Brit Bennett

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

California

A Novel

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2020 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * NPR * PEOPLE * TIME MAGAZINE* VANITY FAIR * GLAMOUR 2021 WOMEN'S PRIZE FINALIST “Bennett’s tone and style recalls James Baldwin and Jacqueline Woodson, but it’s especially reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s 1970 debut novel, The Bluest Eye.” —Kiley Reid, Wall Street Journal “A story of absolute, universal timelessness …For any era, it's an accomplished, affecting novel. For this moment, it's piercing, subtly wending its way toward questions about who we are and who we want to be….” – Entertainment Weekly From The New York Times-bestselling author of The Mothers, a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it's everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Many years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters' storylines intersect? Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins. As with her New York Times-bestselling debut The Mothers, Brit Bennett offers an engrossing page-turner about family and relationships that is immersive and provocative, compassionate and wise.

The Vanishing Half

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Matthew Sullivan

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this “intriguingly dark, twisty” (Kirkus Reviews) debut novel from an award-winning short story writer. Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs—the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves. But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Always Joey’s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia? As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey’s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left. “Both charming and challenging” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review), Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore is a “multi-generational tale of abandonment, desperation, and betrayal…inventive and intricately plotted” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

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Lisa Leake

The Easy and Delicious Way to Cut Out Processed Food





In her first cookbook, 100 Days of Real Food, Lisa Leake revealed how simple it is to think out of the box in the kitchen by replacing unhealthy prepackaged and processed foods with "real food"--mouthwatering meals made with wholesome and familiar ingredients. Now, Lisa is back with 100 quick-and-easy recipes and simple cheat sheets that will work with every family's busy lifestyle.

100 Days of Real Food: Fast & Fabulous gives Lisa's devoted fans and newcomers exactly what they want, quick and tasty favorites for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and even snacks that are a snap to make. Inside you'll find recipes sure to please everyone, from Cinnamon Raisin Scones, Couscous and Tomato Salad, and Corn Muffins to Citrus Salad With Crispy Quinoa, Honeydew Green Smoothie, and Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup to Easy Fish Tacos, Parmesan Crusted Chicken, and Chocolate Banana Pops. While some dishes are blog favorites, seventy-five percent are brand new.

Along with these family-friendly recipes, 100 Days of Real Food: Fast & Fabulous incorporates ideas for adult, big-kid, and little-kid packed lunches and new seasonal meal plans and shopping lists--everything you need for accessible, quick, and real home cooking. Lisa also includes a "CliffsNotes"-style resource section packed with easy guidelines on how to buy real food, supermarket staples (including her Top 10 Shopping Lists by Store), the truth behind more than a dozen grocery store myths, and other handy kitchen tips (such as food prep guides and storage cheat sheets).

Making and enjoying healthy meals the whole family will love doesn't have to be difficult, boring, or expensive. With this essential cookbook, illustrated with color photos for every single recipe, you'll see just how fast and fabulous good home-cooked meals can be.

100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous

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Kate Clayborn

An Uplifting and Unforgettable Love Story

With writing Jasmine Guillory has described as "emotional and real," the acclaimed author of Love Lettering and Love at First weaves stories both transporting and relatable - modern love stories that readers immediately identify with and take to heart. Wise and witty, threaded through with a complex, emotionally fulfilling romance, Kate Clayborn's unforgettable new novel echoes with timely questions about love, career, reconciling with the past, and finding your way.

"Magnetic, witty, and expansive. The world is going to fall hard for this deliciously whimsical and captivating story, and I cannot wait to see it!" -Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis

"Outright perfection!"-Christina Lauren, Kate Clayborn Fanclub Co-Presidents and Authors of The Soulmate Equation

"A sweet novel that reminds you going back is sometimes the best path forward . . . and that planning is never as rewarding as doing." -Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author

Longtime personal assistant Georgie Mulcahy has made a career out of putting others before herself. When an unexpected upheaval sends her away from her hectic job in L.A. and back to her hometown, Georgie must confront an uncomfortable truth her own wants and needs have always been a disconcertingly blank page.

But then Georgie comes across a forgotten artifact-a "friendfic" diary she wrote as a teenager, filled with possibilities she once imagined. To an overwhelmed Georgie, the diary's simple, small-scale ideas are a lifeline-a guidebook for getting started on a new path.

Georgie's plans hit a snag when she comes face to face with an unexpected roommate-Levi Fanning, onetime town troublemaker and current town hermit. But this quiet, grouchy man is more than just his reputation, and he offers to help Georgie with her quest. As the two make their way through her wishlist, Georgie begins to realize that what she truly wants might not be in the pages of her diary after all, but right by her side-if only they can both find a way to let go of the pasts that hold them back.

Honest and deeply emotional, Georgie, All Along is a smart, tender must-read for everyone who's ever wondered about the life that got away . . .

"Absolute perfection-this is the book you are looking for. Georgie All Along is a tour de force, beautifully written and full of charming characters, rich emotion, and delicious spice. With it, Kate Clayborn solidifies her place in romance royalty." -Sarah MacLean, New York Times bestselling author

"A modern yet timeless love story."-Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

"Tender and sexy...features strong friendships and will appeal to fans of Emily Henry." -Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

Georgie, All Along

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Jhumpa Lahiri

An incisive portrait of the immigrant experience follows the Ganguli family from their traditional life in India through their arrival in Massachusetts in the late 1960s and their difficult melding into an American way of life, in a debut novel that spans three decades, two continents, and two generations. By the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Interpreter of Maladies. Reprint.

The Namesake

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From rising star Amy Hatvany, an engrossing new novel about a woman whose life is turned upside down when the man she's engaged to suddenly becomes a full-time father to the children from his previous marriage.

Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?

At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents' divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother--she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father's new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they'll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances--and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli's life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli's troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.

Heart Like Mine

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Hoping for a quieter life as a bakery owner after struggling as a young parent and suffering a heart-breaking divorce, Ramona Gallagher finds herself caring for an unruly step-granddaughter by immersing the girl in a network of women family members. By the RITA Award finalist author of The Lost Recipe for Happiness. Original.

How to Bake a Perfect Life

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#paperback #fiction #romance #theseaoftranquility 

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Teenage former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov and Josh Bennett, a lonely boy at her school, enter into an intense relationship, with neither unaware of the dark secrets the other's past holds. Original.

The Sea of Tranquility

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Small bend in top of front and back cover. Pages are in like new condition. #paperback #fiction #mystery #brothersandsisters #littlebrokenthings #nicolebaart 

"When Quinn Cruz receives a cryptic text message from her older sister, Nora, she doesn't think much of it. They haven't seen each other in nearly a year, and their relationship consists mostly of infrequent phone calls and the occasional e-mail. But when a haunted-looking Nora shows up just hours later, a chain reaction is set into motion that will change both of their lives forever. It's a matter of life and death, of family and freedom, and the lengths a woman will go to protect the ones she loves"--Page 4 of cover.

Little Broken Things

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Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

“Written with heaps of humor and just as much heart, Limelight is a testament to the transformative power of good mothering, the magic of the stage and the allure of Manhattan—even if you arrive in a Ford explorer with Texas plates.” —The Washington Post “When I saw the glamourous scene on this cover, I thought it might be an escape—and it was a hilarious one! ...This read was so fun! I laughed out loud at the over-the-top celebrity antics—it left me grateful for my low-drama life!” —First for Women Best New Books You Should Read This Spring —PopSugar In a smart and funny new novel by the author of the critically acclaimed, “big-hearted, charming” (The Washington Post) Small Admissions, a family’s move to New York City brings surprises and humor as their lives merge with the captivating world of Broadway. Allison Brinkley—wife, mother, and former unflappable optimist—discovers that a carefully weighed decision to pack up and move her family from suburban Dallas to the glittery chaos of Manhattan may have been more complicated than she and her husband initially thought. Allison learns that New York is unruly and bewildering, defying the notions she developed from romantic movies and a memorable childhood visit. After a humiliating call from the principal’s office and the loss of the job she was counting on, Allison begins to accept that New York may not suit her after all. When Allison has a fender-bender, witnessed by a flock of mothers at her son’s new school, she is led to the penthouse apartment of a luxurious Central Park West building and encounters a spoiled, hungover, unsupervised teenager who looks familiar. It doesn’t take long to recognize him as Carter Reid—a famous pop star who has been cast in a new Broadway musical. Through this brush with stardom, Allison embraces a unique and unexpected opportunity that helps her find her way in the heart of Manhattan. In a book that delivers laughs, warmth, and delightful wish fulfillment, Poeppel dives into celebrity culture and modern motherhood with her trademark “quick-witted and razor-sharp” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of Maybe in Another Life) style.

Limelight

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Brand new, purchased from Book Outlet and has never been read.  #hardcover #historical #fiction #ifyouleaveme #crystalhanakim

“An immersive, heartbreaking story about war, passion, and the road not taken.” — People "One of the most beautiful and moving love stories you’ll read this year." — Nylon Magazine NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2018 BY The Washington Post • The New York Post • Vulture • Real Simple • Bustle • Nylon • Thrillist • Mental Floss • Self magazine • Booklist • Refinery 29 An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that still haunts us today. When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan. Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi—and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come. Richly told and deeply moving, If You Leave Me is a stunning portrait of war and refugee life, a passionate and timeless romance, and a heartrending exploration of one woman’s longing for autonomy in a rapidly changing world.

If You Leave Me

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#paperback #fiction #mystery #lietome #suspensethrillers #thriller #jtellison

Domestic noir at its best. Readers will devour this stunning page-turner about the disintegration of a marriage as grief, jealousy, betrayal and murder destroy the facade of the perfect literary couple. New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison takes her exceptional writing to a new level with this breakout novel. They built a life on lies Sutton and Ethan Montclair's idyllic life is not as it appears. They seem made for each other, but the truth is ugly. Consumed by professional and personal betrayals and financial woes, the two both love and hate each other. As tensions mount, Sutton disappears, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her. Ethan finds himself the target of vicious gossip as friends, family and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton Montclair. As the police investigate, the lies the couple have been spinning for years quickly unravel. Is Ethan a killer? Is he being set up? Did Sutton hate him enough to kill the child she never wanted and then herself? The path to the answers is full of twists that will leave the reader breathless.

Lie to Me

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Small dirt mark on bottom pages, book was purchased new and hasn’t been read. #paperback #eden #jeannemcwilliamsblasberg

2017 Beverly Hills Book Award Winner in New Fiction
2017 Beverly Hills Book Award Winner in Women's Fiction
2018 IBPA Ben Franklin Finalist in Best New Voices: Fiction
Becca Meister Fitzpatrick--wife, mother, grandmother, and pillar of the community--is the dutiful steward of her family's iconic summer tradition . . . until she discovers her recently deceased husband squandered their nest egg. As she struggles to accept that this is likely her last season in Long Harbor, Becca is inspired by her granddaughter's boldness in the face of impending single-motherhood, and summons the courage to reveal a secret she was forced to bury long ago: the existence of a daughter she gave up fifty years ago. The question now is how her other daughter, Rachel--with whom Becca has always had a strained relationship--will react. Eden is the account of the days leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, as Becca prepares to disclose her secret and her son and brothers conspire to put the estate on the market, interwoven with the century-old history of Becca's family--her parents' beginnings and ascent into affluence, and her mother's own secret struggles in the grand home her father named "Eden."

Ashley H

@booksforthesoul

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Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half

Matthew Sullivan

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

Lisa Leake

100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous

Kate Clayborn

Georgie, All Along

Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake

Amy Hatvany

Heart Like Mine

Barbara O'Neal

How to Bake a Perfect Life

Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility

Nicole Baart

Little Broken Things

Amy Poeppel

Limelight

Crystal Hana Kim

If You Leave Me

J. T. Ellison

Lie to Me

Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg

Eden

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Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half

Matthew Sullivan

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

Lisa Leake

100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous

Kate Clayborn

Georgie, All Along

Jhumpa Lahiri

The Namesake

Amy Hatvany

Heart Like Mine

Barbara O'Neal

How to Bake a Perfect Life

Katja Millay

The Sea of Tranquility

Nicole Baart

Little Broken Things

Amy Poeppel

Limelight

Crystal Hana Kim

If You Leave Me

J. T. Ellison

Lie to Me

Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg

Eden

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