5 books to read when you are sick, sad, and stuck in bed

Indian Express

04-08-2025

(Written by Manpreet Walia)
The rain is wreaking havoc and you are coughing as though there is no tomorrow. Warily you apply for sick leave, and unenthusiastically, your manager approves. But now what? You are rotting in bed, regretting that this sick day could not be used for something a little more…glamorous. You want to do something, achieve something, make this leave count. So you brave this storm, and crawl (like the brave little soldier you are) to your bookshelf and ask your work-from-home partner to make you a hot cup of cocoa.
You bury yourself under the weight of the sheets, tissues scattered like tragic confetti and prop yourself up just enough to read. You open the book, breathe it in, turn to the foreword and nope, not the vibe. Because of course, reading A Little Life when it feels like you have very little life left after coughing up your lungs is not the best idea.
This is why I (from one serial cougher to another) have put together a list of the top five comfort reads for when you are sick, sore, and in desperate need of a story that hugs like vapourub. These books are warm, healing, and oh-so-soothing, just what the doctor ordered.
A whimsical, tender-hearted fantasy novel about a rule-following caseworker Linus Baker who is sent on a highly classified mission by the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. His task is to assess whether a remote orphanage housing six 'dangerous' magical children poses a threat to the world or not. But when Linus arrives at the seaside house, everything he knows begins to change and so does he.
This book feels like a warm hug. The writing is gentle and funny, the characters become your old friends, and the ending feels like watching the sun break through after a rainstorm.
This story follows August Pullman (Auggie), a boy born with a facial difference, as he navigates starting school for the first time in fifth grade. Told through multiple perspectives, the book shows how Auggie's life ripples into many other lives. In all honesty, this book gently holds your hand but it also does not shy away from sadness or awkwardness, but it leads with warmth. It is the literary version of a hand-knitted scarf that wraps around you and makes you feel just a little bit better.
Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of distraction and a few pages of Agatha Christie. You want something clever but not too intense, it is then when you reach out to this classic. As the legendary detective Hercule Poirot finds a passenger dead on The Orient Express trapped in snow, everyone becomes his suspect. The mystery is smart but not stressful, and the pace is just right for those suffering from a heavy head.
When your body is aching and your mood is a little grey, A Man Called Ove becomes that mug of warm lemon-honey water only your grandma could perfectly make for you. In the book we follow Ove, a grumpy old man with strict routines, a short fuse, and zero patience for, well, pretty much anything.
But as the story unfolds, so does Ove. Frederick Backman's words are laugh-out-loud funny at times and devastating at others, but are always infused with a lot of heart. Believe me if you must, by the time you turn the last page, you'll feel a little less sick and a lot more whole (some).
This Korean coming-of-age novel follows Yunjae, a boy born with a condition called alexithymia, which makes it hard for him to identify and express emotions. His world is carefully put into place by his mother and grandmother until a tragic event that displaces everything.
As Yunjae slowly opens himself up to friendship, pain, and love – so do you. Almond doesn't demand much, sometimes just a cough gremlin like you that it can spend some time with and heal by the end of it.
(The writer is social media strategist with indianexpress.com)