Rufi Thorpe

💸 Good Condition (See photos of wear on top of dust jacket)
💸 Book of the Month Club Edition (June 2024)
💸 Repeat BOTM Author
💸 Literary Fiction
💸 NPR Best Books Selection 2024
💸 Present Day
💸 LOL | Salacious | Underdog | Mama Drama

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Maryland

(BOTM Edition)

"A bold, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartwarming story about one young woman's attempt to navigate adulthood, new motherhood, and her meager bank account in our increasingly online world-from the PEN/Faulkner finalist and critically acclaimed author of The Knockout Queen"--

Margo's Got Money Troubles

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R. F. Kuang

📜 Excellent Condition (See Scuffs in Photos on Upper Part of Book)
📜 Book of the Month Club Edition (December 2022)
📜 Yearly Look-Back Selection | Highbrow
📜 Historical Fantasy
📜 1828, Oxford, England
📜 400+ Pages | Literary | Brainy | Academic

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

An Arcane History (BOTM Edition)

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's prestigious Royal Institute of Translation--also known as Babel.

Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working--the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars--has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire's quest for colonization.

For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide...

Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence? 



Babel

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Isabel Cañas

🚪Good Condition - See Photos of Tear on Back Cover Dustjacket 
🚪BOTM Hardcover (May 2022 Selection)
🚪Debut Novel
🚪Gothic Fiction 
🚪Mexican War of Independence (~1820)
🚪Forbidden Love | Psychological | Supernatural | Creepy

The Hacienda

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Julie Otsuka

🏊‍♂️ Hardcover
🏊‍♂️ 2022 Publication Date
🏊‍♂️ 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Fiction

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

From the best-selling, award-winning author of The Buddha in the Attic and When the Emperor Was Divine comes a novel about what happens to a group of obsessed recreational swimmers when a crack appears at the bottom of their local pool--a tour de force of economy, precision, and emotional power. The swimmers are unknown to one another except through their private routines (slow lane, medium lane, fast lane) and the solace each takes in their morning or afternoon laps. But when a crack appears at the bottom of the pool, they are cast out into an unforgiving world without comfort or relief. One of these swimmers is Alice, who is slowly losing her memory. For Alice, the pool was a final stand against the darkness of her encroaching dementia. Without the fellowship of other swimmers and the routine of her daily laps she is plunged into dislocation and chaos, swept into memories of her childhood and the Japanese American incarceration camp in which she spent the war. Alice's estranged daughter, reentering her mother's life too late, witnesses her stark and devastating decline. Written in spellbinding, incantatory prose, The Swimmers is a searing, intimate story of mothers and daughters, and the sorrows of implacable loss: the most commanding and unforgettable work yet from a modern master.

The Swimmers

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Alice Curtis

💙 Paperback (Applewood Edition); Published in 1998
💙 Originally published 1922
💙 Marketed for girls 7 - 12
💙 Colonial Times (1781) Yorktown, Virginia
💙 Includes Paper Doll in Flaps (See Photos)
💙 Illustrated by Elizabeth Pilsbry 

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

In the spring of 1781 at her home near Yorktown, Virginia, eleven-year-old Rose Elinor Moore and her young cousin share adventures, including witnessing the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.

Little Maid of Virginia

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Emilia Hart

🐦‍⬛ Like New BOTM (Book of the Year Finalist Edition)
🐦‍⬛ Debut | BOTM Book of the Year Finalist 
🐦‍⬛ Magical Realism
🐦‍⬛ 1619 - 2018 England 
🐦‍⬛ Multiple Viewpoints | Feminist | Magical | Nature

"A spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft."
--Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha's mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives--and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Weyward 

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Shauna Robinson

📚 Paperback Edition Never Read (Accidentally bought 2 copies) 

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill meets Younger in a heartfelt debut following a young woman who discovers she'll have to ditch the dream job and write her own story to find her happy ending. Meet Nora Hughes--the overworked, underpaid, last bookish assistant standing. At least for now. When Nora landed an editorial assistant position at Parsons Press, it was her first step towards The Dream Job. Because, honestly, is there anything dreamier than making books for a living? But after five years of lunch orders, finicky authors, and per my last emails, Nora has come to one grand conclusion: Dream Jobs do not exist. With her life spiraling and the Parsons staff sinking, Nora gets hit with even worse news. Parson's is cutting her already unlivable salary. Unable to afford her rent and without even the novels she once loved as a comfort, Nora decides to moonlight for a rival publisher to make ends meet...and maybe poach some Parson's authors along the way. But when Andrew Santos, a bestselling Parsons author no one can afford to lose is thrown into the mix, Nora has to decide where her loyalties lie. Her new Dream Job, ever-optimistic Andrew, or...herself and her future. Your next book club read touching on mental health, happiness, and the peaks and perils of being a young woman just trying to figure it all out. Nora Hughes is the perfect heroine for anyone looking to get past their own chapter twenty-something and build their storybook life.

Must Love Books

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Jessie Cave

🔆 Hardcover UK Edition
🔆 Scuffs/Wearing/Tear on front right corner, top dust jacket, and lower back cover (see photos) 
🔆 Millennial Fiction / Sisters / Grief
🔆 Present Day / England
🔆 Famous Author (played Lavender Brown in HP Series)

The story of two sisters - inseparable until a disastrous holiday leaves one sister heartbroken and alone. A comedy about love, grief and reconciliation.

Sunset

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Alex North

💭 Hardcover Book of the Month Edition (July 2020)
💭 Some scuffs on back cover (see photo) 
💭 Suspense / Thriller / Horror
💭 1990s - Present Day
💭 England Setting 

The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile--always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet--and inspired more than one copycat. Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree--and his victim--were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home. It's not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there's something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago. It wasn't just the murder. It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again...

The Shadows (BOTM)

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Taylor Jenkins Reid

💚 Paperback Version 
💚 Includes 3-page Book Club Topics/Questions for Discussion 
💚 Light wear on front cover (see photo)

A Novel

“Riveting, heart-wrenching, and full of Old Hollywood glamour, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most captivating reads of 2017.” —BuzzFeed “The epic adventures Evelyn creates over the course of a lifetime will leave every reader mesmerized. This wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet and her tumultuous Tinseltown journey comes with unexpected twists and the most satisfying of drama.” —PopSugar From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six—an entrancing novel “that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all” (Kirkus Reviews), in which a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. “Heartbreaking, yet beautiful” (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

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Carolyn Keene

🕵️‍♀️ Nancy Drew Diaries #22 Hardcover Edition
🕵️‍♀️ Remainder Mark (See Photo) 
🕵️‍♀️ Washington, DC

"Nancy investigates her father's disappearance in Washington, D.C. in the twenty-second book of the Nancy Drew Diaries"--

Nancy Drew Diaries #22: A Capitol Crime

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Rebecca West

Andrea Barrett

The lives of the talented Aubrey children have long been clouded by their father's genius for instability, but his new job in the London suburbs promises, for a time at least, reprieve from scandal and the threat of ruin. Mrs. Aubrey, a former concert pianist, struggles to keep the family afloat, but then she is something of a high-strung eccentric herself, as is all too clear to her daughter Rose, through whose loving but sometimes cruel eyes events are seen. Still, living on the edge holds the promise of the unexpected, and the Aubreys, who encounter furious poltergeists, turn up hidden masterpieces, and come to the aid of a murderess, will find that they have adventure to spare. In The Fountain Overflows, a 1957 best seller, Rebecca West transmuted her own volatile childhood into enduring art. This is an unvarnished but affectionate picture of an extraordinary family, in which a remarkable stylist and powerful intelligence surveys the elusive boundaries of childhood and adulthood, freedom and dependency, the ordinary and the occult.

The Fountain Overflows

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Sarah Vowell

🌺 Hardcover Edition
🌺 Nonfiction/History
🌺 Hawaii

 * Watch a video

From the bestselling author of The Wordy Shipmates, an examination of Hawaii, the place where Manifest Destiny got a sunburn.

Many think of 1776 as the defining year of American history, when we became a nation devoted to the pursuit of happiness through self- government. In Unfamiliar Fishes, Sarah Vowell argues that 1898 might be a year just as defining, when, in an orgy of imperialism, the United States annexed Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and invaded first Cuba, then the Philippines, becoming an international superpower practically overnight.

Among the developments in these outposts of 1898, Vowell considers the Americanization of Hawaii the most intriguing. From the arrival of New England missionaries in 1820, their goal to Christianize the local heathen, to the coup d'état of the missionaries' sons in 1893, which overthrew the Hawaiian queen, the events leading up to American annexation feature a cast of beguiling, and often appealing or tragic, characters: whalers who fired cannons at the Bible-thumpers denying them their God-given right to whores, an incestuous princess pulled between her new god and her brother-husband, sugar barons, lepers, con men, Theodore Roosevelt, and the last Hawaiian queen, a songwriter whose sentimental ode "Aloha 'Oe" serenaded the first Hawaiian president of the United States during his 2009 inaugural parade.

With her trademark smart-alecky insights and reporting, Vowell lights out to discover the off, emblematic, and exceptional history of the fiftieth state, and in so doing finds America, warts and all.

Unfamiliar Fishes

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Tarryn Fisher

👰 BOTM Hardcover December 2019 Edition (Sold Out)
👰 Domestic Thriller
👰 Present-Day

Includes reader's guide with discussion questions and a Q&A with the author.

The Wives

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Miranda Popkey

🗨️ BOTM Hardcover January 2020 Edition (Sold Out)
🗨️ Debut
🗨️ Literary Fiction / Experimental
🗨️ 2000 - 2017, Italy; Michigan; California
🗨️ Psychological | Female Friendships | Cerebral | Salacious

For readers of Rachel Cusk, Lydia Davis, and Jenny Offill--a compact tour de force about sex, violence, and self-loathing from a ferociously talented new voice in fiction Miranda Popkey's first novel is about desire, disgust, motherhood, loneliness, art, pain, feminism, anger, envy, guilt--written in language that sizzles with intelligence and eroticism. The novel is composed almost exclusively of conversations between women--the stories they tell each other, and the stories they tell themselves, about shame and love, infidelity and self-sabotage--and careens through twenty years in the life of an unnamed narrator hungry for experience and bent on upending her life. Edgy, wry, shot through with rage and despair, Topics of Conversation introduces an audacious and immensely gifted new novelist.

Topics of Conversation

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Rachel Khong

💊 Excellent Book of the Month Club - July 2017 Edition (Sold Out)
💊 Debut 
💊 Literary Fiction / Millennial 
💊 NPR Books We Love 2017 Selection
💊 Present Day, California


""Incredibly poignant . . . Rachel Khong's first novel sneaks up on you -- just like life . . . and heartbreak. And love."--Miranda July A few days after Christmas in a small suburb outside of L.A., pairs of a man's pants hang from the trees. The pants belong to Howard Young, a prominent history professor, recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Howard's wife, Annie, summons their daughter, Ruth. Freshly disengaged from her fiance and still broken up about it, feeling that life has not turned out quite the way she planned, thirty-year- old Ruth quits her job, and arrives home to find her parents' situation worse than she'd realized. Her father is erratically lucid and her mother, a devoted and creative cook, sees the sources of memory loss in every pot and pan. But as Howard's condition intensifies, the comedy in Ruth's situation takes hold, gently transforming her grief. She throws herself into caretaking: cooking dementia-fighting meals (a feast of jellyfish!), researching supplements, anything to reignite her father's once-notable memory. And when the university finally lets Howard go, Ruth and one of her father's handsome former students take their efforts to help Howard one step too far. Told in captivating glimpses and drawn from a deep well of insight, humor, and unexpected tenderness, Goodbye, Vitamin pilots through the loss, love, and absurdity of finding a one's footing in this life"--

Ola's Book Bonanza

@olawnka112559

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Rufi Thorpe

Margo's Got Money Troubles

R. F. Kuang

Babel

Isabel Cañas

The Hacienda

Julie Otsuka

The Swimmers

Alice Turner Curtis

Little Maid of Virginia

Emilia Hart

Weyward

Shauna Robinson

Must Love Books

Jessie Cave

Sunset

Alex North

The Shadows (BOTM)

Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew Diaries #22: A Capitol Crime

Rebecca West; Andrea Barrett

The Fountain Overflows

Sarah Vowell

Unfamiliar Fishes

Tarryn Fisher

The Wives

Miranda Popkey

Topics of Conversation

Rachel Khong

Goodbye, Vitamin

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Rufi Thorpe

Margo's Got Money Troubles

R. F. Kuang

Babel

Isabel Cañas

The Hacienda

Julie Otsuka

The Swimmers

Alice Turner Curtis

Little Maid of Virginia

Emilia Hart

Weyward

Shauna Robinson

Must Love Books

Jessie Cave

Sunset

Alex North

The Shadows (BOTM)

Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew Diaries #22: A Capitol Crime

Rebecca West; Andrea Barrett

The Fountain Overflows

Sarah Vowell

Unfamiliar Fishes

Tarryn Fisher

The Wives

Miranda Popkey

Topics of Conversation

Rachel Khong

Goodbye, Vitamin

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