Vintage copy from 1981, see photos for condition.

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Indiana

Roman Fever and Other Stories

Sonya Lalli

Sonya Lalli's savvy novel puts relationships in all of their forms--family, friends, and romance--on even footing as a young woman works to find happiness.--Shelf Awareness Serena Singh is tired of everyone telling her what she should want--and she is ready to prove to her mother, her sister, and the aunties in her community that a woman does not need domestic bliss to have a happy life. Things are going according to plan for Serena. She's smart, confident, and just got a kick-ass new job at a top advertising firm in Washington, D.C. Even before her younger sister gets married in a big, traditional wedding, Serena knows her own dreams don't include marriage or children. But with her mother constantly encouraging her to be more like her sister, Serena can't understand why her parents refuse to recognize that she and her sister want completely different experiences out of life. A new friendship with her co-worker, Ainsley, comes as a breath of fresh air, challenging Serena's long-held beliefs about the importance of self-reliance. She's been so focused on career success that she's let all of her hobbies and close friendships fall by the wayside. As Serena reconnects with her family and friends--including her ex-boyfriend--she learns letting people in can make her happier than standing all on her own.

Serena Singh Flips the Script

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Won-Pyung Sohn

Sandy Joosun Lee

A Novel

WALL STREET JOURNAL STORIES THAT CAN TAKE YOU ANYWHERE PICK * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S STAY HOME AND READ PICK * SALON'S BEST AND BOLDEST * BUSTLE'S MOST ANTICIPATED The Emissary meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime in this poignant and triumphant story about how love, friendship, and persistence can change a life forever. This story is, in short, about a monster meeting another monster. One of the monsters is me. Yunjae was born with a brain condition called Alexithymia that makes it hard for him to feel emotions like fear or anger. He does not have friends--the two almond-shaped neurons located deep in his brain have seen to that--but his devoted mother and grandmother provide him with a safe and content life. Their little home above his mother's used bookstore is decorated with colorful Post-it notes that remind him when to smile, when to say thank you, and when to laugh. Then on Christmas Eve--Yunjae's sixteenth birthday--everything changes. A shocking act of random violence shatters his world, leaving him alone and on his own. Struggling to cope with his loss, Yunjae retreats into silent isolation, until troubled teenager Gon arrives at his school, and they develop a surprising bond. As Yunjae begins to open his life to new people--including a girl at school--something slowly changes inside him. And when Gon suddenly finds his life at risk, Yunjae will have the chance to step outside of every comfort zone he has created to perhaps become the hero he never thought he would be. Readers of Wonder by R.J. Palaccio and Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig will appreciate this resonant story that gives Yunjae the courage to claim an entirely different story. (Booklist, starred review) Translated from the Korean by Sandy Joosun Lee.

Almond

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Dorothea Benton Frank

The Lowcountry of South Carolina is where By Invitation Only begins at a barbecue engagement party thrown by Diane English Stiftel, her brother Floyd, and her parents to celebrate her son’s engagement. On this gorgeous, magical night, the bride’s father, Alejandro Cambria, a wealthy power broker whose unbelievably successful career in private equity made him one of Chicago’s celebrated elite, discovers the limits and possibilities of cell phone range. While the mother of the bride, Susan Kennedy Cambria, who dabbles in the world of public relations and believes herself deserving of every square inch of her multimillion-dollar penthouse and imaginary carrara marble pedestal, learns about moonshine and dangerous liaisons. Soon By Invitation Only zooms to Chicago, where the unraveling accelerates. Nearly a thousand miles away from her comfortable, familiar world, Diane is the antithesis of the bright lights and super-sophisticated guests attending her son Fred’s second engagement party. Why a second party? Maybe it had been assumed that the first one wouldn’t be up to snuff? Fred is marrying Shelby Cambria, also an only child. The Cambrias’ dearest wish is for their daughter to be happy. If Shelby wants to marry Frederick, aka Fred, they will not stand in her way—although Susan does hope her friends won’t think her daughter is marrying more than a few degrees beneath her socially. At the same time, Diane worries that her son will be lost to her forever. By Invitation Only is a tale of two families, one struggling to do well, one well to do, and one young couple—the privileged daughter of Chicago’s crème de la crème and the son of hard -working Southern peach farmers. Dorothea Benton Frank offers a funny, sharp, and deeply empathetic novel of two very different worlds—of limousines and pickup trucks, caviars and pigs, skyscrapers and ocean spray—filled with a delightful cast of characters who all have something to hide and a lot to learn. A difference in legal opinions, a headlong dive from grace, and an abrupt twist will reveal the truth of who they are and demonstrate, when it truly counts, what kind of grit they have. Are they living the life they want, what regrets do they hold, and how would they remake their lives if they were given the invitation to do so? By Invitation Only is classic Dorothea Benton Frank—a mesmerizing Lowcountry Tale that roars with spirit, humor, and truth, and forces us to reconsider our notions of what it means to be a Have or a Have Not.

By Invitation Only

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Robert Seethaler

Charlotte Collins

Slight damage to dust jacket, see photos.

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

An international bestseller

Andreas Egger knows every path and peak of his mountain valley, the source of his sustenance, his livelihood--his home.

Set in the mid-twentieth century and told with beauty and tenderness, Robert Seethaler's A Whole Life is a story of man's relationship with an ancient landscape, of the value of solitude, of the arrival of the modern world, and above all, of the moments, great and small, that make us who we are.

A Whole Life

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Gu Byeong-mo

*A New York Times Editors' Choice* Pick

*A Most Anticipated Read in LitHub, CrimeReads, Thrillist, and Popsugar*



The kinetic story of a sixty-five-year-old female assassin who faces an unexpected threat in the twilight of her career--this is an international bestseller and the English language debut from an award-winning South Korean author 



At sixty-five, Hornclaw is beginning to slow down. She lives modestly in a small apartment, with only her aging dog, a rescue named Deadweight, to keep her company. There are expectations for people her age--that she'll retire and live out the rest of her days quietly. But Hornclaw is not like other people. She is an assassin.



Double-crossers, corporate enemies, cheating spouses--for the past four decades, Hornclaw has killed them all with ruthless efficiency, and the less she's known about her targets, the better. But now, nearing the end of her career, she has just slipped up. An injury leads her to an unexpected connection with a doctor and his family. But emotions, for an assassin, are a dangerous proposition. As Hornclaw's world closes in, this final chapter in her career may also mark her own bloody end.



A sensation in South Korea, and now translated into English for the first time by Chi-Young Kim, The Old Woman with the Knife is an electrifying, singular, mordantly funny novel about the expectations imposed on aging bodies and the dramatic ways in which one woman chooses to reclaim her agency.

The Old Woman with the Knife

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Nancy Garden

Used copy from 1992 with stickers still on spine and back cover.

Liza never knew that falling in love could be so wonderful . . . and so confusing. "'Liza,' Mom said, looking into my eyes, 'I want you to tell me the truth, not because I want to pry, but because I have to know. This could get very unpleasant . . . Now--have you and Annie--done any more than the usual experimenting . . . ' 'No, Mom,' I said, trying to look back at her calmly. I'm not proud of it, I make no excuses--I lied to her."

Annie on My Mind

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Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Riveting, heart-wrenching, and full of Old Hollywood glamour, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is one of the most captivating reads of 2017.” —BuzzFeed “The epic adventures Evelyn creates over the course of a lifetime will leave every reader mesmerized. This wildly addictive journey of a reclusive Hollywood starlet and her tumultuous Tinseltown journey comes with unexpected twists and the most satisfying of drama.” —PopSugar From the author of Daisy Jones & The Six—an entrancing novel “that speaks to the Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor in us all” (Kirkus Reviews), in which a legendary film actress reflects on her relentless rise to the top and the risks she took, the loves she lost, and the long-held secrets the public could never imagine. Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career. Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways. “Heartbreaking, yet beautiful” (Jamie Blynn, Us Weekly), The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is “Tinseltown drama at its finest” (Redbook): a mesmerizing journey through the splendor of old Hollywood into the harsh realities of the present day as two women struggle with what it means—and what it costs—to face the truth.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

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Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Summer

This is a well-loved old copy in true vintage condition. See photos for condition including some writing, water damage and scuffs.

Ethan Frome

Penelope Fitzgerald

Minor crease on back cover and some of the back pages; see photos.

Fitzgerald's novel of pre-revolutionary Moscow, shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Featuring an introduction by Andrew Miller.

The Beginning of Spring

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Lisa Scottoline

#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome...in the creeping shadow of fascism. What war destroys, only love can heal. Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Elisabetta is a feisty beauty who dreams of becoming a novelist; Marco the brash and athletic son in a family of professional cyclists; and Sandro a Jewish mathematics prodigy, kind-hearted and thoughtful, the son of a lawyer and a doctor. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear--their families, their homes, and their connection to one another--is tested in ways they never could have imagined. As anti-Semitism takes legal root and World War II erupts, the threesome realizes that Mussolini was only the beginning. The Nazis invade Rome, and with their occupation come new atrocities against the city's Jews, culminating in a final, horrific betrayal. Against this backdrop, the intertwined fates of Elisabetta, Marco, Sandro, and their families will be decided, in a heartbreaking story of both the best and the worst that the world has to offer. Unfolding over decades, Eternal is a tale of loyalty and loss, family and food, love and war--all set in one of the world's most beautiful cities at its darkest moment. This moving novel will be forever etched in the hearts and minds of readers.

Eternal

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Elena Medel

Lizzie Davis

Thomas Bunstead

"The Wonders is a poet's novel, delicate but strong, impressing its images firmly on the imagination."  --Hilary Mantel  

NOW TRANSLATED INTO FIFTEEN LANGUAGES 

From award-winning Spanish poet Elena Medel comes a mesmerizing new novel of class, sex, and desire. 

Already an international sensation, The Wonders follows Maria and Alicia through the streets of Madrid, from job to job and apartment to apartment, as they search for meaning and stability in a precarious world and unknowingly trace each other's footfalls across time. 

Maria moved to the city in 1969, leaving her daughter with her family but hoping to save enough to take care of her one day. She worked as a housekeeper, then a caregiver, and later a cleaner, and somehow she was always taking care of someone else. Two generations later, in 2018, Alicia was working at the snack shop in Madrid's Atocha train station when it overflowed with protestors and strikers. All women--and so many of them--protesting what? Alicia wasn't entirely sure. She couldn't have known that Maria was among them. Alicia didn't have time for marches; she was just trying to hang on until the end of her shift, when she might meet someone to take her away for a few hours, to make her forget. 

Readers will fall in love with Maria and Alicia, whose stories finally converge in the chaos of the protests, the weight of the years of silence hanging thickly in the air between them. The Wonders brings half a century of the feminist movement to life, and launches an inimitable new voice in fiction. Medel's lyrical sensibility reveals her roots as a poet, but her fast-paced and expansive storytelling show she's a novelist ahead of her time.

The Wonders

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Jeff Deutsch

From a devoted reader and lifelong bookseller, an eloquent and charming reflection on the singular importance of bookstores

Do we need bookstores in the twenty-first century? If so, what makes a good one? In this beautifully written book, Jeff Deutsch--the director of Chicago's Seminary Co-op Bookstores, one of the finest bookstores in the world--pays loving tribute to one of our most important and endangered civic institutions. He considers how qualities like space, time, abundance, and community find expression in a good bookstore. Along the way, he also predicts--perhaps audaciously--a future in which the bookstore not only endures, but realizes its highest aspirations.

In exploring why good bookstores matter, Deutsch draws on his lifelong experience as a bookseller, but also his upbringing as an Orthodox Jew. This spiritual and cultural heritage instilled in him a reverence for reading, not as a means to a living, but as an essential part of a meaningful life. Central among Deutsch's arguments for the necessity of bookstores is the incalculable value of browsing--since, when we are deep in the act of looking at the shelves, we move through space as though we are inside the mind itself, immersed in self-reflection.

In the age of one-click shopping, this is no ordinary defense of bookstores, but rather an urgent account of why they are essential places of discovery, refuge, and fulfillment that enrich the communities that are lucky enough to have them.

Ana

@ana867965

Books Listed

Following

Followers

Edith Wharton

Roman Fever and Other Stories

Sonya Lalli

Serena Singh Flips the Script

Won-Pyung Sohn; Sandy Joosun Lee

Almond

Dorothea Benton Frank

By Invitation Only

Robert Seethaler; Charlotte Collins

A Whole Life

Gu Byeong-mo

The Old Woman with the Knife

Nancy Garden

Annie on My Mind

Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Edith Wharton

Summer

Edith Wharton

Ethan Frome

Penelope Fitzgerald

The Beginning of Spring

Lisa Scottoline

Eternal

Elena Medel; Lizzie Davis; Thomas Bunstead

The Wonders

Jeff Deutsch

In Praise of Good Bookstores

Ayobami Adebayo

Stay with Me

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Browse by categories

Edith Wharton

Roman Fever and Other Stories

Sonya Lalli

Serena Singh Flips the Script

Won-Pyung Sohn; Sandy Joosun Lee

Almond

Dorothea Benton Frank

By Invitation Only

Robert Seethaler; Charlotte Collins

A Whole Life

Gu Byeong-mo

The Old Woman with the Knife

Nancy Garden

Annie on My Mind

Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Edith Wharton

Summer

Edith Wharton

Ethan Frome

Penelope Fitzgerald

The Beginning of Spring

Lisa Scottoline

Eternal

Elena Medel; Lizzie Davis; Thomas Bunstead

The Wonders

Jeff Deutsch

In Praise of Good Bookstores

Ayobami Adebayo

Stay with Me

Get The App