The best books for when you’re having an existential crisis that will make you feel better

Why am I passionate about this?

Hi there, I’m Lucie and I’m a writer (allegedly) but before that I’m a human and I know how hard it is to be a human. It’s a constant battle with yourself, the people around you, the world, and it’s exhausting and sometimes it can be too much but we find ways to keep going and books help me do that (as well as crying, screaming, potatoes). I find life absurd most of the time so I have to laugh about it or I’d go insane. And I’m still alive, despite constantly being in a fight with my brain, so I think I’ve got this.


I wrote...

Sad Janet

By Lucie Britsch,

Book cover of Sad Janet

What is my book about?

A black-hearted comedy for anyone who’s dreaded Christmas. Thirty-something misfit Janet works at a rundown dog shelter in the woods trying to block out how sad the world is. Everyone around her pretends to be happy (because they’re all on drugs) and they want her to be happy too, but she’s fine how she is. When a pharmaceutical company claims they’ve created a new pill to make Christmas tolerable, Janet, out of boredom mostly, decides to take the leap. Over the next few months, Janet takes part in a trial of this new drug with hilarious and profound consequences for everyone around her. A misanthropic tale goes awry in this depression comedy with a Fleabag-esque antihero at the centre.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Convenience Store Woman

Lucie Britsch Why did I love this book?

This is a book that some people have compared to my own book because it’s about a young woman whose family doesn’t understand her and thinks she needs help but she’s working it out herself, trying to live an authentic life. It’s dark, funny, tender, all the things I love. It’s about societal pressures, not fitting in, but also about how the everyday mundane things can save us.

By Sayaka Murata, Ginny Tapley Takemori (translator),

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Convenience Store Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Keiko.

Keiko is 36 years old. She's never had a boyfriend, and she's been working in the same supermarket for eighteen years.

Keiko's family wishes she'd get a proper job. Her friends wonder why she won't get married.

But Keiko knows what makes her happy, and she's not going to let anyone come between her and her convenience store...


Book cover of Naïve. Super

Lucie Britsch Why did I love this book?

This book will save your life if you’re like me and often wonder what’s the point? It’s about a young man trying to work out how to live when there are no answers. It’s weird and funny and speaks to me on many levels. It’s about how sometimes we have to have a bit of break down and strip back everything to work out how to move forward.

By Erlend Loe, Tor Ketil Solberg (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Naïve. Super as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Troubled by an inability to find any meaning in his life, the 25-year-old narrator of this deceptively simple novel quits university and eventually arrives at his brother's New York apartment.

In a bid to discover what life is all about, he writes lists. He becomes obsessed by time and whether it actually matters. He faxes his meteorologist friend. He endlessly bounces a ball against the wall. He befriends a small boy who lives next door.

He yearns to get to the bottom of life and how best to live it.

Funny, friendly, enigmatic and frequently poignant - superbly naive.


Book cover of The Suicide Shop

Lucie Britsch Why did I love this book?

A funny book about suicide, what more do you want? If like me you’re prone to those dark thoughts, you really do have to laugh about it. This book is absurd yes but also has so much to say about human nature and spirit. It’s a cult classic that’s about life, not death, that will make you feel hopeful, the same way I hope my book does.

By Jean Teulé, Sue Dyson (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Suicide Shop as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With the twenty-first century just a distant memory and the world in environmental chaos, many people have lost the will to live. And business is brisk at The Suicide Shop. Run by the Tuvache family for generations, the shop offers an amazing variety of ways to end it all, with something to fit every budget. The Tuvaches go mournfully about their business, taking pride in the morbid service they provide. Until the youngest member of the family threatens to destroy their contented misery by confronting them with something they've never encountered before: a love of life.


Book cover of Set My Heart to Five

Lucie Britsch Why did I love this book?

This book got me out of a funk when I couldn’t feel like reading anything. It’s a book about a robot that wants to write a movie to save humanity after he becomes self-aware. It’s funny and sweet and will make you laugh and cry maybe not worry so much about the imminent robot uprising.

By Simon Stephenson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Set My Heart to Five as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Science fiction satire in the Vonnegut mold.”—Cory Doctorow

*SET TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY EDGAR WRIGHT (SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD)*

‘A beautiful, funny, heartfelt analysis of what it means to be human.’—Simon Pegg

‘One of the most unique books ever crafted.’—Mike Chen, author of A Beginning at the End

Set in a 2054 where humans have locked themselves out of the internet and Elon Musk has incinerated the moon, Set My Heart to Five is the hilarious yet profoundly moving story of one android’s emotional awakening.

One day at a screening of a classic movie, Jared…


Book cover of Perfect Sound Whatever

Lucie Britsch Why did I love this book?

A beautiful book by one of my favourite comics about one man’s mental breakdown and how music and the people who made it saved him from the worst year of his life. It’s funny and tender and all the music he references was made by people going through their own shit and about how they used their music to save themselves. It’s a book about how we fall apart and how we put ourselves back together and you don’t have to know about music to be moved by it.

By James Acaster,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Perfect Sound Whatever as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*The Sunday Times Bestseller*

The brand new memoir from James Acaster: cult comedian, bestselling author of Classic Scrapes, undercover cop, receiver of cabbages.

PERFECT SOUND WHATEVER is a love letter to the healing power of music, and how one man's obsessive quest saw him defeat the bullshit of one year with the beauty of another. Because that one man is James Acaster, it also includes tales of befouling himself in a Los Angeles steakhouse, stealing a cookie from Clint Eastwood, and giving drunk, unsolicited pep talks to urinating strangers.

January, 2017
James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New…


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Transforming Pandora

By Carolyn Mathews,

Book cover of Transforming Pandora

Carolyn Mathews Author Of Transforming Pandora

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Creator Meditator Messenger Shopaholic

Carolyn's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Transforming Pandora, women's fiction with a metaphysical undercurrent, is written with humour and a light touch. As the plot slips between two time frames, separated by more than thirty years, the reader explores her life and loves: her ups and downs.

In the opening chapter, Pandora is attempting to come to terms with her husband's death. At a friend's suggestion, she reluctantly attends an evening of clairvoyance, after which her life is transformed by a mysterious spirit who sets her on a new path.

Her romantic life is reignited when she encounters a new man, but complicated by the appearance of a significant figure from her past. At the same time her spiritual life is presented with a challenge when she's offered the chance of enlightenment via a heavenly correspondence course. Her quest in life to find her true purpose is within her reach. Will she grasp this opportunity? Or will she choose love over light?

Transforming Pandora

By Carolyn Mathews,

What is this book about?

Pandora, 51, childless, and still beautiful, is attempting to come to terms with her husband's death. Having a history of being drawn to the esoteric, yet remaining a healthy sceptic, she reluctantly attends an evening of clairvoyance and raises a spirit who sets her on a new path...


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in existential crisis, suicide, and sound?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about existential crisis, suicide, and sound.

Existential Crisis Explore 11 books about existential crisis
Suicide Explore 180 books about suicide
Sound Explore 25 books about sound