Books

Another person chiming in to recommend anything by Becky Chambers! She is my favorite author of all time and her books are a warm light in what can be a shaky world we live in. The Monk and Robot novellas are a great place to start for a more philosophical and contemplative experience, but Wayfarers is what I read through first and they are all excellent. More of a universe building experience even though each story follows different characters (for the most part.)

The Practice Effect. Physicist tests teleportation device and ends up in a world where using something makes it better.

So if you use a sled enough it eventually becomes frictionless thus they never invented the wheel. MC basically becomes a wizard using engineering.

Any of the discworld series.

You can never, ever go wrong with Pratchett.

The last book is pretty heavy emotionally, but it's so fucking beautiful that you're still uplifted rather than made sad.

If you want something that's essentially all comedy, go with the wizard section. The first couple are a little rough because he was a new writer, but they're just so fun

If you want something a little more focused than farcical, the Death section is superb.

Probably the best onramp to discworld is the city guard section though. Guards Guards! Is the first. If you try that and don't like it, you probably won't like most of the rest.

The "industry" section is pretty damn fun in its own way, but tends to be a little more linear, so some folks like it better than the guards stuff.

My personal favorite is the witches/Tiffany Aching stories. Those two arcs are linked heavily, and really lean heavily on the characters and ideas of the witches section even in the Tiffany section. Witches start out more farcical, but end up as a good comedic fantasy. The Tiffany stuff was technically written as YA oriented, and the first two show it a lot. But the rest of those turn into this character driven fantasy that's sublime. There's still comedy, largely from the wee free men (which is the title of the first Tiffany book), but it's as much a coming of age story as humor. Imo, the Tiffany stuff is Pratchett's masterwork.

I know you said you weren't looking specifically for fantasy, but I can't think of any other series that manages to be funny, engaging, well plotted, and carry some serious stuff along the way as well. It's all feel good fiction. If you can read any of it and be depressed, you're screwed because it's just that joyful, even the ending of it all.

Piranesi is a personal favorite of mine, overall uplifting.

The Monk and Robot series. Takes place in a postindustrial eco conscious society. A young monk decides to become a traveling tea maker (an actual profession, sort of a casual therapist).

Eventually they meet a robot that wants to learn about humans.

The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White has always been a favorite of mine.

I can highly recommend Doors of Sleep: Journals of Zaxony Delatree by Tim Pratt. Imagine waking up in a different reality every time you fall asleep. No choice, no control, just a kaleidoscope of alien landscapes, bizarre societies, and endless possibilities. It's a feel good adventure that's full of humor, heart, quirky characters, and creative world building.

The house in the cerulean sea

The Spellshop

The long way to a small, angry planet

They all make me feel warm and happy when everything else is too much!

Fantasy:

1. The Hobbit

Comedy/Sci-Fi:

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
2. The Martian

I'll second Small, Angry Planet. It's not always a happy series (one of the books takes place in the aftermath of a catastrophic disaster) but it is always a hopeful series, utterly unlike the sci-fi I usually go for. It's an indifferent universe full of very different people who will ultimately pull together and support each other, and that kindness prevails.

Howl's Moving Castle trilogy was very gentle and got me through one of my darkest times, so I'll always recommend it to people seeking a chill, comforting series.

For something a bit more modern the Legends & Lattes series has proven to be quite cozy, with a healthy dose of adventure mixed in. (It's mostly coffee & pastry porn).

Would you say the first Stormlight arc ended at a good spot? I'm eager to start the series but have been staying away because it's unfinished...

The Expanse overall is a great story about selflessness and perseverance. Some of its darker but overall I'd call it hopeful if not happy.

The Reclaimers by Brian Sanderson is also incredibly hopeful.

If you're open to sci-fi:

Nathan Lowell - Smuggler Series (3 books, starting with milk run) or Trader Series (first 6 books, starting with quarter share)

Smuggler has more.... Intrigue and whatnot. Trader is pretty straightforward and "feel good", iirc.

I would say read both series to those points before going further with the Seeker Series and later books. I forget where in the series but at some point the characters cross paths so having read both series before then helps it all fit together.

Oh boy, have I got a Dublin Trilogy for you

Just finished the fifth book in the trilogy and it was very good

Caimh McDonnell if you're interested

Pronounced "Kweev", obviously

Legends & Lattes is a cozy, feel-good fantasy story.

FKA USA was a humorous and relatively lighthearted -on the road- post apocalyptic satire set in the US

Dual Memory was light, easy to read, and had some creative ideas about robot intelligence tied in

I agree with the others that Becky Chambers novels feel like a warm hug.