Recommendations based on A Spool of Blue Threadby Anne Tyler

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion

    by Fannie Flagg
    A woman discovers the truth about her family's past, unlocking a legacy of secrets.

    Poland, 1909 Stanislaw is determined to escape the Russians and follow his brother to America, a land where anything seems possible. Wisconsin, 1941 With all the men off to war, Fritzi and her ... (Goodreads)

  2. A God in Ruins

    by Kate Atkinson
    An exploration of the life of a World War II pilot and the effects of trauma on his family.

    The novel is about the life of Teddy Todd (younger brother of Ursula Todd, the protagonist of the companion work,, Life After Life, ). Events in his life are not revealed in chronological order. The ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The Beginner's Goodbye

    by Anne Tyler
    A man's journey of healing and acceptance after the death of his beloved wife.

    Anne Tyler gives us a wise, haunting, and deeply moving new novel in which she explores how a middle-aged man, ripped apart by the death of his wife, is gradually restored by her frequent ... (Goodreads)

  4. Small Great Things

    by Jodi Picoult
    A gripping story of racism and justice, exploring the intersections of power and privilege.

    #1, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER • With richly layered characters and a gripping moral dilemma that will lead readers to question everything they know about privilege, power, and race,, Small Great ... (Barnes & Noble)

  5. Did You Ever Have a Family

    by Bill Clegg
    A tragic event shatters a woman's life, forcing her to leave her hometown and confront her past. A story of grief, loss, and redemption.

    The novel focuses on June Reid, a beautiful, rich Connecticut woman. On the night before her daughter’s wedding, June Reid loses her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Back When We Were Grownups

    by Anne Tyler
    A middle-aged woman questions her life choices and identity after inheriting her deceased husband's family business.

    Tyler's 15th novel, like most of her work, is set in Baltimore, Maryland . It opens with the sentence, "Once upon a time, there was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person." The ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Nora Webster

    by Colm Tóibín
    A widow navigates life in a small Irish town in the 1960s, finding solace in music and independence.

    From one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed and beloved authors comes this magnificent new novel set in a small town in Ireland in the 1960s, where a fiercely compelling, too-young widow and ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Burgess Boys

    by Elizabeth Strout
    Siblings reunite to help a small Maine town overcome its dark past.

    Haunted by the freak accident that killed their father when they were children, Jim and Bob Burgess escaped from their Maine hometown of Shirley Falls for New York City as soon as they possibly ... (Goodreads)

  9. My Name Is Lucy Barton

    by Elizabeth Strout
    A woman's journey of self-reflection, uncovering secrets from her past.

    Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn't spoken for many years, comes to see her. Her unexpected visit forces Lucy to confront ... (Goodreads)

  10. Beartown

    by Fredrik Backman
    A small-town hockey team and its community grapple with the consequences of a traumatic event.

    Peter Andersson, in his forties, is the general manager of the ice hockey club in Beartown, a small town located somewhere in Sweden. Peter grew up in Beartown and was a junior hockey star. He went ... (Wikipedia)

  11. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  12. Orphan Train

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A story of two women's intertwined lives, spanning generations and crossing continents.

    The #1 New York Times Bestseller “A lovely novel about the search for family that also happens to illuminate a fascinating and forgotten chapter of America’s history. Beautiful.”—Ann Packer Moving ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

    by Helen Simonson
    A widower finds love and acceptance in an unlikely place, challenging social conventions.

    You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as ... (Goodreads)

  14. Still Life with Bread Crumbs

    by Anna Quindlen
    A photographer moves to a small town and finds unexpected love and inspiration in the beauty of everyday life.

    Still Life with Bread Crumbs begins with an imagined gunshot and ends with a new tin roof. Between the two is a wry and knowing portrait of Rebecca Winter, a photographer whose work made her an ... (Goodreads)

  15. How the Light Gets In

    by Louise Penny
    Detective Armand Gamache investigates a murder in a small Canadian town, uncovering secrets and lies.

    Christmas is approaching, and in Québec it's a time of dazzling snowfalls, bright lights, and gatherings with friends in front of blazing hearths. But shadows are falling on the usually festive ... (Goodreads)

  16. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

    by Gabrielle Zevin
    Life of an isolated bookseller is transformed when an unexpected visitor brings unexpected joy.

    “Marvelously optimistic about the future of books and bookstores and the people who love both.”—, The Washington Post, A. J. Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his ... (Barnes & Noble)

  17. Commonwealth

    by Ann Patchett
    Intertwining story of two families across multiple generations, and how their lives become intertwined.

    It started at Franny Keating’s christening party. Bert Cousins wasn’t even invited, but looking for an excuse to get out of the house, away from his three noisy children and pregnant wife for a few ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Burial Rites

    by Hannah Kent
    A woman awaits her execution in 19th-century Iceland, reliving her story of hardship, loss and faith.

    Burial Rites tells the story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, a servant in northern Iceland who was condemned to death after the murder of two men, one of whom was her employer, and became the last woman put ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Life After Life

    by Kate Atkinson
    A woman lives multiple lives, reflecting on choices and consequences and the power of love.

    The novel has an unusual structure, repeatedly looping back in time to describe alternative possible lives for its central character, Ursula Todd, who is born on 11 February 1910 to an ... (Wikipedia)

  20. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

    by Fredrik Backman
    An imaginative quest to uncover the truth behind a beloved grandmother's mysterious stories.

    The story takes place in Sweden and follows Elsa, a 7-year-old who knows she is different from other children her age. Elsa has a habit of correcting others' grammar, she is smart for her age, and is ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The Amateur Marriage

    by Anne Tyler
    An exploration of a failed marriage and its consequences across generations.

    The plot concerns the marriage of Michael Anton and Pauline Barclay, who meet when he tends to her bloodied brow in his family's grocery store, located in a primarily Eastern European enclave in ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

    by Rachel Joyce
    An elderly man's unexpected quest of faith, discovering the power of hope and love.

    Harold Fry, 65, has cut the lawn outside his home at Kingsbridge on the south coast of Devon when he receives a letter. A colleague of twenty years ago, Queenie Hennessy, has cancer and is in a ... (Wikipedia)

  23. In the Unlikely Event

    by Judy Blume
    A small town is shaken by a series of plane crashes, forcing its inhabitants to confront painful truths.

    In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, creates a ... (Goodreads)

  24. Olive Kitteridge

    by Elizabeth Strout
    An exploration of the life of a small-town woman, revealing her struggles and emotional complexities.

    Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition – its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. At times stern, at other times ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Prince of Tides

    by Pat Conroy
    A man's search for solace and understanding in his troubled family's past.

    Tom Wingo is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young daughters who has recently lost his job as a high school English teacher and football coach. He learns that his twin sister, Savannah, has ... (Wikipedia)

  26. A Piece of the World

    by Christina Baker Kline
    A woman's journey of self-discovery as she comes to terms with a painting that made her famous.

    A New York Times bestseller. "Exquisite. A must-read.” —Kristin Hannah From the #1, New York Times, bestselling author of the smash bestseller, Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice

    by Curtis Sittenfeld
    A contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel, exploring love, family, and societal expectations in modern-day Cincinnati.

    Liz is a magazine writer in her thirties; her older sister Jane is a yoga instructor. They both live in New York City. Their father has a health scare and they return to their childhood home in ... (Wikipedia)

  28. The Corrections

    by Jonathan Franzen
    A family drama exploring the complexities of relationships, aging and life’s choices.

    The novel shifts back and forth through the late 20th century, intermittently following spouses Alfred and Enid Lambert as they raise their children Gary, Chip, and Denise in the traditional ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Ordinary Grace

    by William Kent Krueger
    A Midwestern family's journey of grief and healing, grappling with tragedy and the power of grace.

    “That was it. That was all of it. A grace so ordinary there was no reason at all to remember it. Yet I have never across the forty years since it was spoken forgotten a single word.” New Bremen, ... (Goodreads)

  30. The Essex Serpent

    by Sarah Perry
    A woman's spiritual journey of faith and doubt, set against the backdrop of a mysterious sea-serpent.

    After being widowed when her wealthy, abusive husband dies of throat cancer, Cora Seaborne decides to ignore the trappings of her London society life and take up amateur palaeontology. Vacationing in ... (Wikipedia)