Books That Aren't Depressing?

[teashi]

How about it? Good books that don't push for precious themes such as 'humanity is to blame for everything and will destroy itself and the world, and innocence is lost and we just plane suck'. Are there any great books out there that don't flaunt themselves on gritty and edgey stuff like this? That don't focus on things like psychological trauma, war, human stupidity, sex scandals, and politics?

Just thought I'd ask. :rolleyes:

[dfloyd]

perhaps they are not among the major classics, but none-the-less they are very good reads. Here are just a few - The Prisoner of Zenda, Scaramouche, Goodbye Mr. Chips, Ivanhoe, Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Great Expectations, Tristram Shandy, Pickwick Papers, King Solomon's Mines, The Three Musketeers, Zuleika Dobson, and the list can go on and on.

[Mariner]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

[JBI]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

It's a shame though that the 7th had the good guys lose though. I mean lets be honest, they put up such a good effort, killing off that Dumbledorph and all.

[Dark Muse]

Jane Austen Books are good non-depressing reads

A Room With A View and Howards End by E.M. Forester are pretty playful and amusing books.

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, and excellent and very inspriring book.

Kiddnapped by Robert Louis Steveonson (don't let the name full you, it is a pretty fun adventure story along the same lines as Treasure Island, and I acutally like this one slightly better)

Possession by A.S. Byatt

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is a delightful little story, and personally I think it is an excellent read.

This turned out to be harder than I thought it would be, as it turns out I do read mostly depressing book, not that I am surprsied by that.

[blp]

Books that aren't depressing are depressing.

Just kidding.

Tristram Shandy

[Dark Muse]

Books that aren't depressing are depressing.

Haha that is acutally my basic motto

[blp]

Ha ha. Yeah, it's kind of mine too. I found the futility of Vanity Fair especially uplifting.

Did like Tristram Shandy though. And it's genuinely upbeat.

EDIT Actually, I'm in now danger of hijacking this thread with other downbeat books that make me feel good. So I'm going to start on another thread on that before I do. And then it can compete with this one. Bet I get more hits!

[Dark Muse]

Did like Tristram Shandy though. And it's genuinely upbeat.

I would like to read that one eventually one of these days.

[teashi]

EDIT Actually, I'm in now danger of hijacking this thread with other downbeat books that make me feel good. So I'm going to start on another thread on that before I do. And then it can compete with this one. Bet I get more hits!

Ha, go ahead and try! :prrr: :wink5:

And thanks for the suggestions so far, people.

[blp]

Ha, go ahead and try! :prrr: :wink5:

And thanks for the suggestions so far, people.

I did. No takers so far. :rolleyes5:

[Quark]

Are there any great books out there that don't flaunt themselves on gritty and edgey stuff like this? That don't focus on things like psychological trauma, war, human stupidity, sex scandals, and politics?

I hear you. Today's aesthetic standard is skewed toward the depressing, and if a work doesn't have death or social dysfunction it's written off as frivolous. In all fairness, though, if a book doesn't at least acknowledge that a primary human experience such as suffering exists, then it probably is quite shallow. A completely painless world is not a real one. Yet you're right that there's currently a morbid fascination with "psychological trauma, war, human stupidity, sex scandals, and politics"--although those last two seem out of place.

Some good suggestions for books that break this mold might be the comedies of eighteenth-century England. Lawrence Sterne was already mentioned, but Fielding is another good one. Amelia, for example, while it does have some dark moments, is a rather optimistic book. Comedy and romance in general are good target for optimistic readings.

[Emil Miller]

Anything by P.G.Wodehouse.

[Heathcliff]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
The movie was scary though. The book kept me on the edge of my seat.
At least Snape got the job he wanted. Although the wise-man Dumbledore died, and Sirius was already gone by then, so it just sort of rolled along, nobody to make sense of it all. Except he-who-must-not-be-named, he doesn't stop talking once he gets started. Although I suppose I'm the only who thinks so.

[janesmith]

There are absolutely loads that fit that criteria. How about reading some George Eliot- especially "Silas Marner" and "Middlemarch". I'm also a fan of Elizabeth Gaskell. You'd probably enjoy "North and South" or "Cranford".

[OrphanPip]

Great Expectations

Great Expectations isn't exactly Dickens most cheery novel though. Especially the original ending, instead of the somewhat happy ending his publishers made him tack on. Although, Dickens is by and large a mostly happy ending sort of writer and everyone learns their lesson by the end.

[applepie]

I just finished The Mystery of Grace, and while it sounds a bit down it was actually quite light in my opinion :)

http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Grace-Charles-Lint/dp/0765317575/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268682513&sr=8-1

[janesmith]

Just thought of another one which pleasantly surprised me- "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K. Jerome. This is a seriously funny book- try it:)

[teashi]

Great Expectations isn't exactly Dickens most cheery novel though. Especially the original ending, instead of the somewhat happy ending his publishers made him tack on. Although, Dickens is by and large a mostly happy ending sort of writer and everyone learns their lesson by the end.I did try reading Great Expectations, and Pickwick Papers. Dickens might have a good story to tell, but I just don't want to stomach the bloated writing getting there. It's the same problem I have with Jane Austen.

Nice icon, by the way. Labyrinth is one of my favorites.

Thanks for more recommendations, all.:smile5: Guess I'm gonna have to make a list...