On optimistic books

I love happy, joyful books and spring is the perfect time for beginning to delve into some lighter, more bright reads. So today, here are a few books that are cheery, optimistic, and that give you a good feeling about being alive.

• The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - This is one of the more ridiculous books I've ever read and also one of the most upbeat. The daring Pirate Captain and his crew join up with Charles Darwin to encourage scientific progress in London - and also to attend a very important pirate convention. It's a delightful book that will keep you giggling the whole time you're reading. Plus, it's a pretty quick read, so you'll be through it in no time.

• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones - I was shocked at how much I loved this book and how happy it made me. This whimsical story about cursed Sophie and her adventures with the wizard Howl is so much fun and so sweet and wonderful - and so much lighter than the film. 

• Remembering Isaac: The Wise and Joyful Potter of Niederbipp by Ben Behunin - This sweet, quiet, and slow-paced book about a young potter taking the place of the quiet (and somewhat therapeutic) town potter who just passed away is a happy and overwhelmingly upbeat (though quietly so) read. If you want to smile a little through your happy tears, this is the book for you. (Heads up - this also my grandmother's favorite book, so it's a great gift idea for grandparents!)

• Giant Days: Volume 1 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, and Whitney Cogar - I've really enjoyed this graphic novel about three best friends starting off at college. While there are some sad parts, it's an overwhelmingly positive story about people learning to be adults. Plus, it's just a lot of fun. This book would make a great gift for your high school senior relative.

What books do you think of as "optimistic"? What makes a book optimistic in your mind? Have you read any of the books on this list?

On melancholy books

One of my favorite things about books is that there are books for every mood. Below is a list of some books you may enjoy if you’re looking for a more melancholy and sad read:

• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien - This book has funny moments and terrifying moments, but the overall feeling of this book is sad and thoughtful and definitely melancholy. This book deals with the Vietnam War in a very thoughtful and somewhat gloomy (but honest and vulnerable) way.

• Hold the Dark by William Giraldi - Missing children, a cold and unforgiving landscape, and a narrator who’s experienced much loss come together to make this book both intriguing and pensive.

• Go Ask Alice by Beatrice Sparks - This fictional diary of a young woman’s descent into a life of drugs, sex, and difficulties can be a difficult and sad read. Recommended for YA readers.

• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion - Didion’s account of the year following her husband’s death is a serious and vulnerable look at encountering grief. This book is perfect for anyone experiencing loss and wondering how to cope with it.

• What Daddy Did by Neal Shusterman - This fictional story regarding one family dealing with the death of their mother (at the hand of their father) is a difficult look at grief and at young children coping with loss and learning to move past it.

What books would you add to this list? What melancholy books have you enjoyed? What makes a book melancholy in your mind?