Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

New Jersey

Reading As a Way of Life

Heather Cass White's Books Promiscuously Read is about the pleasures of reading and its power in shaping our internal lives. It advocates for a life of constant, disorderly, time-consuming reading, and encourages readers to trust in the value of the exhilaration and fascination such reading entails. Rather than arguing for the moral value of reading or the preeminence of literature as an aesthetic form, Books Promiscuously Readillustrates the irreplaceable experience of the self that reading provides for those inclined to do it. Through three sections--Play, Transgression, and Insight--which focus on three ways of thinking about reading, Books Promiscuously Read moves among and considers many poems, novels, stories, and works of nonfiction. The prose is shot through with quotations reflecting the way readers think through the words of others. Books Promiscuously Read is a tribute to the whole lives readers live in their books, and aims to recommit people to those lives. As White writes, "What matters is staying attuned to an ordinary, unflashy, mutely persistent miracle; that all the books to be read, and all the selves to be because we have read them, are still there, still waiting, still undiminished in their power. It is an astonishing joy."

Books Promiscuously Read

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Meg Waite Clayton

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Maryland

Five young California homemakers forge a bond of friendship that sustains them through the turbulent 1960s and beyond. Meeting weekly, the Wednesday Sisters share a love of writing, literary classics, and the Miss America Pageant--in a moving testament to the mysterious link between friends.

The Wednesday Sisters

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Samantha Silva

Like new save for the black dot on bottom (seen in pic)

A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft

From the acclaimed author of Mr. Dickens and His Carol, a richly-imagined reckoning with the life of another cherished literary legend: Mary Wollstonecraft – arguably the world’s first feminist August, 1797. Midwife Parthenia Blenkinsop has delivered countless babies over the course of her career, and when she arrives at Mary Wollstonecraft’s door, everything appears normal. But after the baby girl is delivered, the women will spend the next harrowing days together, fighting for the survival of both mother and daughter. Over those eleven days, Mary Wollstonecraft recounts the life she dared to live amidst the impossible constraints and prejudices of the late 18th century, rejecting the tyranny of men and marriage, risking everything to demand equality for herself and all women. She weaves her riveting tale to keep her fragile daughter alive and give her a reason to fight, even as her own strength wanes. Wollstonecraft’s urgent story of loss and triumph forms the heartbreakingly brief intersection between the lives of a mother and daughter who will change the arc of history and thought for centuries to come. In radiant, emotionally gripping prose, Samantha Silva delivers an ode to the dazzling life of Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the world's most influential thinkers and mother of the famous novelist Mary Shelley. But at its heart, Love and Fury is a story about the power of a woman reclaiming her own narrative and passing along that legacy to her daughter.

Love and Fury *like new

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Kelly Harms

✨ Synopsis and details in the photos. ✨

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Washington

Single mother Amy Byler grabs the chance to enjoy a child-free summer in New York City, but then a crisis forces her to make some difficult choices.

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

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California

In a book club far away

Kathy Cooperman

Small spot of staining on back corner (see pic). 

Idaho

Best friends Annie and Sarah need cash-fast. Sarah, a beautiful, successful lawyer, wants nothing more than to have a baby. But balancing IVF treatments with a grueling eighty-hour workweek is no walk in the park. Meanwhile, Annie, a Harvard-grad chemist recently transplanted to Southern California, is cutting coupons to afford her young autistic son's expensive therapy. Desperate, the two friends come up with a brilliant plan: they'll combine Sarah's looks and Annie's brains to sell a "luxury" antiaging face cream to the wealthy, fading beauties in Annie's La Jolla book club. The scheme seems innocent enough, until Annie decides to add a special-and oh-so-illegal-ingredient that could bring their whole operation crashing to the ground. Hilarious, intelligent, and warm, Crimes Against a Book Club is a delightful look at the lengths women will go to fend for their families and for one another.

Crimes Against a Book Club

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Åsne Seierstad

The Norwegian journalist provides a portrait of a committed Muslim man and his family living in post-Taliban Kabul, Afghanistan.

The Bookseller of Kabul

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Joshua Hammer

Pennsylvania

And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts

In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: to preserve this crucial part of the world's patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door. Joshua Hammer writes about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world's greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

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Susan Orlean

Iowa

Susan Orlean’s bestseller and New York Times Notable Book is “a sheer delight…as rich in insight and as varied as the treasures contained on the shelves in any local library” (USA TODAY)—a dazzling love letter to a beloved institution and an investigation into one of its greatest mysteries. “Everybody who loves books should check out The Library Book” (The Washington Post). On the morning of April 28, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached two thousand degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a “delightful…reflection on the past, present, and future of libraries in America” (New York magazine) that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before. In the “exquisitely written, consistently entertaining” (The New York Times) The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries; brings each department of the library to vivid life; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago. “A book lover’s dream…an ambitiously researched, elegantly written book that serves as a portal into a place of history, drama, culture, and stories” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country.

The Library Book

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Robert Hillman

Michigan

"Beautifully written ... Full of insight into the nature of tragedy, love, and redemption." --Garth Stein, author of A Sudden Light A tender and wise novel about love and forgiveness set in 1960s Australia, in which a lonely farmer finds his life turned upside down by the arrival of a vibrant bookseller. Can one unlikely bookshop heal two broken souls? It is 1968 in rural Australia and lonely Tom Hope can't make heads or tails of Hannah Babel. Newly arrived from Hungary, Hannah is unlike anyone he's ever met--she's passionate, artistic, and fiercely determined to open sleepy Hometown's first bookshop. Despite the fact that Tom has only read only one book in his life, the two soon discover an astonishing spark. Recently abandoned by an unfaithful wife, Tom dares to believe that he might make Hannah happy. But Hannah is a haunted woman. Twenty-four years earlier, she had been marched to the gates of Auschwitz. Perfect for fans of The Little Paris Bookshop and We Were the Lucky Ones, The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted cherishes the power of love, literature, and forgiveness to transform our lives, and--if we dare allow them--to mend our broken hearts.

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted

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#paperback #fiction #romance #chicklit #womensfiction #booksaboutbooks #adultfiction #relationships #friendship #family 

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

A Novel

A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly aloof bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over. "Humor and charm abound. . . . [This] love story hits the spot."--Publishers Weekly Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She's been let go from her office job with no notice--and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearly twenty years has decided to leave her for one of her friends. Bewildered and completely lost, Thea doesn't know what to do. But when she learns that a distant great uncle in Scotland has passed away, leaving her his home and a hefty antique book collection, she decides to leave Sussex for a few weeks. Escaping to a small coastal town where no one knows her seems to be exactly what she needs. Almost instantly, Thea becomes enamored with the quaint cottage, comforted by its cozy rooms and lovely but neglected garden. The locals in nearby Baldochrie are just as warm, quirky, and inviting. The only person she can't seem to win over is bookshop owner Edward Maltravers, to whom she hopes to sell her uncle's book collection. His gruff attitude--fueled by an infamous, long-standing feud with his brother, a local lord--tests Thea's patience. But bickering with Edward proves oddly refreshing and exciting, leading Thea to develop feelings she hasn't experienced in a long time. As she follows a thrilling yet terrifying impulse to stay in Scotland indefinitely, Thea realizes that her new life may quickly become just as complicated as the one she was running from.

The Bookshop of Second Chances

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Poppy Alexander

Arkansas

A heartwarming literary-themed novel about a woman who turns an ordinary red phone box into the littlest library in England and brings together a struggling town.

A little red telephone box full of stories, a chance to change her life...

Jess Metcalf is perfectly content with her quiet, predictable life. But when her beloved grandmother passes away and she loses her job at the local library, Jess' life is turned upside down.

Determined to pick up the pieces, Jess decides it's time for a new beginning. Unable to part with her grandmother's cherished books, she packs them all up and moves to a tiny cottage in the English countryside. To her surprise, Jess discovers that she's now the owner of an old red phone box that was left on the property. Missing her job at the local library, Jess decides to give back to her new community--using her grandmother's collection to turn the ordinary phone box into the littlest library in England.

It's not long before the books are borrowed and begin to work their literary magic--bringing the villagers together... and managing to draw Jess' grumpy but handsome neighbor out of his shell.

Maybe it's finally time for Jess to follow her heart, let go of her old life, and make the village her home? But will she be able to take the leap? 

The Littlest Library

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Garth Nix

North Carolina

A girl's quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen fantasy, Garth Nix. Now available in paperback. In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn't get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin. Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops. Susan's search for her father begins with her mother's possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms. Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan's. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

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Rated 4.2 out of 5 on Goodreads.

An in-depth guide to the #1 New York Times, bestselling author’s complete works; with photos included.

With insights into the #1 New York Times bestselling author's life, work and career and little-known facts about her most popular novels this beautifully designed book celebrates Nora Roberts's enduring legacy of powerful, passionate storytelling.

The books: a complete, cross-referenced list of Roberts's bookswith trivia, quotes, and family trees

The career: a timeline of Roberts's career, with a list of major milestones and quotes from some of her best reviews

The fans: inspiring true stories of how Roberts's books have changed her fans' lives, a list of fan clubs, photos of her with her fans, and "favorite" listsBest Kiss, Best Hero, Best Opening Lineall voted on by fans

The phenomenon: romance writers, industry-insiders, booksellers, reviewers, and fans talk about Roberts's success

Plus, Roberts answers her readers' most frequently asked questions, reveals her favorite foods, music, and movies, and discusses the fine art of writing romance.

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

The Official Nora Roberts Companion

Tanya Egan Gibson

Oregon

Recognizing that their dullard daughter, Carley, needs an academic boost, Gretchen and Francis Wells hire author Bree McEnroy to write a book to Carley's specifications--but Carley isn't as ignorant as her parents and teachers believe. Her desire to pullh

How to Buy a Love of Reading

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#hardcover #fiction #womensfiction #JaneAusten #Austen #booksaboutbooks #Fowler #bookclub

Minnesota

As six Californians get together to form a book club to discuss the novels of Jane Austen, their lives are turned upside down by troubled marriages, illicit affairs, changing relationships, and love, in a comedy of contemporary manners. By the author of Sarah Canary.

The Jane Austen Book Club

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Besides the corner being taped up (cover slightly ripped while reading), book is otherwise in very good condition. I barely cracked the spine while reading because I didn’t get beyond 70 pages. Not for me, so I would rather pass it on to someone else interested in this subject. 

Massachusetts

Janie Chang

From the author of Three Souls and Dragon Springs Road comes a captivating historical novel in which a convoy of student refugees travel across China, fleeing the hostilities of a brutal war with Japan "Myths are the darkest and brightest incarnations of who we are . . ." China, 1937. When Japanese bombs begin falling on the city of Nanking, nineteen-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of students, faculty and staff must walk 1,000 miles to the safety of China's western provinces, a journey marred by the constant threat of aerial attack. And it is not just the refugees who are at risk; Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure: a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends. The students' common duty to safeguard the Library of Legends creates unexpected bonds. Lian becomes friends and forms a cautious romance with the handsome and wealthy Liu Shaoming. But after one classmate is arrested and another one is murdered, Lian realizes she must escape before a family secret puts her in danger too. Accompanied by Shao and his enigmatic maidservant, Sparrow, Lian makes her way to Shanghai in the hopes of reuniting with her mother. During the journey, Lian learns of the connection between her two companions and a tale from the Library of Legends, The Willow Star and the Prince. This revelation comes with profound consequences, for as the ancient books travel across China, they awaken immortals and guardian spirits who embark on an exodus of their own, one that will change the country's fate forever.

The Library of Legends

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Tim Mason

“Intellectually stimulating and viscerally exciting, The Darwin Affair is breathtaking from start to stop.” —The Wall Street Journal Get ready for one of the most inventive and entertaining novels of 2019—an edge-of-your-seat Victorian-era thriller, where the controversial publication On the Origin of Species sets off a string of unspeakable crimes. London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later—and only a block away—Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin’s target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? And who is the shadowy figure witnesses describe as having lifeless, coal-black eyes? Soon, Field’s investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin’s controversial On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a madman named the Chorister. As the investigation takes Field from the dangerous alleyways of London to the hallowed halls of Oxford, the list of possible conspirators grows, and the body count escalates. And as he edges closer to the Chorister, he uncovers dark secrets that were meant to remain forever hidden. Tim Mason has created a rousing page-turner that both Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would relish and envy.

The Darwin Affair

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Ann Hood

An enthralling novel about love, loss, secrets, friendship, and the healing power of literature, by the bestselling author of The Knitting Circle.

Ava's twenty-five-year marriage has fallen apart, and her two grown children are pursuing their own lives outside of the country. Ava joins a book group, not only for her love of reading but also out of sheer desperation for companionship. The group's goal throughout the year is for each member to present the book that matters most to them. Ava rediscovers a mysterious book from her childhood--one that helped her through the traumas of the untimely deaths of her sister and mother. Alternating with Ava's story is that of her troubled daughter Maggie, who, living in Paris, descends into a destructive relationship with an older man. Ava's mission to find that book and its enigmatic author takes her on a quest that unravels the secrets of her past and offers her and Maggie the chance to remake their lives.

The Book That Matters Most

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Alabama

In this hilarious and thought-provoking contemporary teen standalone that's perfect for fans of Moxie, a bookworm finds a way to fight back when her school bans dozens of classic and meaningful books. Clara Evans is horrified when she discovers her principal's "prohibited media" hit list. The iconic books on the list have been pulled from the library and aren't allowed anywhere on the school's premises. Students caught with the contraband will be sternly punished. Many of these stories have changed Clara's life, so she's not going to sit back and watch while her draconian principal abuses his power. She's going to strike back. So Clara starts an underground library in her locker, doing a shady trade in titles like Speak and The Chocolate War. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy she never saw coming, Clara's forced to face her role in it. Will she be able to make peace with her conflicting feelings, or is fighting for this noble cause too tough for her to bear? "Suggested Reading is a beautiful reminder that there is nothing simple about loving a book." --David Arnold, New York Times bestselling author of Mosquitoland

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Cornelia Funke

Vermont

Inkspell

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#paperback #fiction #booksaboutbooks #adventure #chicklit #family #greekmythology #lovetriangle 

An unexpected phone call derails a young woman's wedding plans and sparks an epic adventure around the modern-day Mediterranean in this "mouth-watering voyage" (Kirkus Reviews) of a novel by kc dyer. Gianna Kostas is on the cusp of a fairy-tale life. Sure, she's just lost her job, but she's about to marry one of New York's most eligible bachelors. On her way to taste wedding cakes, though, things go sideways. Shocking news sends Gia off on a wild journey halfway around the world in pursuit of her ailing--and nearly estranged--father. In Athens, she learns Dr. Kostas, a classics professor, is determined to retrace Odysseus's famous voyage. This is a journey her father is in no condition to take alone, so Gia faces a tough decision. When an unexpected job offer helps seal the deal and quash the guilt Gia feels from her disapproving groom-to-be, the journey is on. But as Gia adventures--and eats--her way around the Mediterranean, she discovers that confronting epic storms and ripped surfer dudes might be the easy part. Along the way, as she uncovers family secrets, finds heartbreak, and learns more about a certain archaeologist with a mysterious past of his own, Gia discovers that fairy-tale endings might be messy and complicated, but they can happen anywhere.

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Heather Cass White

Books Promiscuously Read

Meg Waite Clayton

The Wednesday Sisters

Samantha Silva

Love and Fury *like new

Kelly Harms

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler

Tif marcelo

In a book club far away

Kathy Cooperman

Crimes Against a Book Club

Åsne Seierstad; Åsne Seierstad

The Bookseller of Kabul

Joshua Hammer

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

Susan Orlean

The Library Book

Robert Hillman

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted

Jackie Fraser

The Bookshop of Second Chances

Poppy Alexander

The Littlest Library

Garth Nix

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London

Edited by Denise Little; Laura Hayden

The Official Nora Roberts Companion

Tanya Egan Gibson

How to Buy a Love of Reading

Karen Joy Fowler

The Jane Austen Book Club

Joshua Hammer

The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu

Janie Chang

The Library of Legends

Tim Mason

The Darwin Affair

Ann Hood

The Book That Matters Most

Dave Connis

Suggested Reading

Cornelia Funke

Inkspell

kc dyer

An Accidental Odyssey

Tanya Egan Gibson

How to Buy a Love of Reading