In the past couple of years, I’ve become a fan of reading cozy novels. (I can’t imagine why!) Cozy can mean a lot of things, but to me it means they give off warm and fuzzy vibes, have low stakes (the end of the world is not imminent, or if it is, it’s more funny than frightening), and involve characters finding their place and/or their people. Cozy to me spans genres — even horror can be cozy! — but because of my personal tendencies, most the cozy books I read involve magic (especially when it comes to plants) and/or kindly robots.

I’ve put together a list of my favorites for your enjoyment. I’ve excluded some of the better-known ones — for example Travis Baldree’s books, including Legends & Lattes; Sarah Beth Durst’s The Spellshop; Becky Chambers’s Monk and Robot books; and Sangu Mandanna’s Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

These are popular for a reason! But they’re also the ones always mentioned in lists like this, so I thought I’d steer away. I also veered away from cozy murder mysteries, as I think there’s a chance to a standalone list down the road just full of those.

Want more? I’ve created a longer Cozy list in my online bookshop, which I’ll continuously add to! And if non-fiction is more your thing, check out my list of weird microhistories. (Note: If you buy from my bookshop links, I might receive a small stipend at no additional cost to you. You get a good book and support my work. Win win!)

Let’s get into the list, in no particular order.

Peter Shaughnessy is cursed to live forever, his body stopped aging in his mid-70s, when he thinks he would have died if he hadn’t had a run-in with “one o' them folk” back in Ireland. He’s now over 200 years old and over it, a grumpy man with some supernatural predilections who ends up in working at a cemetery in Ohio. There, however, he connects with some of the living. But his burgeoning found family — including an elderly man with impeccable fashion whom he’s getting feelings for — is threatened by a vengeful spirit. This is a gentle story tinged with horror, a delightful combination! (It’s also a good post-Widow’s Bay read, if you’ve made good choices and watched the Apple TV show).

Road trip with an alien! Connie Willis excels at creating almost sitcom-like experiences on the page. This one involves a young woman named Francie going to a wedding in Roswell, New Mexico, and getting abducted by an alien that (adorably) looks like a tumbleweed. The alien abducts a few more folks as they cavort around in an RV, including a young man she has no interest in dating, and Francie comes to realize that the lil’ tumbleweed from outer space needs help, and they’re just the team to come to its aid. It’s fun, it’s silly, and the alien is cute. Need I say more?

Looking for a story about a sentient house that cares about you and keeps you safe? If so, this book has got you. It centers on a young witch named Evie and her newly adopted daughter heading to a small village to care for a sentient house whose previous caretaker has died. Something’s not quite right with the house, however, and there’s a mystery that unravels as Evie works to keep her place there. Along the way she builds a found family and uses her earth magic to tend the literal garden of feelings outside the house. It’s sweet and also includes magic trees. What’s not to love?

Talking plant alert! This one, however, isn’t as innocent as your kitchen’s herbal array. Darkshire channels Terry Pratchett in this story set in an unhinged world that includes goblins who spread like fungus spores, a brutal capitalist named Gwendolyn Gooch, and a one-eyed grimalkin (don’t dare call it a cat) who keeps tabs on Isabella as she learns from a wizard’s Household Gramarye and does magic on their own. For all its silliness, however, its pages contain moments packed with more feeling than you might expect. An enjoyable read, even if you just skim its many footnotes.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and this book is full of pumpkin spice. It follows a hedge witch named Kate who lives in a cottage where she enjoys cooking, making tinctures, and not talking to people. Her life is upended when a young man from her past shows up on her door and she discovers that her deceased mother dabbled in black magic, with consequences she now must deal with. It’s an autumnal read — one that pairs well with colorful foliage and warm apple cider.  

Okay, I know that The Wild Robot if far from unknown, especially given the excellent DreamWorks Animation feature adaptation that came out a few years ago. I just read the first book in the trilogy with my kiddo, however, and it’s wonderful no matter how old you are. In it, a robot named Roz ends up washed onto an island and learns to speak with the animals there. She adopts a young goose and forges relationships with the wildlife, embracing the harsh beauty of nature. An emotional read that will grow your heart three sizes, at least. I dare you not to cry!