When you want one of those nice couple of hours with a sweet and thoughtful book read Terry Pratchett's
Nation. It is intended for young adults but you can dig deep enough inside you if you don't have a real one to share it with. It's not a book of his usual Discworld and it's not quite fantasy, either. But it's one of those books which feed your honor-and-hope storage tanks.
Oh, and it's this post that is short, not the book.