The desire to read optimistic books is maybe an indication of the times we live in. Hope is more powerful than happy – it’s purposeful. People work to make hope happen – and that generates a broad collection of books for a wide range of reading tastes all united by a confident optimism.
Hope can be bubbly – enthusiastic and effervescent. The characters who populate some of these stories are infectious in their positivity. We not talking Pollyanna ray of sunshine – the books collected here are more subtle and three dimensional in their pursuit of hope.
Other writers here convey that they know that life isn’t a bed of roses, but they stay sanguine, they keep faith and move forwards. You can trust that the ending will have something positive and leave you feeling cheered.
Hopeful books offer a sense of perspective. They allow us to take stock, assess where we are and where we might go next on our journeys – physical, emotional, spiritual. There is a buoyancy that keeps those in peril bobbing above the waves - confident they will see the shore again. So if you are looking for the literary equivalent of ‘chicken soup for the soul’ – pause here, browse and be of good cheer.
