series standing on my shelf and I can actually feel the weight on my shoulders disappearing. It's a lovely, fascinating world they live in; especially in book one, The Fire Within, where David's biggest troubles are Lucy nagging him about dragons being real, trying to talk to a pretty girl, and trying to save a squirrel.
There is a lot of mythology to really sink your teeth into between the dragons and polar bears, and some weird alien creatures (the I:x) which are introduced later. Believe me, the series gets very complicated later. This series was rapidly becoming my favourite and the first five books still have a special place in my heart.