this post was submitted on 07 May 2026
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I'm trying to get back into reading, and for a few weeks have been reading a chapter (or half) of the Hobbit before bed.

Does anyone have recommendations for similar books? I'm not up to reading LOTR yet.

What I'm looking for are relatively chill books that don't stress you out before bed, something that I can just let my imagination run with abd has a cozy feel, if that makes any sense at all.

Don't care too much about genre, but I do like fantasy.

Edit: I should add I don't like books like Candide or Hitchhikers Guide, HG was fun, but I can't do "and stuff just keeps happening to the main character" types. And I know Candide is purposefully frustrating, bit it was too effective.

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[–] stray@pawb.social 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Tehanu (one of the Earthsea books) is absolutely NOT cozy. It focuses heavily on abuse, rape, and misogyny in general, and really ought to have trigger warnings especially since it's in the children's section. It's a fantastic series, but one of Le Guin's main strengths as a writer is in portraying injustice and bigotry and inspiring alternative ways to be.

[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Geebus. That's the first time I've heard that in all the times the books been suggested to me. It won't put me off but I'll start pointing that out as I recommend it. Thanks

[–] stray@pawb.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

She's a wonderful author and handles the material in a very appropriate way. It's just that Tehanu has intense subject matter that's easily triggering for many people. I think kids probably ought to have an adult read it first and then with them so that it's a proper learning experience.

The deal with the series is that Le Guin did an internalized misogyny in the first one, so the rest is written with more feminist intentionality on top of the cool magic world-building adventure stuff.

If you get editions of her fiction books with any notes in the beginning, I recommend saving them for after you've read the book.