Former library book. #hardcover #novel #sliceoflife #summerread #brendabowen #romance #bookclubbook #summer

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Ohio

A sparkling summer debut of love and reawakening that transports the classicThe Enchanted April to a picture-perfect island in Maine It's a rainy summer in Park Slope, Brooklyn, when two unhappily married women, Lottie Wilkinson and Rose Arbuthnot, spot a tattered ad on their children's preschool bulletin board: Hopewell Cottage Little Lost Island, Maine. Old pretty cottage to rent Spring water, blueberries, sea glass. August. Neither can afford it, but they are smitten. To share expenses, they find two companions: Caroline Dester, the exquisite darling of the independent movie scene, and elderly Beverly Fisher, who is recovering from heartbreaking loss. Transformed by the refreshing summer breezes, steamed lobsters, and cocktail hours on the wrap-around porch, the unlikely quartet gradually begin to open up to one another, and ultimately rediscover their capacity to love and be loved. With a cast of quirky and endearing characters set against the beauty of an idyllic New England summer,Enchanted August brilliantly updates a beloved classic and offers readers a universal fantasy: one glorious summer month away from it all.

Enchanted August

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What if you could live the life you've always dreamed of -- but never pursued? What if your choices -- married or single, career or motherhood, city or country -- could be made all over again? Bestselling author Eileen Goudge ponders "what might have been" in this tender, provocative tale of two best friends who exchange lives -- and discover the surprising places where their deepest joys and satisfactions live.
Jessie Holland is a journalist on the rise in New York City -- and she wouldn't trade her walk-up apartment or her 2:00 a.m. sushi takeout for anything. Only lately, she's been in search of a hot story, and praying her career isn't cooling off. When her editor at Savvy magazine poses a compelling question -- can you ever really go home again? -- Jessie spins the fantasy into a feature story. Could she return to her western hometown and be truly content? Can a bona fide New Yorker exchange her subway pass for an SUV and find happiness?
Erin Delahanty appears to have an enviable life as the owner of a popular bed & breakfast in a picturesque Arizona town. What's less visible are the escalating fights between Erin and her husband, Skip, and the tensions that are affecting their teenage daughter. When Skip unexpectedly leaves her, Erin turns to her best friend Jessie for comfort -- and is handed a stunning proposition: Come live in Manhattan for six months, while Jessie runs the inn and steps into her shoes.
Neither woman has anything to lose: Jessie's romance with recently divorced news bureau chief Jonathan Silver is at a crossroads, while Erin needs time to sort out her marriage. But the choices and challenges they face in their new worlds take them both by surprise....What began as a daring magazine article will change both women forever. Can you go home again? Find out in this surprising and emotionally compelling novel from one of the freshest and most original storytellers of our time.

Otherwise Engaged

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Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Pennsylvania

Who Needs Decaf? by Tanya Michaels released on Nov 24, 2003 is available now for purchase.

Who Needs Decaf?

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Arizona

A Novel

From the author of A Little Hope--a Read with Jenna Bonus Pick--comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways.

Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.

Chuck Ayers used to look forward to nothing so much as his annual trip to Hilton Head with his wife, Cat--that yearly taste of relaxation they'd become accustomed to in retirement, after a lifetime of working and raising two children. Now, just months after Cat's death, Chuck finds that he can't let go of her things--her favorite towel, the sketchbooks in her desk drawer--as he struggles to pack for a trip he can't imagine taking without her.

Ella Burke delivers morning newspapers and works at a bridal shop to fill her days while she anxiously awaits news--any piece of information--about her missing daughter. Ella adjusts to life in a new apartment and answers every call on her phone, hoping her daughter will reach out one day.

After the sudden death of her father, Kirsten Bonato set aside her veterinary school aspirations, finding comfort in the steady routine of working at an animal shelter. But as time passes, old dreams and new romantic interests begin to surface--and Kirsten finds herself at another crossroads.

In this beautifully crafted and profoundly moving novel, three parallel narratives converge in poignant and unexpected ways, as each character bravely presses onward, trying to recover something they have lost. Emotionally riveting and infused with hope, A Quiet Life celebrates humanity in the midst of uncertainty.

A Quiet Life

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#hardcover #fiction #botm #contemporary #familydrama #marryingtheketchups #adult #bookofthemonth #familysaga #sliceoflife

An irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all--from the best-selling author of Girls in White Dresses
 
"Laugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family's Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions."
--Ann Napolitano, best-selling author of Dear Edward


Here are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan's, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear.
 
Take Gretchen for example, lead singer for a '90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she's too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen's older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn't always "working late." And then there's Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan's where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways--and the bartender at JP Sullivan's makes such strong cocktails?
 
Outrageously funny and wickedly astute, Marrying the Ketchups is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.
.
 

Marrying the Ketchups

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#paperback #inspirational #pets #fiction #sliceoflife #heartwarming #family #relationships

From the author of The Astonishing Thing and Something Worth Saving comes a tender, wise, and insightful novel of a family cat, a second chance, and the love that persists through the deepest heartache . . .
 
They say that cats don't like change. But Luna, an imaginative tabby, understands that sometimes it's necessary. When her owner, Annika, moved back to her small New England hometown six months ago along with her sixteen-year-old twins, Luna knew it was for the best. Ever since Annika's husband, Peter, died suddenly, the family has been floundering. Luna, too, is guilt-ridden, sure she could have done more to save her favorite person. Luna also knows something the others don't know. Peter's spirit is still with them, and Luna believes there is something he needs her help to do . . .
 
Annika has been struggling to move on. It doesn't help that her son, Donovan, blames her for his father's death. Peter always told Annika that they had the best love story going, yet the fact is that much of their story has been hidden away, even from their children. When Annika's first love, Sam, arrives to plow them out during an intensifying storm, the truth begins to emerge at last. And Luna--watchful and unwavering in her affection--may be her family's best hope of learning how to forgive and to heal . . .
 
 Praise for Sandi Ward's Something Worth Saving
 
"Told with empathy and hope, this would be a perfect gift for cat lovers or anyone who enjoys a fresh take on the family drama."
--Booklist

What Holds Us Together

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Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Welcome to Partonville, Book Two

For the legions of readers who enjoy books that celebrate life's simple pleasures, eighty-seven-year-old Dorothy Jean Wetstra and her beloved farming town of Partonville, Illinois, will become instant favorites. In this hilarious, touching series, Charlene Ann Baumbich introduces readers to Dearest Dorothy, who tools around town in a 1976 Lincoln Continental nicknamed "The Tank," plays bunco regularly with her pals, and grabs a stool at Harry's counter often enough to stay on top of the latest-breaking news--which she is often creating. In the series debut, Dearest Dorothy, Are We There Yet?, Dorothy faces a decision that may change her town forever, and her gift for shaking things up comes in handy. In the second book, Dearest Dorothy, Slow Down, You're Wearing Us Out!, the town's irresistible cast of characters is back in full swing as they confront some of the many surprises life sends their way. So pull up a chair and get ready for fireworks, laughter, and we'll-get-through-it-all-with-faith friendships.

Dearest Dorothy, Slow down, You're Wearing Us Out!

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#paperback #fiction #sliceoflife #family #romance #generalfiction #oprahbookclub

From the author of The Three Weissmanns of Westport, a wise, clever story of New York in the '60s

It's 1964. Eleven-year-old Fin and his glamorous, worldly, older half sister, Lady, have just been orphaned, and Lady, whom Fin hasn't seen in six years, is now his legal guardian and his only hope. That means Fin is uprooted from a small dairy farm in rural Connecticut, landing in Greenwich Village in the middle of the Swinging Sixties. He soon learns that Lady-giddy, impulsive, and pursued by an ardent and dogged set of suitors-is as much his responsibility as he is hers.

From a writer the New York Times has praised as "sparkling, crisp, clever, deft, hilarious, and deeply affecting," Cathleen Schine's Fin & Lady is a comic love story for the ages: an enchanting novel of a brother and sister who must form their own unconventional family in increasingly unconventional times.

Fin and Lady

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#sliceoflife #friendship #nickhornby #booktomovie

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

West Virginia

Will is thirty-six acts like a teenager. He reads the right magazines, goes to the right clubs and knows which trainers to wear. He's also discovered a great way to score with women - at single parents' groups, full of available mothers, all waiting for Mr Nice. That's where he meets Marcus, the oldest twelve-year-old in the world. Marcus is a bit strange: he listens to Mozart, looks after his mum and he's never even owned a pair of trainers. Perhaps if Will can teach Marcus how to be a kid, Marcus will help Will grow up. . .

About a Boy

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Oregon

Presents the exploits of Yotsuba, a young girl of alien origins who has been adopted by a single father, as she befuddles friends and neighbors and learns about life.

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 1

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#paperback #fiction #iceland #icelandic #classics #nobelprize #sliceoflife #historic #rural #classic 

From the Nobel Prize-winning Icelandic author, a magnificent, epic novel--"funny, clever, sardonic and brilliant" (Annie Proulx)--at last available to contemporary American readers.

Set in the early twentieth century, Independent People recalls both Iceland's medieval epics and such classics as Sigrid Undset's Kristin Lavransdatter. If Bjartur of Summerhouses, the book's protagonist, is an ordinary sheep farmer, his flinty determination to achieve independence is genuinely heroic and, at the same time, terrifying and bleakly comic.

Having spent eighteen years in humiliating servitude, Bjartur wants nothing more than to raise his flocks unbeholden to any man. But Bjartur's spirited daughter wants to live unbeholden to him. What ensues is a battle of wills that is by turns harsh and touching, elemental in its emotional intensity and intimate in its homely detail. Vast in scope and deeply rewarding, Independent People is a masterpiece.

Independent People

#paperback #manga #fiction #comics #komi #komicantcommunicate #sliceoflife #mangalot 

New Jersey

The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation. Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve! With the whole student body keeping their distance and Komi unable to utter a single word, friendship might be forever beyond her reach. Timid Tadanao is a total wallflower, and that’s just the way he likes it. He lives to blend in with the background. All that changes when he finds himself alone in a classroom on the first day of high school with the legendary Komi. He quickly realizes she isn’t aloof, she’s just super awkward. Now he’s made it his mission to help her on her quest to make 100 friends!

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1

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#romance #sliceoflife #comingofage #sapphic #lgbtq What would you do if you found the spark that made you feel whole again?

After twelve years of marriage and two kids, Merit has begun to feel like a stranger in her own life. She loves her husband and sons, but she desperately needs something more than sippy cups and monthly sex. So, she returns to her career at Jager + Brandt, where a brilliant and beautiful Danish architect named Jane decides to overlook the “break” in Merit’s résumé and give her a shot.

Jane is a supernova—witty and dazzling and unapologetically herself—and as the two work closely together, their relationship becomes a true friendship. In Jane, Merit sees the possibility of what a woman could be. And Jane sees Merit exactly for who she is. Not the wife and mother dutifully performing the roles expected of her, but a whole person.

Their relationship quickly becomes a cornerstone in Merit’s life. And as Merit starts to open her mind to the idea of more—more of a partner, more of a match, more out of love—she begins to question: What if the love of her life isn’t the man she married. What if it’s Jane?


California

Never read, in like new condition 

Like a House on Fire 

#paperback #ya #yaromance #sliceoflife #yafiction #fiction #contemporary

Maryland

Wild Swans

The journey to 100 friends begins with a single conversation. Socially anxious high school student Shoko Komi’s greatest dream is to make some friends, but everyone at school mistakes her crippling social anxiety for cool reserve. With the whole student body keeping its distance and Komi unable to utter a single word, friendship might be forever beyond her reach. Summer is about to begin, and Komi would love to be able to spend the long, hot days of vacation hanging out with her new friends. But even though she’s made great strides in her personal quest, her communication issues are still strong enough to ruin her fun. Thankfully just thinking of her dear friend Tadano is enough to help her calm down!

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 3

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#paperback #manga #fiction #comics #graphicnovel #romance #sliceoflife #teen 

Florida

Two very different worlds collide in this hit manga series by Akiko Higashimura! Tsukimi Kurashita has a strange fascination with jellyfish. She's loved them from a young age and has carried that love with her to her new life in the big city of Tokyo. There, she resides in Amamizukan, a safe-haven for girl geeks - the last place she'd expect to meet a fashionable socialite! There's much more to this woman than her trendy clothes, though. Their odd encounter is only the beginning of a new and unexpected path for Tsukimi and her friends.

Princess Jellyfish 1

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#hardcover #fiction #marriage #mother #daughter #sliceoflife

As shown in pictured the book has a discoloring/stain on the top of the spine. I think its from old adhesive from someone trying to take off the tape from the protective cover.

Lainie Smith Morris is perfectly content with her life in New York City: she has four children, a handsome surgeon husband, and good friends. This life she has built is shattered, however, when her husband Charles announces he has accepted a job in Elliot, New Jersey, and that the family must relocate. Lainie is forced to give up the things she knows and loves.

Though Charles easily adapts to the intricacies of suburban life, even thriving in it, Lainie finds herself increasingly troubled and bored by her new limited responsibilities, and she remains desperate for the inspiration, comfort, and safety of the city she called home. She is hopelessly lost--until, serendipitously, she reconnects with an old friend/rival turned current Elliot resident, Jess. Pleased to demonstrate her social superiority to Lainie, Jess helps her find a footing, even encouraging Lainie to develop as an artist; but what looks like friendship is quickly supplanted by a betrayal with earth-shattering impact, and a move to the suburbs becomes a metaphor for a woman who must search to find a new home ground in the shifting winds of marriage, family, career, and friendship.

Between the Tides is an engrossing, commanding debut from tremendous new talent Susannah Marren.

Between the Tides

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Massachusetts

#paperback #sliceoflife #texas #awardwinning #chrisrogers #bountyhunter #lovelife #adventure #romantic #suspense

Texas

A Suspense Novel

Dixie Flannigan, Houston bounty hunter, is "willing to get down and dirty with the lowest of the low in order to land her man."* But this time she's pursuing a young woman, and the chase takes Dixie deep into a family's bloodiest secrets.

Slice of Life

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#paperback #manga #demon #romance #sliceoflife #supernatural

Illinois

Yuu has had a rough life. After losing his parents in a car accident when he was five, he found himself bounced back and forth among relatives, with no place to truly call home. Plagued by a constant feeling of loneliness, all he wants is a little companionship, and he's about to get way more than he bargained for! Her name is Chiyo, and she'll grant Yuu one wish. The only problem: She's a demon of unimaginable power!

The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 1

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New York

"[A] comic masterpiece." --People magazine's "Book of the Week"

"A charming comedy on love, friendship, and the surprising influence of man's best friend." --Harper's Bazaar

National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Meg Rosoff's charming, hilarious new novel about a young New Yorker's search for happiness and the two dogs who help him find it--the perfect summer read 
 
Jonathan Trefoil's boss is unhinged, his relationship baffling, and his apartment just the wrong side of legal. His girlfriend wants to marry someone just like him--only richer and with a different sense of humor. He doesn't remember life being this confusing, back before everyone expected him to act like a grown-up.
 
When his brother asks him to look after his dogs, Jonathan's world view begins to shift. Could a border collie and a cocker spaniel hold the key to life, the universe, and everything? Their sly maneuvering on daily walks and visits to the alluring vet suggest that human emotional intelligence may not be top dog after all.
 
A funny, wise romantic comedy set in Manhattan, Jonathan Unleashed is a story of tangled relationships, friendships, and dogs. Rosoff's novel is for anyone wondering what to be when they grow up, and how on earth to get there.

Jonathan Unleashed

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New, never read. I read the series digitally 

#manga #shojo #romance #ya #sliceoflife #romcom #comedy #retro #youngadult #fiction 

His and Her Circumstances

Kazuma is the yin to his stepsister Tsubasa's yang. Their relationship is like fire and ice. Kazuma is a famous singer loved by everyone in school - and Tsubasa has a bit of a schoolgirl crush on Kazuma But how can a girl strike a chord with someone who is occupied with his own music 24/7?

Brenda Bowen

Enchanted August

Eileen Goudge

Otherwise Engaged

Tanya Michaels

Who Needs Decaf?

Ethan Joella

A Quiet Life

Jennifer Close

Marrying the Ketchups

Sandi Ward

What Holds Us Together

Charlene Ann Baumbich

Dearest Dorothy, Slow down, You're Wearing Us Out!

Cathleen Schine

Fin and Lady

Nick Hornby

About a Boy

Kiyohiko Azuma (Created by)

Yotsuba&!, Vol. 1

Halldor Laxness

Independent People

Tomohito Oda

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1

Lauren McBrayer

Like a House on Fire

Jessica Spotswood

Wild Swans

Tomohito Oda

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 3

Akiko Higashimura

Princess Jellyfish 1

Susannah Marren

Between the Tides

Tomohito Oda

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1

Tomohito Oda

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1

Chris Rogers

Slice of Life

Pochi Iida

The Elder Sister-Like One, Vol. 1

Meg Rosoff

Jonathan Unleashed

Tomohito Oda

Komi Can't Communicate, Vol. 1

Masami Tsuda (Created by)

Kare Kano Vol 11