Recommendations based on Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walkby Kathleen Rooney

* 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. Homegoing

    by Yaa Gyasi
    Spanning centuries, the intertwining stories of two African sisters, their descendants, and the legacy of slavery.

    Effia is raised by her mother, Baaba, who is cruel to her. Nevertheless she works hard to please her mother. Known as a beauty, Effia is intended to be married to the future chief of her village, but ... (Wikipedia)

  3. 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)

  4. The Summer Before the War

    by Helen Simonson
    A small English town on the brink of World War I, as lives and loves intertwine.

    The bestselling author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand returns with a breathtaking novel of love and war that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set. East Sussex, 1914. It is ... (Goodreads)

  5. Behind Her Eyes

    by Sarah Pinborough
    Psychological suspense novel following a woman's tangled web of secrets, lies and relationships.

    Why is everyone talking about the ending of Sarah Pinborough's, Behind Her Eyes?, Louise is a single mom, a secretary, stuck in a modern-day rut. On a rare night out, she meets a man in a bar and ... (Goodreads)

  6. Tales of the City

    by Armistead Maupin
    A warm and comedic exploration of 1970s San Francisco and its colorful inhabitants.

    San Francisco, 1976. A naïve young secretary, fresh out of Cleveland, tumbles headlong into a brave new world of laundromat Lotharios, pot-growing landladies, cut throat debutantes, and Jockey Shorts ... (Goodreads)

  7. My Favorite Half-Night Stand

    by Christina Lauren
    A group of friends decide to try online dating, but Millie and Reid end up sleeping together before matching. They then create fake profiles to explore their feelings.

    By the, New York Times, bestselling author who “hilariously depicts modern dating” (,Us Weekly,),, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, is a laugh-out-loud romp through online dating and its many, many ... (Barnes & Noble)

  8. Britt-Marie Was Here

    by Fredrik Backman
    A woman's quest for independence and self-discovery, learning to embrace life and take risks.

    The plot of the novel focuses on a "nag-hag" woman who has recently left her cheating husband and has taken on a job in the city of Borg, working at the recreation center. The city itself is barely a ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Saving Faith

    by David Baldacci
    A lobbyist uncovers a conspiracy involving a senator and a defense contractor. She must fight to expose the truth and save her own life.

    The botched attempt on Faith's life led to an all-out hunt for her by three parties - the FBI, the CIA and her boss, Danny Buchanan. Fleeing for her life, Faith was not sure who she can trust, ... (Wikipedia)

  10. 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)

  11. Year of Wonders

    by Geraldine Brooks
    A small English village grapples with the effects of the bubonic plague.

    When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of ... (Goodreads)

  12. Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade

    by Patrick Dennis
    An eccentric, larger-than-life aunt takes her young nephew on a wild ride of adventure and self-discovery.

    Wildly successful when it was first published in 1955, Patrick Dennis' Auntie Mame sold over two million copies and stayed put on the New York Times bestseller list for 112 weeks. It was made into a ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Friday Night Knitting Club

    by Kate Jacobs
    A group of women come together to support one another and find strength in friendship.

    Once a week, an eclectic group of women comes together at a New York City yarn shop to work on their latest projects - and share the stories of their lives... At the center of Walker and Daughter is ... (Goodreads)

  14. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore

    by Matthew J. Sullivan
    A gripping mystery set in a bookstore, revealing secrets from the past.

    When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind in this “intriguingly dark, twisty” ( Kirkus Reviews ) debut novel from an award-winning short ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. 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)

  16. The Clockmaker's Daughter

    by Kate Morton
    A story of love, loss, and mystery spanning over a century, centered around Birchwood Manor and the clockmaker's daughter.

    My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows. In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Light Between Oceans

    by M.L. Stedman
    A lighthouse keeper and his wife make a heartbreaking decision that has lifelong repercussions.

    Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found, here, Australia, 1926. After four harrowing years fighting on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns home to take a job as the lighthouse ... (Goodreads)

  18. A Spool of Blue Thread

    by Anne Tyler
    A family's history is revealed through the stories of four generations of its members.

    A freshly observed, joyful and wrenching, funny and true new novel from Anne Tyler "It was a beautiful, breezy, yellow-and-green afternoon." This is how Abby Whitshank always begins the story of how ... (Goodreads)

  19. Fish in a Tree

    by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
    A young girl discovers her own unique talents with the help of a supportive teacher.

    "Fans of R.J. Palacio’s, Wonder, will appreciate this feel-good story of friendship and unconventional smarts.” —,Kirkus Reviews, Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time ... (Barnes & Noble)

  20. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

    by Mitch Albom
    A sweeping musical journey through the life of a Spanish guitar prodigy.

    “Talent is a piece of God’s shadow, and under that shadow, human stories intersect.,”, A Spanish war orphan born in a burning church and raised by a blind guitar teacher, Frankie Presto was gifted ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things

    by Bryn Greenwood
    A story of forbidden love, testing the boundaries of morality and redemption.

    - A, New York Times, and, USA Today, bestseller - Book of the Month Club 2016 Book of the Year - Second Place Goodreads Best Fiction of 2016 A beautiful and provocative love story between two ... (Barnes & Noble)

  22. The Grownup

    by Gillian Flynn
    A young woman's struggle to survive in a mysterious and sinister world.

    A canny young woman is struggling to survive by perpetrating various levels of mostly harmless fraud. On a rainy April morning, she is reading auras at Spiritual Palms when Susan Burke walks in. A ... (Goodreads)

  23. Straight Man

    by Richard Russo
    A university professor's humorous journey of self-discovery as he navigates campus politics.

    William Henry Devereaux, Jr., spiritually suited to playing left field but forced by a bad hamstring to try first base, is the unlikely chairman of the English department at West Central Pennsylvania ... (Goodreads)

  24. A Painted House

    by John Grisham
    A young boy's journey of growing up on an Arkansas cotton farm, learning life lessons along the way.

    "The hill people and the Mexicans arrived on the same day. It was a Wednesday, early in September 1952. The Cardinals were five games behind the Dodgers with three weeks to go, and the season looked ... (Goodreads)

  25. The Wonder

    by Emma Donoghue
    A nurse is sent to a small Irish village to observe a girl who claims to have survived without food.

    In this masterpiece by Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of, Room, an English nurse is brought to a small Irish village to observe what appears to be a miracle — a girl said to have survived without ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. The Rules of Magic

    by Alice Hoffman
    A family of magical siblings discovering the power of their lineage and the responsibility that comes with it.

    An instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from beloved author Alice Hoffman—the spellbinding prequel to Practical Magic . Find your magic. For the Owens family, love ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. The Underground Railroad

    by Colson Whitehead
    An escaped slave's daring escape to freedom, fighting against the brutality of slavery.

    The story is told in the third person, focusing mainly on Cora. Scattered single chapters also focus on Cora's mother Mabel, the slavecatcher Ridgeway, a reluctant slave sympathizer named Ethel, and ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  29. 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)

  30. The Nix

    by Nathan Hill
    A middle-aged man's quest to discover the truth about his mother and his own identity.

    The Nix is an American epic novel in 10 parts that follows community college professor of English, Samuel Andresen-Anderson who is struggling to find meaning in his life in the years following his ... (Wikipedia)