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10 hopeful novels

The ten books here differ widely in setting, from a Sahara crossing to a library between life and death, but they share a temper: each treats change as slow and human rather than sudden or grand. In «The Secret Garden», a sour child and a locked garden show what steady attention can grow, and in The Midnight Library, Matt Haig lets Nora step into the lives she didn't choose and look at them plainly. You would want these books on days when hope needs to feel like work you can actually do, not a mood you wait for.

  1. 1.The Alchemist

    Paulo Coelho, 1988

    A shepherd crosses the Sahara chasing a recurring dream, meeting a king, an alchemist and his own fear, in a fable about whether desire is a compass or a trap.

  3. 3.Jonathan Livingston Seagull

    Richard Bach, 1970

    A seagull leaves his flock's scavenging for the discipline of flight, and finds that speed, freedom and perfection are spiritual problems.

    You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.
    Excerpt from Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach, HarperCollins UK 1970. Quoted for discovery. Source Rights & removals

  5. 5.The Midnight Library

    Matt Haig, 2020

    A library between life and death, where every book on the shelf is one of the lives Nora could have chosen and didn't.

    It was hard not to compare Mrs Elm to her mother, who treated Nora like a mistake in need of correction. For instance, when she was a baby her mother had been so worried Nora’s left ear stuck out more than her right that she’d used sticky tape to address the situation, then disguised it beneath a woollen bonnet.
    Excerpt from The Midnight Library, Matt Haig, Penguin Books 2020. Quoted for discovery. Source Rights & removals

  8. 8.The Celestine Prophecy

    James Redfield, 1993

    A man follows a hidden manuscript through Peru, learning nine insights that promise to turn ordinary life into something luminous — part thriller, part instruction manual for paying attention.

    According to the Manuscript, we’re beginning to glimpse an alternative kind of experience... moments in our lives that feel different somehow, more intense and inspiring. But we don’t know what this experience is or how to make it last, and when it ends we’re left feeling dissatisfied and restless with a life that seems ordinary again.
    Excerpt from The Celestine Prophecy, James Redfield, Random House 1993. Quoted for discovery. Source Rights & removals

  10. 10.Το μαγικό φωτογραφείο του κύριου Χιρασάκα

    Χιιραγκι Σανακα, 2020

    A quiet, fantastical story about photographs, memory and the moments we wish we could visit once more.

    Αλήθεια, όμως, ποιος ήταν αυτός ο άνθρωπος; Μέχρι τώρα, ακόμα κι όταν τη χαιρετούσε αναπάντεχα κάποιος στον δρόμο, αμέσως τον αναγνώριζε λέγοντας: «Είσαι ο τάδε, σωστά;» – γεγονός που πάντα χαροποιούσε τον άλλον. Πίστευε πως ήταν πραγματικά άσχημο να γερνάς και να σκουριάζει το μυαλό σου. «Καλώς ήρθατε. Σας περίμενα» της είπε ο άντρας.
    Excerpt from Το μαγικό φωτογραφείο του κύριου Χιρασάκα, Χιιραγκι Σανακα, Ικαρος 2020. Quoted for discovery. Source Rights & removals

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