6 comfort reads to curl up with this weekend: UAE book lovers picks, from A Man Called Ove to Dune

A comfort read means something different for everyone. For some, it’s a childhood relic, perhaps like Enid Blyton’s Seaside Family, where a family goes to the sea for a vacation in a caravan, pulled by two reliable ponies. They enjoy ice cream, hearty breakfasts of three eggs, and play with bright and colorful beach balls.

An idyllic life.

For others, it’s a psychological thriller that they enjoy reading, like Agatha Christie’s Five Little Pigs. You know exactly what’s going to happen, but there’s a thrill in feeling that little jolt of shock and discomfort. The mind puzzles over the complicated and dysfunctional relationships, while the heart feels for the ones who suffered for crimes they did not commit.

In short, comfort is a choice. And with that in mind, UAE book lovers have helped us put together a list of weekend reads spanning a variety of genres. Take your pick.

Blunt social commentary, mixed with coming-of-age

To Kill A Mockingbird

It’s the first lesson that the erstwhile Atticus Finch taught most of us: To really understand someone, walk in their shoes. To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, deals with a range of sensitive issues, viewed from Scout, a child’s perspective. There’s a certain winsome charm that most love about the book, including Dubai-based Arnab Ghosh, who has bought the book several times. “It has stayed with me ever since that first read. The casual, innocent tone of an 8-year-old girl has a certain charm, despite the rather grim legal affair that the story was centred around,” he says.

So maybe, if you’re up for a journey through the years, travel with Atticus Finch and his two children Scout and Jem, their many neighbours and of course, the ever-perplexing Boo Radley, a character you really would want to know more about.

For just something calming, inspiring

A Man Called Ove, by Frederik Backman

There’s something musically bittersweet about Brackman’s books. His words are lyrical, drawing you into his world of seemingly fictional ordinary characters, and yet who seem so real that you’re almost having tea with them at one point. A Man Called Ove, is one such book, relating the story of a broken man, whose life had been filled with colour only by his late wife, Sonja. Yet, in the midst of a depression, he finds hope, and friendship again, in the form of neighbours and even a stray cat.

As Dubai-based Atisha Punja says, it’s a wholesome book that feels like a warm hug.

A taste of sci-fi: Isaac Asimov to Arthur Clark’s Childhoods End

For Dubai-based Reem Maroun, a comfort read is sci-fi—something that challenges the mind, stretches the imagination, and remains utterly gripping. She recommends Dune, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, or Arthur C Clarke’s Childhood’s End.

If that’s your cup of tea:  Foundations is a sci-fi epic that explores the rise and fall of civilizations through the lens of "psychohistory"—a fictional mathematical science that predicts large-scale societal trends. The story follows Hari Seldon, a brilliant mathematician who foresees the impending collapse of the Galactic Empire and devises a plan to reduce the ensuing dark age from 30,000 years to just 1,000. To do this, he establishes the Foundation, a group of scientists and scholars tasked with preserving knowledge and guiding humanity toward a better future.

Childhood’s End: This explores humanity’s evolution under the guidance of a mysterious alien race called the Overlords. These advanced beings arrive on Earth, ending war, poverty, and suffering, but their true purpose remains unknown. While their rule brings peace and prosperity, it also leads to the stagnation of human creativity and ambition.

For the thriller enthusiasts

Murder at Church Lodge by Greg Mosse

This is Dubai-based Shalaka Paradkar’s pick. A communications strategist and an aspiring author, she loves spending her weekends reading crime, mystery, and thrillers to relax. While Paradkar is currently busy with Midnight at Malabar House, she also recommends Murder at Church Lodge, by Greg Mosse. “Fabulous plot and a sparkling main character Maisie Cooper, who isn't a detective but solves the case,” explains Paradkar.

Sound exciting? Here’s more about it for you to read: Maisie Cooper hasn’t heard from her brother in years—until an unexpected message pulls her back to their childhood village. But when she arrives, she’s met with a shocking truth: he’s already dead. Nobody wants to answer her questions, which is more baffling. Furthermore, another murder occurs and rocks the community.

So, if you’re up for keeping yourself puzzling out sinister mysteries, we might just have found the comfort read for you.

The Only One Left, by Riley Sager

Mariam Khawer, a PR Executive’s comfort reads consist of suspense, murder mysteries, psychological thrillers and whodunnits. And one of them, include The Only One Left, by Riley Sager. What’s it about, you ask? The story follows a woman who accepts a job caring for Lenora Hope—an elderly, bedridden woman once accused of brutally murdering her parents and younger sister decades ago.

Sound good enough for a weekend.