Ever cozy up with a book, hoping for an uplifting break, only to have the story veer into darkness and pull you further into doldrums? HappilyEverBooks.com is just what you need to find books with happy endings.
GeekMom Dakster Sullivan has launched a new site, HappilyEverBooks.com, where she reviews books that are guaranteed to have happy endings. She doesn’t give away the plot, beyond letting readers know that the ending will be happy. As the site mentions, “Think of it like putting together a puzzle. Just because you know what a puzzle looks like before putting it together doesn’t make the experience any less fun right?”
Makes sense, right? And these days, finding books that are uplifting and happy can be just the break from the daily news we all need. In fact, that’s something Sullivan believes. “Reading is my form of self-care to escape the world. I can’t escape if the book is on the topic of the current world climate.”
As far as what motivated her to create the site, “When I read I want to feel happy at the end because my depression already weighs enough sadness on me,” says Sullivan. “I looked for reviews about happy ending books but couldn’t find any so I figured I would start a blog for others like me.”
Makes sense. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, make it. Offer that service to others who might be looking. So I had to know, since this site is pretty new, how quickly this site will add content. According to Sullivan, “I try to read at least one book a week, but I find that I get caught up reading multiple books at one time (I think I’m on four of five at the moment). There are times I will sit and read 300-400 pages in a day if I feel up to it.” Specifically, she plans to post new reviews on Tuesdays (new book release day) and Fridays to start, so check back often.
With that much reading, I wondered then if she ever stops reading a book in the middle. “I try not to but as I’ve gotten older I’ve learned that there’s nothing wrong with stopping if a book isn’t keeping you interested,” says Sullivan. “Stopping allows you to put that energy into a book you might enjoy more.”
That said, is there room on this site to warn people away from books that might seem like they’ll be happy but really aren’t?
“I’ve been thinking about that and I think there is room. I picked up a book the other day that seemed like it was a happy ending while reading the end pages but come to find out it was actually a tragedy. That really hit me hard and it made me wonder if I should write that book up as a warning that, while it’s a good book, it won’t leave you with warm and fuzzy feelings.”
Sounds fair. Not trashing the book, just letting readers know that it doesn’t fit with the HappilyEverBooks tenets. Finally, I wanted to know, as I’m sure others are, whether the site is open to contributions by other readers, or if all the books on the site going to be ones that she personally has read. And to that, she said, “I’m always open to book suggestions. I would want to read them myself to review them so I can cover if there are any triggers. I plan to warn people at the beginning if there are any emotional triggers like sexual assault mentioned. I tend to read a lot of YA because there’s less a chance of running into those topics.”
So keep visiting HappilyEverBooks.com (or subscribing) to find a little bit of sunshine in your literature choices. And may all your stories end happily ever after.
