Michele Graglia

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Florida

Top Model to Top Ultra Runner

Michele Graglia left Italy for Miami in 2007 to expand the family business. Caught in a thunderstorm, he ducked into a Johnny Rockets, got scouted by a renowned agent, and walked out a professional model. An elite modeling career brought expensive cars, penthouses, parties, and celebrities, but his accidental "American Dream" was never his own. Feeling the emptiness of a shallow, dark lifestyle, Michele set out for adventure and fulfillment, finding it in the unlikeliest place-a book about ultramarathon running. Within a few short years, his passion and dedication for ultrarunning placed him among the top endurance athletes in the world. Running hundreds of miles in the extremes of the frozen Yukon and the scorching heat of Death Valley, he pushed his body and mind beyond every limit imaginable. Ultra is not about winning. It's not about running. It's a means to return to Nature and a journey to find your purpose, giving your all on the quest for your best self.

Ultra

b95f064a-9411-4b2d-853c-127f547c2e43-0

Emily Oster

Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--And What You Really Need to Know

“Emily Oster is the non-judgmental girlfriend holding our hand and guiding us through pregnancy and motherhood. She has done the work to get us the hard facts in a soft, understandable way.” —Amy Schumer *Fully Revised and Updated for 2021* What to Expect When You're Expecting meets Freakonomics: an award-winning economist disproves standard recommendations about pregnancy to empower women while they're expecting. From the author of Cribsheet and The Family Firm, a data-driven decision making guide to the early years of parenting Pregnancy—unquestionably one of the most pro­found, meaningful experiences of adulthood—can reduce otherwise intelligent women to, well, babies. Pregnant women are told to avoid cold cuts, sushi, alcohol, and coffee without ever being told why these are forbidden. Rules for prenatal testing are similarly unexplained. Moms-to-be desperately want a resource that empowers them to make their own right choices. When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy—and the occasional glass of wine.

Expecting Better

020676e0-ee11-4792-9420-5b44e0c78215-1

Matthew Norman

A Love Story

When a single dad meets the former rock-star crush of his youth, everything they thought they knew about happiness and love is thrown into chaos in this hopeful, heartwarming romantic comedy. “Bound to charm readers from page one . . . You’ll root for everyone in this sweet love story.”—Elissa Sussman, bestselling author of Funny You Should Ask Billy Perkins is happy. And why wouldn’t he be? He loves his job as an independent music teacher and his apartment in Baltimore above a record shop called Charm City Rocks. Most of all, he loves his brainy teenage son, Caleb. Margot Hammer, on the other hand, is far from happy. The former drummer of the once-famous band Burnt Flowers, she’s now a rock-and-roll recluse living alone in New York City. When a new music documentary puts Margot back in the spotlight, she realizes how much she misses her old band and the music that gave her life meaning. Billy has always had a crush on Margot. But she’s a legitimate rock star—or, at least, she was—so he never thought he’d meet her. Until Caleb, worried that his easygoing dad might actually be lonely, cooks up a scheme to get Margot to perform at Charm City Rocks. It’s the longest of long shots, but Margot’s label has made it clear that any publicity is an opportunity she can’t afford to miss. When their paths collide, Billy realizes that he maybe wasn’t as happy as he thought—and Margot learns that sometimes the sweetest music is a duet.

Charm City Rocks

0fce1efc-770e-4480-b9b7-c8e66dfaf887-1

Maria Bamford

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

A Memoir of Mental Illness and the Quest to Belong Anywhere

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From “weird, scary, ingenious” (The New York Times) stand-up comedian Maria Bamford, a brutally honest and hilariously frenetic memoir about show business, mental health, and the comfort of rigid belief systems—from Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, to Suzuki violin training, to Richard Simmons, to 12-step programs. Maria Bamford is a comedian’s comedian (an outsider among outsiders) and has forever fought to find a place to belong. From struggling with an eating disorder as a child of the 1980s, to navigating a career in the arts (and medical debt and psychiatric institutionalization), she has tried just about every method possible to not only be a part of the world, but to want to be a part of it. In Bamford’s signature voice, Sure, I’ll Join Your Cult, brings us on a quest to participate in something. With sincerity and transparency, she recounts every anonymous fellowship she has joined (including but not limited to: Debtors Anonymous, Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous), every hypomanic episode (from worrying about selling out under capitalism to enforcing union rules on her Netflix TV show set to protect her health), and every easy 1-to-3-step recipe for fudge in between. Singular and inimitable, Bamford’s memoir explores what it means to keep going, and to be a member of society (or any group she’s invited to) despite not being very good at it. In turn, she hopes to transform isolating experiences into comedy that will make you feel less alone (without turning into a cult following).

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult

11ee4705-2af9-4752-9a18-4e13726214b0-0

Lynn Painter

Perfect for fans of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, this "sweet and funny" (Kerry Winfrey, author of Waiting for Tom Hanks) teen rom-com follows a hopelessly romantic teen girl and her cute yet obnoxious neighbor as they scheme to get her noticed by her untouchable crush.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he's back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar--and maybe snag him as a prom date--even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz's butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz's in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she's shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love--and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.

Better Than the Movies

467d13cb-d739-4b7c-b5e6-ba858215e736-1

David Coggins

A Case for the Fly Fishing Life

An "excellent" (The New York Times) modern tribute to an ageless pastime, and a practical guide to the art, philosophy, and rituals of fly fishing, by an expert, lifelong angler.

In The Optimist, David Coggins makes a case for the skills and sensibility of an enduring sport and shares the secrets, frustrations, and triumphs of the great tradition of fly fishing, which has captivated anglers worldwide.

Written in wry, wise, and keenly observed prose, each chapter focuses on a specific place, fish, and skill. Few individuals, for example, have the visual acuity required to catch the nearly invisible bonefish of the Bahamas flats. Or the patience to land the elusive Atlantic salmon, "the fish of a thousand casts," in eastern Canada. Pursuing these challenges, Coggins, "a confirmed obsessive," travels to one fishing paradise after another, including the great rivers of Patagonia, private chalk streams in England, remote ponds in Maine, and New York City's Jamaica Bay. In each setting, he chronicles his fortunes and misfortunes with honesty and humor while meditating on how fishing teaches focus, inner stillness, and a connection to the natural world.

Perfect for the novice, the enthusiastic amateur, and the devoted angler alike, The Optimist offers a practical path to enlightenment while providing "a rueful, thoughtful, and very funny examination of an elegant obsession" (Jay McInerney).

The Optimist

9c5721a4-68a1-4dac-82fa-d438ec5d180a-1

Nicole Mesa Kist

Nicole Mesa Kist

@nicolemesakist

Books Listed

Following

Followers

Michele Graglia

Ultra

Emily Oster

Expecting Better

Matthew Norman

Charm City Rocks

Maria Bamford

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult

Lynn Painter

Better Than the Movies

David Coggins

The Optimist

Get The App

Browse by categories

Michele Graglia

Ultra

Emily Oster

Expecting Better

Matthew Norman

Charm City Rocks

Maria Bamford

Sure, I'll Join Your Cult

Lynn Painter

Better Than the Movies

David Coggins

The Optimist

Get The App