My favorite books to make you laugh and cry at the same time

Why am I passionate about this?

I love romantic comedies with an emphasis on comedy. I’m not in love with sugary-sweet romance because I don’t think it’s true to life. I know that I laugh daily because my life is very 'Bridget Jones'. You know a book genre is strong when you can describe yourself as a character written in the late nineties. My own books are full of awkward moments, endearing observations, and humour that pushes the boundaries. Why? Because what are we if we are not fallible and vulnerable to whatever life throws at us?


I wrote...

Sunshine at Daisy's Guesthouse

By Lottie Phillips,

Book cover of Sunshine at Daisy's Guesthouse

What is my book about?

A delightfully heartwarming romantic comedy to get you in the mood for summer!

A summer of new beginnings… Daisy Ronaldson’s whole life is turned upside-down when her husband dies from cancer. So, when she discovers that he left her a wish: to turn their big English country house into a guest house, she’s in shock…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Mad About the Boy

Lottie Phillips Why did I love this book?

Who doesn’t immediately fall in love with Bridget Jones upon meeting her?

This book is full of laughs, tears, and now parenthood! I adored the other books in the Bridget Jones series, and this didn’t disappoint. If, like me, you like to read about a woman who feels ‘real’ and relatable, this book is just divine.

Bridget Jones is the sister to all of us women who need to hear that someone else goes through such highs and lows.

By Helen Fielding,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Mad About the Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

What do you do when a girlfriend's 60th birthday party is the same day as your boyfriend's 30th?

Is it wrong to lie about your age when online dating?

Is it morally wrong to have a blow-dry when one of your children has head lice?

Does the Dalai Lama actually tweet or is it his assistant?

Is technology now the fifth element? Or is that wood?

Is sleeping with someone after 2 dates and 6 weeks of texting the same as getting married after 2 meetings and 6 months of letter writing in Jane Austen's day?…


Book cover of The Unmumsy Mum: The Hilarious Highs and Emotional Lows of Motherhood

Lottie Phillips Why did I love this book?

This book is perfect for new mums, mums au fait with being a mum or even those wondering about parenting!

I laughed ridiculously hard at the frank and compelling insight into what it means to be a modern-day mother. I remember reading it when my son was a toddler and feeling comforted by Turner’s stories and anecdotes.

It’s both a comedy but offers great tips at the same time in those moments when you are crying trying to get your child to eat peas.

By Sarah Turner,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Unmumsy Mum as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Creator of the popular blog "The Unmumsy Mum," Sarah Turner offers an uncensored account of her early years of parenting.

Sarah Turner's first few months of parenting were tough. On the darkest of sleep-deprived days, when the baby would not settle and she was irritable and the house was a disaster-zone, she wanted to read about someone who felt the same. Someone who would reassure her that she wasn't a total failure. But she found nothing of the sort. She decided then and there that she would write something herself. She would document parenthood as she found it. Not how…


Book cover of Mad Girl

Lottie Phillips Why did I love this book?

I picked this book up as I suffer with OCD and welcomed a genuine account of the effects it has on day-to-day life.

This, however, was just that but also gloriously uplifting and funny. I both cried and laughed, and sometimes a mixture! So, although this is non-fiction it follows Bryony’s journey as if following a protagonist in a novel, making it compelling and heart-wrenching.

By Bryony Gordon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mad Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new Sunday Times bestseller from Bryony Gordon, Telegraph columnist and author of the bestselling The Wrong Knickers. For readers who enjoyed Matt Haig's Reasons to Stay Alive and Ruby Wax's Sane New World, Mad Girl is a shocking, funny, unpredictable, heart-wrenching, raw and jaw-droppingly truthful celebration of life with mental illness.

'I loved it. A brilliant fast and funny and frank look at something that absolutely needs to be talked about in this way' Matt Haig

Bryony Gordon has OCD.

It's the snake in her brain that has told her ever since she was a teenager that her world…


Book cover of Fleabag: The Scriptures

Lottie Phillips Why did I love this book?

I bow at the scriptwriting throne of Waller-Bridge.

When I saw Fleabag on TV, I became obsessed with the relationship we formed with ‘Fleabag’ as she aimed many comments straight down the camera lens. The Scriptures reminds me of how, once again, you can find yourself laughing and crying simultaneously. The book ticks every box needed as a human: love, laughter, and tears.

By Phoebe Waller-Bridge,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Fleabag as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Go deeper into the groundbreaking, Golden Globe and Emmy-winning series with this must-have collection—“a completist’s dream of a book, including the show’s full scripts and Waller-Bridge’s commentary” (Vogue).
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY EVENING STANDARD

“Her coat falls open. She only has her bra on underneath. She pulls out the little sculpture of the woman with no arms. It sits on her lap. Two women. One real. One not. Both with their innate femininity out.”
 
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s critically acclaimed, utterly unique series Fleabag took the world by storm with its piercing dialogue, ruthlessly dry wit,…


Book cover of Bridget Jones's Diary

Lottie Phillips Why did I love this book?

Yes, this is my second recommendation for Helen Fielding!

This is the book that made me love everything romantic comedy but particularly because the emphasis is on comedy. I used to read this late into the night, crying tears of joy and sadness into my duvet. There is nothing not to like. The love triangle is a well-used trope but, in this book, all three characters are fresh, honest, and timeless meaning there isn’t the normal underdeveloped second character.

By Helen Fielding,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Bridget Jones's Diary as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The multi-million copy number one Bestseller

A dazzlingly urban satire on modern relationships?
An ironic, tragic insight into the demise of the nuclear family?
Or the confused ramblings of a pissed thirty-something?

As Bridget documents her struggles through the social minefield of her thirties and tries to weigh up the eternal question (Daniel Cleaver or Mark Darcy?), she turns for support to four indispensable friends: Shazzer, Jude, Tom and a bottle of chardonnay.

Welcome to Bridget's first diary: mercilessly funny, endlessly touching and utterly addictive.

Helen Fielding's first Bridget Jones novel, Bridget Jones's Diary, sparked a phenomenon that has seen…


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Book cover of The Complete Eldercare Planner: Where to Start, Which Questions to Ask, and How to Find Help

Joy Loverde

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Trusted for more than three decades by family caregivers and professionals alike, this comprehensive and reassuring caregiving guide offers the crucial information you need to look after your elders and plan for the future.

Being a caregiver for aging parents, close friends and family, and other elders in your life is an overwhelming experience, whether you are one who has stepped into this role without warning or one who is also contemplating their own care plan. Now in its fourth edition, The Complete Eldercare Planner will help you navigate today’s complex caregiving landscape while addressing your unique needs.

By Joy Loverde,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Complete Eldercare Planner as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Trusted for more than three decades by family caregivers and professionals alike, this comprehensive and reassuring caregiving guide offers the crucial information you need to look after your elders and plan for the future.

“The most complete resource between two covers.”—Woman’s Day
 
Being a caregiver for aging parents, close friends and family, and other elders in your life is an overwhelming experience, whether you are one who has stepped into this role without warning or one who is also contemplating their own care plan. Now in its fourth edition, The Complete Eldercare Planner will help you navigate today’s complex caregiving…


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