7 or So Books to Read if You’re Feeling Sad (Like Me)

hi everyone!!

today’s post is going to be a little different from the norm (as you can probably tell already with my lack of capitalization).

i’ve been, uh, missing from the blogging world for a few weeks now. it wasn’t my intention, as it never is, but it keeps happening over and over again. i’m not going to waste my breath apologizing because i have an overwhelming fear of being annoying and i feel like i’ve said sorry enough times to irritate everyone, but know that the words “i’m sorry” are brewing on my mind. this month, and especially this week, has been bad for me mentally, and it’s been hard to do even the simplest of tasks.

but as i’m writing this, i just spent a good part of my day watching booktube videos (and criminal minds…), and i felt inspired to create content. and one of my very kind friends ilsa said she loved my book recommendations, so here we are with a book rec post! because i love writing them and i love knowing others enjoy them too! and it’s specifically for the sad people who need a book to make them feel okay for a little while, just like i do.

love you all a lot. thanks for sticking with me <33

if you want a funny romance that’ll make you smile…

FOOLISH HEARTS or
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE

these were honestly the first two books i thought of when i first got the idea to write this post. i remember that foolish hearts just made me really really happy, even though it went against all of my principles (which are: het romances = bleh). i remember that i read red, white & royal blue when i was feeling sad, and it cheered me up in the exact way i needed. both of them just… really make you smile, for the entire book.

i sadly Adore romance in books (and i say sadly because ew…. feelings……), though i don’t usually turn to the romance genre where romance is the main plot, and these both had really cute romances! and compelling characters! and most of all, lots of humor! so these are 100% fantastic for whenever you need a pick-me-up that’ll make you laugh, especially when you’re feeling sad.

if you want a book to relate to and just cry over…

DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY

i know it sounds kind of counter-productive to read a book about sadness when you’re sad, but i did it and the messages in it were all the more profound and meaningful to me. a very big theme in this book is that it’s okay not to be okay, and there’s one particular scene that’ll make you cry because of how you’re reminded of that.

of course, content warning for depression. sometimes when you’re in a bad mindset, you just can’t read books about depression, and that’s okay. but if you can and you think it’ll be cathartic like it was for me, i definitely recommend it.

(there’s also nice try, jane sinner, but i don’t remember much about it besides the fact that it was a book about a sarcastic girl with depression. so it could be a good choice for this as well, but i don’t want to recommend anything for this list involving depression without the proper content warnings!)

if you want a fantasy that completely immerses you…

JADE CITY or IN OTHER LANDS

look! i’m magical and managed to fit in one of my recent reads. (i was going to recommend the poppy war, another excellent adult asian fantasy like jade city, but it has some dark content so… perhaps not the best for this particular list.)

sometimes when you’re sad, you just need something to distract yourself from whatever you’re going through. (at least that’s the case for me.) and immersive fantasies are amazing for just that! i got obsessed with both of these books very easily: their characters and worlds, as well as just storylines, are so intriguing and engaging. both of them will pull you in right away.

jade city was a bit harder for me to become fully engaged in, most likely because it’s adult and i personally struggle a bit with the writing in adult books, but other than that it’s absolutely a book you can’t stop reading. and a bonus for in other lands is that it features the wittiest and most hilarious protagonist!

if you want a magical book that makes you feel like your soul left your body…

THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS or
THE STARS AND THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM

both of these books are an Experience. both of them leave you feeling so confused about what just happened with what you just read because whatever happened couldn’t have been real. but they also kind of leave you with a sense of… hope. for the characters and for the world. and i think that’s a beautiful thing to read when you’re feeling sad.

yes, they will make you cry. both of them did for me. (or they at least made me tear up, i don’t remember anymore, i’m old.) but it’s a cry in the this-is-so-beautiful-and-hopeful way, and sometimes i need to cry like that when i’m sad, because it reminds me of better things.

please note that the stars and the blackness between them deals with cancer!

**bonus! both of these have the word “stars” in them which automatically makes them the best. and both are by black authors (as well as featuring a f/f relationship) and are fantastic choices for black history month! :))

if you want (what feels like) a quick read to binge and fall in love with…

HEARTSTOPPER or I LOVE YOO

like i said, sometimes if you’re sad you just want something to distract yourself. (it’s why i CAN’T STOP WATCHING CRIMINAL MINDS.) and some of the books i’ve mentioned already are very bingeable and enjoyable, but here are my favorite things ever: webcomics!!!

i think there are quite a few that i can recommend for this, because webcomics are very easy to binge and love right away. but i’m recommending these two specifically for different reasons:

heartstopper was a webcomic that i read when i was feeling down, and it was just super cute to me and made me smile when i needed it. and i love yoo is not the best quality, but god is it addicting (and therefore distracting). it’s like 100+ episodes long and you’ll want to read all of them as soon as possible.

(and [mumbles] you know… castle swimmer is also very cute… and lore olympus is also very addicting…)

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what are your go-to types of books if you’re feeling sad? have you read any of these? are there any books you can recommend? i’d love to read some funny books right now!!

p.s. not only was it fun for me to write this post, but it was actually very healing. it felt liberating to write about my recent sadness in a way that didn’t feel like too vulnerable for me, but in a way that i know best: through books. i know it’s not a lot of books, but i hope this post helps the people who need it most <33