“It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be gray and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.”

This was Phil Connors’ prediction for winter in the movie Groundhog Day, and I couldn’t agree more. But unless you’re caught in a time vortex like Phil, winter won’t last the rest of your life (though it might feel like it). Sure, I love building a snowman or warming up with a hot bowl of soup as much as the next person, but how does a 12-week season manage to somehow endure for 6 months? Hang on, though, because there’s something you can do to perk up your mood and give yourself a mental getaway when the days get shorter.

Reading not only provides an escape, but it’s been proven helpful in alleviating symptoms of depression, especially as many struggle with the effects of seasonal affective disorder this time of year. Even if it’s only for 10 minutes, taking a mental break with a book can shift your awareness, and hopefully your mood as well. I can remember as a kid, instinctively pulling out my copy of Chicken Soup for the Soul when the temps dipped, re-reading the familiar stories that seemed to transport me to brighter and sunnier days.

To melt away the winter stagnation, here’s a list of books about how to get happier, love stories with happy endings, feel-good novels and books to make you laugh, available from your library in the Libby app.

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

For Gay, what delights us is what connects us, what gives us meaning, from the joy of hearing a nostalgic song blasting from a passing car to the pleasure of refusing the “nefarious” scannable QR code menus, from the tiny dog he fell hard for to his mother baking a dozen kinds of cookies for her grandchildren. As always, Gay revels in the natural world—sweet potatoes being harvested, a hummingbird carousing in the beebalm, a sunflower growing out of a wall around the cemetery, the shared bounty from a neighbor’s fig tree—and the trillion mysterious ways this glorious earth delights us.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe...

With his crooked tail—a sign of good fortune—and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Harriet and Wyn broke up five months ago and still haven’t told their best friends. Which is how they find themselves sharing a bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week…in front of those who know you best?

The Office BFFs by Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey

Receptionist Pam Beesly and accountant Angela Martin had very little in common when they toiled together at Scranton's Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. But, in reality, the two bonded in their very first days on set and, over the 9 seasons of the series' run, built a friendship that transcended the show and continues to this day. Sharing everything from what it was like in the early days as the show struggled to gain traction, to walking their first red carpet—plus exclusive stories on the making of milestone episodes and how their lives changed when they became moms—The Office BFFs is full of the same warm and friendly tone Jenna and Angela have brought to their Office Ladies podcast.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her 18-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over 30 years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his 8 arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late. Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Happy for You: A Novel by Claire Stanford

Four years into writing her philosophy dissertation and anticipating a marriage proposal from her long-term boyfriend, Evelyn is wrestling with big questions about life: How can she do meaningful work in the world? Is she ready for marriage—and motherhood? Swallowing her doubts, Evelyn makes a leap, leaving academia for a job as a researcher at an internet company, where her team is tasked with developing an app that will help users quantify and augment their happiness. Confronting Silicon Valley’s norm-reinforcing algorithms and predominantly white culture, she struggles to find belonging: as a biracial person, as an Asian American and as someone who doesn’t know how to perform social media’s vision of what womanhood should look like. As her misgivings mount, an unexpected development upends her assumptions about her future, and Evelyn embarks on a journey toward an authentic happiness all her own.

I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein

In New York Times bestselling author and Emmy Award-winning writer and producer Jessi Klein's second collection, she hilariously explodes the cultural myths and impossible expectations around motherhood and explores the humiliations, poignancies and possibilities of midlife. In interconnected essays like "Listening to Beyoncé in the Parking Lot of Party City," "Your Husband Will Remarry Five Minutes After You Die," "Eulogy for My Feet," and "An Open Love Letter to Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent," Klein explores this stage of life in all its cruel ironies and joyous moments. Written with Klein's signature candor and humanity, I'll Show Myself Out is an incisive, moving and often uproarious collection.

Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris

Back when restaurant menus were still printed on paper, and wearing a mask—or not—was a decision made mostly on Halloween, Sedaris spent his time doing normal things. But then the pandemic hits, and like so many others, he’s stuck in lockdown, unable to tour and read for audiences, the part of his work he loves most. To cope, he walks for miles through a nearly deserted city, smelling only his own breath. He vacuums his apartment twice a day, fails to hoard anything and contemplates how sex workers and acupuncturists might be getting by during quarantine. As the world gradually settles into a new reality, Sedaris too finds himself changed. In Happy-Go-Lucky, Sedaris once again captures what is most unexpected, hilarious and poignant about these recent upheavals, personal and public, and expresses in precise language both the misanthropy and desire for connection that drive us all.

The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha

Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life. You will learn and then master 3 fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth and the elimination of options leads to more choice.

Toxic Positivity by Whitney Goodman

Every day, we’re bombarded with pressure to be positive. From “good vibes only” and “life is good” memes, to endless advice, to “look on the bright side,” we’re constantly told that the key to happiness is silencing negativity wherever it crops up, in ourselves and in others. Even when faced with illness, loss, breakups and other challenges, there’s little space for talking about our real feelings—and processing them so that we can feel better and move forward. But if all this positivity is the answer, why are so many of us anxious, depressed and burned out? In this refreshingly honest guide, sought-after therapist Whitney Goodman shares the latest research along with everyday examples and client stories that reveal how damaging toxic positivity is to ourselves and our relationships, and presents simple ways to experience and work through difficult emotions. The result is more authenticity, connection and growth—and ultimately, a path to showing up as you truly are.

Happy Endings: A Novel by Thien-Kim Lam

Trixie Nguyen is determined to make her romance shop a success, proving to her traditional Vietnamese parents that she can succeed in a nontraditional career. She's made a fresh start in Washington DC, and her first pop-up event is going well—until she runs into the ex who dumped her with a Post-it note. The last person Andre Walker expected to see in his soul food restaurant was the woman he left behind in New Orleans. Their chemistry is still scorching, but he's desperately trying to save his family restaurant from gentrifying developers. They partner and both businesses start to sizzle. But when Trixie receives an incredible career opportunity, will pride ruin their second chance at happiness?

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez

Artist Sloan Monroe just can't seem to get her life on track. But one trouble-making pup who randomly jumps into her car with a "take me home" look in his eyes is about to change everything. With Tucker by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker's owner reaches out. He's a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back. Well, Sloan's not about to give up her dog without a fight. But what if this Jason guy really loves Tucker? As their flirty texts turn into long calls, Sloan can't deny a connection. Jason is hot and nice and funny. There's no telling what could happen when they meet in person. The question is: With his music career on the rise, how long will Jason really stick around? And is it possible for Sloan to survive another heartbreak?

All There Is by David Isay

StoryCorps travels America, collecting and preserving the stories of our lives. Each conversation is housed in the Library of Congress, and many are broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition, heard by millions of listeners each week. Told from the hearts, souls and lives of individual Americans, these stories make us laugh, cry, think, feel and know that we are all worth listening to and remembering.

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

One Sunday afternoon, as she unloaded the dishwasher, Gretchen Rubin felt hit by a wave of homesickness. She felt homesick, she realized, with love for home itself. In a flash, she decided to undertake a new happiness project, and this time, to focus on home. And what did she want from her home? A place that calmed her and energized her. A place that, by making her feel safe, would free her to take risks. Also, while Rubin wanted to be happier at home, she wanted to appreciate how much happiness was there already. So, starting in September, Rubin dedicated a school year to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort and love. Here she goes deeper on factors that matter for home, such as possessions, marriage, time and parenthood. Each month, Rubin tackles a different theme as she experiments with concrete, manageable resolutions—and this time, she coaxes her family to try some resolutions, as well.

*Title availability may vary by region.

Grab a book and brighten up those dark winter days with the Libby app.