Homecoming by Kate Morton was a close second behind North Woods last time we chose a book.
Hello Beautiful has been mentioned on the Best Books thread.
The Things We Didn’t Know - Elba Iris Perez
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I would love a happy, upbeat book too.
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Thanks for the link, @Marilyn. I would read I Capture the Castle. I know it’s young adult, but it’s a classic that I’ve never read (and we haven’t done a classic for a while).
There’s actually a lot of books on that list I haven’t read, but that one jumped out at me.
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Saw this on Novelist: Late Bloomers - Deepa Varadarajan (mood: amusing, hopeful)
Just saw @Mary13’s mention of I Capture the Castle. I haven’t read it either.
Another “classic” Cold Sassy Tree
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I read “My Brilliant Friend” a few years ago for my Books on the Beach Group. Not sure I’d re-read it; also not sure how well I’d remember it to discuss it, LOL!
I’ve also read “Demon Copperhead” for a couple of other Book Clubs. It was very good, but I wouldn’t say it was in the happy/upbeat category.
I don’t think I’ve read anything by Georgette Heyer.
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Read Demon Copperfield, definitely not upbeat ………
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I recently read Homecoming and would recommend!
I also read How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. Not the best choice of title, but a traditional novel with three main characters whose stories intersect. It is sweeter than my usual choices but also has a lot of authentic humanity in it. A balance of feel-good and think deeply.
A friend just recommended this book to me also.
A college classmate has been raving on Facebook about Kate Atkinson’s Life after Life. It seems to be a love it or hate it book though.
I read I Capture the Castle eons ago and was underwhelmed. I barely remember the plot.
Browsing around, ran into some ideas - I don’t know if they’ve come up before. Perhaps too lighthearted?
And this fiction but maybe not really.
I read My Brilliant Friend (and all of the books in that series) a year ago. Elena Ferrante is brilliant and I still think of those characters regularly. She really gets her readers into the minds of her characters and paints a vivid picture of Italy in the WW2 and decades following. It’s not a happy read—in the way I typically think of them—but very satisfying.
I’m about to start Margo’s Got Money Troubles, upon the recommendation of a friend. Seems like it’s August-light but still charming and smart.
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For a totally different book, how about
**Dispatches from Pluto
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta by Richard Grant | Goodreads**
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One of my IRL book clubs considered The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post. The few who read it liked it enough but gave it a thumbs down as a book club choice.
Other than that I’m easy.
I’m listening … just waiting for a few more suggestions before I draw up the list.
The goal is to have something we can discuss over the course of several days. Choosing an upbeat read makes that slightly more challenging. As Tolstoy wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” 
I’m eliminating Demon Copperhead because it doesn’t pass the upbeat challenge – and also Hello Beautiful because it appears to be a tear-jerker centered around a family tragedy. And we have a veto for Marjorie Post. Not sure if @mathmom’s comment on I Capture the Castle made it a veto? That genre makes me think of the books I loved in my youth…it would be fun to re-read the first two books in the “Anne” series Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. But I’m not sure anyone else is interested in trekking back to childhood. 
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I suggested Hello Beautiful because it’s supposed to be a homage to Little Women. The boy is Laurie and the sisters represent Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy. Tis what caught my attention because I love Little Women - though it itself isn’t all upbeat (Beth 
).
I would love to reread Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. (Searching for my trekking back to childhood boots.)
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Googled upbeat books for book clubs
I’m not suggesting this one, I haven’t read it.
Does anyone have insight about it ? Has anyone read it ?
The Story of Arthur Truluv
by Elizabeth Berg
272 pages. Published by Ballantine Books
Occasionally a book comes along that cries to be shared with a friend (Karen J). I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading other books by Elizabeth Berg (Maxine D). This would be a good choice for readers looking for a “feel good” experience (Betty B) and would also be an excellent book group choice because there’s so much to discuss about the questions it explores (Joan R). It should especially appeal to the retirement crowd (Carol S). It was reminiscent of the writing styles of Frederick Bachman and Fannie Flagg (Rose N). I will recommend this book to many of my reading friends, young and old, but especially to those who enjoyed Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove and Anne Tyler’s Breathing Lessons (Gail K). Fans of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand would like this book (Mary B).
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How about The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim? Movie is more famous perhaps, but it was a 1922 novel.
Or 84, Charing Cross Road ? It is a 1970 memoir by Helene Hanff. Also a movie. We’ve talked about doing a memoir, this might be a fun one.
It’s interesting that so many of the upbeat cheerful books seem to start after someone died. Maybe you need tragedy for depth of discussion?
I was also looking at Arthur Truluv.
If we’re considering non-fiction:
I love Sedaris, but I can only take him in small doses and he should be read in audibook format.
I’d definitely read the Nora Ephrom.
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Just this morning I bumped this book off to be delivered later on the Libby app for the second time. I want to read it but I still have several other books ahead of it in my actual and e- pile and haven’t had much reading time lately. Good to know I should accept it one of these times.
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