Recommendations based on Etta and Otto and Russell and Jamesby Emma Hooper

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

  1. 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)

  2. 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)

  3. 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)

  4. Three Day Road

    by Joseph Boyden
    Two Cree snipers fight in WWI, one returns home addicted to morphine, the other lost to the war.

    It is 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree woman to live off the land, has received word that one of the two boys she saw off to the Great War has returned. Xavier Bird, her sole living relation, is ... (Goodreads)

  5. Mr. Mercedes

    by Stephen King
    Detective investigates a series of murders by a maniacal driver in a stolen Mercedes.

    Many jobless people are standing in line for a job fair , but then a Mercedes plows into the crowd, killing sixteen and severely injuring many. Bill Hodges, a recently retired detective from the ... (Wikipedia)

  6. The Son

    by Jo Nesbø
    A man's quest to avenge the death of his father uncovers a dark family secret.

    Sonny Lofthus is serving time for crimes he did not commit. As payment, he receives a steady supply of drugs to satisfy his addiction. His life changes completely when he learns the truth about his ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Lincoln in the Bardo

    by George Saunders
    A spiritual exploration of death, exploring the afterlife through the eyes of President Lincoln.

    In his long-awaited first novel, American master George Saunders delivers his most original, transcendent, and moving work yet. Unfolding in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by ... (Goodreads)

  8. The Yellow Birds

    by Kevin Powers
    A soldier's haunting experience in the Iraq War and the aftermath of his return home.

    The Yellow Birds begins: "The war tried to kill us in the spring" and follows Pvt. John Bartle, the novel's protagonist and narrator, in Al Tafar, Iraq; Fort Dix , New Jersey ; Kaiserslautern , ... (Wikipedia)

  9. One Day

    by David Nicholls
    A story of friendship and love, exploring the complexities of life and relationships.

    Dexter and Emma spend the night together following their graduation from the University of Edinburgh , in 1988. They talk about how they will be once they are 40. While they do not become ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

    by Jonas Jonasson
    An adventurous old man escapes a nursing home for an unexpected journey of self-discovery.

    Allan Karlsson is about to celebrate his hundredth birthday, and his retirement home in Malmköping is planning to throw a party. Allan is not interested. Instead, he climbs out the window and ... (Wikipedia)

  11. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

    by Anthony Marra
    An exploration of the aftermath of a civil war, and the power of human connection.

    A brilliant debut novel that brings to life an abandoned hospital where a tough-minded doctor decides to harbor a hunted young girl, with powerful consequences. In the final days of December 2004, in ... (Goodreads)

  12. Midwives

    by Chris Bohjalian
    A midwife's journey of self-discovery, uncovering secrets of her own past.

    The time is 1981, and Sibyl Danforth has been a dedicated midwife in the rural community of Reddington, Vermont, for fifteen years. But one treacherous winter night, in a house isolated by icy roads ... (Goodreads)

  13. Dandelion Wine

    by Ray Bradbury
    A small town summer filled with magical moments, unfolding the secrets of life.

    Chapter 1 — Spending the night in the cupola of his grandfather's house that gives him a panoramic view of the town, Douglas wakes up early on the first day of summer and performs an elaborate series ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Signature of All Things

    by Elizabeth Gilbert
    A woman's quest for knowledge and self-fulfillment, spanning through the 19th century.

    A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed. In The Signature of All Things, ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Road Not Taken and Other Poems

    by Robert Frost
    Collection of poems exploring the power of choice, the passage of time, and the beauty of nature.

    "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." These deceptively simple lines from the title poem of this collection suggest Robert ... (Goodreads)

  16. City of Thieves

    by David Benioff
    Two young men embark on a perilous mission in the besieged Leningrad of WWII.

    The story is introduced as the recollections of the narrator's grandfather Lev Beniov, a contemporary Russian Jewish émigré. It is set in the first week of 1942, with the 17-years-old Lev trying to ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Party Princess

    by Meg Cabot
    Mia Thermopolis is back, and this time she's planning the biggest party of the year. But can she handle the pressure of being a princess and a teenager?

    Princess just want to have fun . . . And Mia does too, despite the fact that the student government over which she presides is suddenly broke. But Grandmere's got a wacky scheme to raise the money, ... (Goodreads)

  18. Escape

    by Barbara Delinsky
    A woman escapes her abusive husband and starts a new life, but her past catches up with her.

    In her luminous new novel, Barbara Delinsky explores every woman’s desire to abandon the endless obligations of work and marriage—and the idea that the most passionate romance can be found with the ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Guest Cottage

    by Nancy Thayer
    A couple's summer rental of their guest cottage to a young woman and her six-year-old son leads to unexpected romance and self-discovery.

    Sensible thirty-six-year-old Sophie Anderson has always known what to do. She knows her role in life: supportive wife of a successful architect and calm, capable mother of two. But on a warm summer ... (Goodreads)

  20. Little Bee

    by Chris Cleave
    A Nigerian refugee's quest for survival and a British woman's search for redemption.

    Using alternating first-person perspectives , the novel tells the stories of Little Bee, a Nigerian refugee, and Sarah O'Rourke (née Summers), a magazine editor from Surrey . After spending two years ... (Wikipedia)

  21. The First Husband

    by Laura Dave
    Annie's life is turned upside down when her ex-husband reappears on the eve of her wedding to a new man.

    A savvy, page-turning novel about a woman torn between her husband and the man she thought she'd marry. Annie Adams is days away from her thirty-second birthday and thinks she has finally found some ... (Goodreads)

  22. Finding Perfect

    by Susan Mallery
    A woman struggles to find love and acceptance while dealing with her mother's mental illness.

    When Pia O'Brian's best friend dies, Pia expects to inherit her cherished cat. Instead, the woman leaves Pia three frozen embryos. With a disastrous track record in the romance department and the ... (Goodreads)

  23. Project Princess

    by Meg Cabot
    Mia Thermopolis discovers she is a princess and must navigate royal life while dealing with typical teenage problems.

    What on earth is that princess up to now? Most princesses would prefer to spend their spring breaks in Gstaad, or some other equally unpronounceable European hot spot. Not this one, though. Hammer in ... (Goodreads)

  24. 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)

  25. A Visit from the Goon Squad

    by Jennifer Egan
    A mosaic of characters, lives, and relationships as they intertwine and evolve over time.

    Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. ... (Goodreads)

  26. Only Yours

    by Susan Mallery
    A woman falls for her best friend's brother, but their pasts threaten to keep them apart. Can they overcome their fears and find love?

    Montana Hendrix has found her calling—working with therapy dogs. With a career she loves in a hometown she adores, she's finally ready to look for her own happily ever after. Could one of her dogs ... (Goodreads)

  27. Princess in Training

    by Meg Cabot
    Mia Thermopolis is back, learning how to be a princess and dealing with the ups and downs of high school life.

    The book begins with the first day of Mia Thermopolis 's Sophomore year at the fictional Albert Einstein High School after spending the summer in Genovia . Michael Mocovitz, Mia's boyfriend, is now a ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Finding It

    by Cora Carmack
    Kelsey travels through Europe in search of adventure and herself, but finds unexpected love along the way.

    Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong . . . Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  29. 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)

  30. Just What Kind of Mother Are You?

    by Paula Daly
    A mother's worst nightmare comes true when her friend's daughter goes missing after a sleepover at her house.

    A searing and sinister thriller for readers who liked Gone Girl. What if your best friend's child disappears? And it was all your fault. A searing and sinister thriller for readers who liked Gone ... (Goodreads)