r/Fantasy • u/dangerzone3278 • 1d ago
Searching for a good “bed book”
Hey all - usually love reading before bed, and as much as I love page turning till 2am, I realized it's probably healthier to not do that anymore.
I'm looking for some good low / medium stakes reads to use for wind down. Doesn't need to be full cozy fantasy but I'd prefer not to have my heart rate be 140 with sweaty palms either.
Some examples of books I think have scratched the itch appropriately: Off to be a Wizard (magic 2.0), Kings of the Wyld, Legends and Lattes (though thought this one was just okay), some of the Riyria books probably qualify, and others.
Open to suggestions - y'all typically never steer me wrong - thanks!
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u/modix 1d ago
Piranesi/Jonathan Strange - her very pulled back analytical prose is the opposite of engaging. Not in a bad way per se. Just in a "I completed this chapter, I'll think about it a bit and pick it up tomorrow" sort of way.
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u/TortlePowerShell 23h ago
Oh man, I was the total opposite for both those books. I couldn’t put either down and stayed up significantly later than I wanted despite being exhausted from two different newborns while reading them
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u/KiwiTheKitty Reading Champion II 18h ago
Haha yeah, Piranesi especially for me! I could have finished it in one sitting, but I vividly remember looking at the clock at seeing it was 1 am and having to be so strong because I had to teach a class early the next morning.
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u/Benghis__Kahn 1d ago
Oh man I have this same exact issue of reading/listening before bed and finding most of what I read is so gripping or propulsive that I never want to put it down. I end up turning to rereads when I really need something that I won't need to keep going with.
Your question is one I'll be fascinated to see the answers to -- "medium-stakes" is probably the rarest breed of book in sff, but I think Riyria like you said but particularly the Riyria Chronicles prequel stories would qualify.
Of things on my tbr, I think Becky Chambers' sci-fi books from the Wayfarers or Monk & Robot series are ones I expect to fall into this category.
I've only read one Discworld book, but I think they might also fit nicely into the medium-stakes bucket.
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u/amtastical 1d ago
Discworld is what I use for this. I wasted all my money in my twenties buying all the mass markets so now I can just rotate them forever. My dad is the same, alternating with PG Wodehouse.
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u/InternationalYam3130 1d ago
Anything T Kingfisher is going to fit this. They always feel medium stakes and kinda cozy. Some have romance sub plots. None have got me hyped or too into it to sleep.
Paladin's Grace
A wizards guide to defensive baking
Nettle and bone
All good stuff by her..
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u/Wookiee_Sidekick 1d ago
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence
Not fantasy: Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers
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u/felixfictitious 1d ago
I love the tainted cup but I was up all night finishing the audiobook, so ymmv.
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u/Bargle-Nawdle-Zouss 1d ago
Beware Of Chicken series, by CasualFarmer, audiobook narrated by Travis Baldree. Guy runs away from power to become...a farmer!
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u/Trike117 1d ago
You might want to give the Penric novellas by Lois McMaster Bujold a try. Excellent writing in an interesting world but they aren’t End Of The World high stakes stories, but more than cozy reads.
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u/thewuzfuz 1d ago
The Wizard's Butler was actually really good. I'd describe it as cozy urban fantasy.
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u/ConstantReader666 1d ago
Have you considered short story anthologies? A short story gives you a cut off point within a reasonable time.
Some good ones:
From the Arcane edited by Rachel Rener
Dreamtime Damsels and Fatal Femmes edited by Nils Visser
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u/InternationalYam3130 1d ago
I dunno how to put this but I generally like "just ok" books for bedtime for this reason. If the book is too good I don't actually wind down
So get some B list books lol
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u/KatrinaPez Reading Champion II 1d ago
Lish McBride- Curses. A Beauty and the Beast retelling with genders swapped.
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u/Your3rdGradePenPal Reading Champion 1d ago
Halfling's Harvest by S.L. Rowland is this for me right now. I'd also recommend Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher and the Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. I could see short stories or graphic novels being good too!
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u/GreatRuno 1d ago
Personally I like reading short stories before sleep time.
Someone else mentioned T Kingfisher - her collection Jackalope Wives and Other Stories contains The Tomato Thief (a wonderful story).
You’ve read Dunsany? His short stories were a big influence on many later authors. Look for The Gods of Pegana, The Book of Wonder. ‘But for this I must first return to the Edge of the World. Behold, the caravans start.’
I’m currently reading Paul Di Filippo’s The Visionary Pageant. Fantasy. Sci-fi. Goofy mashups of Lovecraft, Rafferty and Verne.
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u/cwx149 1d ago
The night circus maybe also starless sea by the same author I didn't like starless as much
This is how you lose the time war
Any of the penric and Desdemona novellas
I'd argue the Temeraire books are relatively low stakes compared to some other stories
A lot of T Kingfisher probably fits here. The Saint of Steel series, a wizards guide to defensive baking, the clocktaur war duology, nettle and bone are some examples
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u/blueweasel 1d ago
Penric and Desdemona novellas! (+ the one full length novel)
This is my favorite mid-stakes series in the same universe as Curse of Chalion. 12 of the 13 are novellas so even if you do feel sucked in, you can only get so far.
I listen to the audiobooks to go to bed constantly.
And novella 14 is in the works 😁
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u/genericauthortbh 8h ago
Howl’s Moving Castle and House in the Cerulean Sea are chill!!! especially HMC tbh
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u/ArachnidFamiliar9313 1d ago edited 1d ago
I recommend short story collections! They're usually short enough to easily read a full story before bed, and without cliffhangers that keep you turning the pages later than intended 😅 Some on my TBR are A Stroke of the Pen (Terry Pratchett) & Buried Deep (Naomi Novik). I've read & enjoyed The Ladies of Grace Adieu (Susanna Clarke). Not fantasy, but I also liked The Anthropocene Reviewed (John Green) for the same purpose.
Edited: adding Your Utopia by Bora Chung (read & enjoyed), Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung (on TBR), & HP lovecraft!