Life throws curveballs, and sometimes those curveballs leave us feeling a bit down in the dumps. If you're looking for a pick-me-up but can't quite muster the energy to head outside, well, fret no more! Curling up with a good book can be the perfect way to escape reality, boost your mood, or simply provide a comforting distraction. Here at Booxies, we believe there's a book out there for every feeling, and that includes those not-so-sunny days. So, grab a cup of tea, cosy up under a blanket, and let's dive into some fantastic reads that are sure to bring a smile back to your face!

Here are our top pick of

books to read while feeling unwell or down

Non-Fiction Books to Pick You Up

The Comfort Book by Matt Haig

 A hug in book form - the number one Sunday Times bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive rethinks the self-help book.

Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn't give up.

The Comfort Book is a collection of little islands of hope. It gathers consolations and stories that give new ways of seeing ourselves and the world. Matt Haig's mix of philosophy, memoir and self-reflection builds on the wisdom of philosophers and survivors through the ages, from Marcus Aurelius to Nellie Bly, Emily Dickinson to James Baldwin.

This is the book to pick up when you need the wisdom of a friend, the comfort of a hug or just to celebrate the messy miracle of being alive.

Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales

As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the media. But one particular string of bad news stories – and a terrifying brush with her own mortality – sent her looking for answers about how vulnerable each of us is to a life-changing event. What are our chances of actually experiencing one? What do we fear most and why? And when the worst does happen, what comes next?

In this wise and layered book, Leigh talks intimately with people who’ve faced the unimaginable, from terrorism to natural disaster to simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Expecting broken lives, she instead finds strength, hope, even humour. Leigh brilliantly condenses the cutting-edge research on the way the human brain processes fear and grief, and poses the questions we too often ignore out of awkwardness. Along the way, she offers an unguarded account of her own challenges and what she’s learned about coping with life’s unexpected blows.

Bright Shining by Julia Baird

Grace is both mysterious and hard to define. It can be found when we create ways to find meaning and dignity in connection with each other, building on our shared humanity, being kinder, bigger, better with each other. If, in its crudest interpretation, karma is getting what you deserve, then grace is the opposite: forgiving the unforgivable, favouring the undeserving, loving the unlovable.

But we live in an era when grace is an increasingly rare currency. The silos in which we consume information dot the media landscape like skyscrapers, and our growing distrust of the media, politicians and public figures has choked our ability to cut each other slack, to allow each other to stumble, to forgive one another.

So what does grace look like in our world, and how do we recognise it, nurture it in ourselves and express it, even in the darkest of times?

BIttersweet by Susan Cain

An uplifting and mind-shifting new book on the surprising power of being "bittersweet", by the author of the megaselling phenomenon QUIET

In this inspiring masterpiece, bestselling author Susan Cain shows the power of the "bittersweet" -- the outlook that values the experiences of loss and pain, which can lead to growth and beauty. Understanding bittersweetness can change the way we work, the way we create and the way we love.

Each chapter helps us navigate an issue that define our lives, from love to death and from authenticity to creativity. Using examples ranging from music and cinema to parenting and business, as well as her own life and the latest academic research, she shows how understanding bittersweetness will allow us, in a flawed world, to accept the loss of past identities; to fully embrace the loves we have; and to weather life's transitions.

Fiction Books to Pick You Up

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

It's New Year's Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment when an incompetent bank robber rushes in and politely takes everyone hostage.

For Anna-Lena and Roger, busy buying-up apartments to fill the hole in their marriage, it's something else to talk about.

For Julia and Ro, panicky parents-to-be, it's yet another worry.

Lonely bank manager Zara only came here for the view.

While 87-year-old grandmother Estelle seems rather pleased by the company . . .

As the police gather outside, the anxious strangers huddled within try to make the best of a very sticky situation - but could it be that they have a whole lot more in common than meets the eye?

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?

In The Midnight Library, Matt Haig's enchanting new novel, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist; she must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life, and what makes it worth living in the first place.

Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

Nisha Cantor and Sam Kemp are two very different women.

Nisha, 45, lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband inexplicably cuts her off entirely. She doesn't even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That's because Sam - 47, middle-aged, struggling to keep herself and her family afloat - has accidentally taken Nisha's gym bag.

Now Nisha's got nothing. And Sam's walking tall with shoes that catch eyes - and give her career an unexpected boost.

Except Nisha wants her life back - and she'll start with her shoes . . .

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

For readers who loved The Office US and Really Good, Actually comes the awkward heroine you’re about to fall in love with

Would you want to know what your colleagues say behind your back?
Jolene certainly doesn’t.

She’s riddled with anxiety, depressed, and hates her coworkers. The less she knows about them, the better.

So when a catastrophic IT f*ck up grants her access to all of their emails and private messages, she’s initially horrified. The last thing she wants is to be privy to their sad discussions about dying desk plants and marital troubles.

That’s until with job cuts looming, she realises the power this new-found knowledge gives her.

But as she digs deeper and deeper into the private lives of her colleagues, Jolene uncovers a lot more than she bargained for… And the walls she’d so carefully built start crumbling down

 

To make things even better, head to our Build Your Own Booxies and create your own unique pick me up box. includes up 2 books of your choice and up to 4 premium Australian products that can only lift your mood and elevate your reading experience. or if you want the easy way, just get one of Curated Gift Boxes that are specially designed and curated for every bookish taste in mind. 

Booxies is the pefect book lovers gift box or the best bookish treat for yourself.