
A blind date with a book is a fun way to discover a new author. Each blind date comes with stickers, a bookmark and a random goodie. Goodies and wrapping may vary due to holidays and seasons. Chick lit 

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Washington

Chick lit 

Blind date with a book 

4.16 Goodreads Rating 
481 pages 
2017 published 

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Michigan

Blind Date with a Book #193

4.31 Goodreads rating 
512 Pages
2019 Published

Blind Date with a Book #181

Blind Date with A Book

Heartwarming stories translated to English

Durian Sukegawa

Alison Watts

California

The International Bestseller

 

'I'm in story heaven with this book.' Cecelia Ahern, author of P.S. I Love You

A charming tale of friendship, love and loneliness in contemporary Japan

Sentaro has failed. He has a criminal record, drinks too much, and his dream of becoming a writer is just a distant memory. With only the blossoming of the cherry trees to mark the passing of time, he spends his days in a tiny confectionery shop selling dorayaki, a type of pancake filled with sweet bean paste.

But everything is about to change.

Into his life comes Tokue, an elderly woman with disfigured hands and a troubled past. Tokue makes the best sweet bean paste Sentaro has ever tasted. She begins to teach him her craft, but as their friendship flourishes, social pressures become impossible to escape and Tokue's dark secret is revealed,
with devastating consequences.

Sweet Bean Paste is a moving novel about the burden of the past and the redemptive power of friendship. Translated into English for the first time, Durian Sukegawa's beautiful prose is capturing hearts all over the world.

Sweet Bean Paste

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Sosuke Natsukawa

Louise Heal Kawai

Georgia

A Novel

AN INDIE NEXT PICK!

From the #1 bestselling author in Japan comes a celebration of books, cats, and the people who love them, infused with the heartwarming spirit of The Guest Cat and The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Bookish high school student Rintaro Natsuki is about to close the secondhand bookstore he inherited from his beloved bookworm grandfather. Then, a talking cat appears with an unusual request. The feline asks for--or rather, demands--the teenager's help in saving books with him. The world is full of lonely books left unread and unloved, and the cat and Rintaro must liberate them from their neglectful owners. 

Their mission sends this odd couple on an amazing journey, where they enter different mazes to set books free. Through their travels, the cat and Rintaro meet a man who leaves his books to perish on a bookshelf, an unwitting book torturer who cuts the pages of books into snippets to help people speed read, and a publishing drone who only wants to create bestsellers. Their adventures culminate in one final, unforgettable challenge--the last maze that awaits leads Rintaro down a realm only the bravest dare enter . . . 

An enthralling tale of books, first love, fantasy, and an unusual friendship with a talking cat, The Cat Who Saved Books is a story for those for whom books are so much more than words on paper. 

Translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai.

"Cats, books, young love, and adventure: catnip for a variety of readers!" -Kirkus

The Cat Who Saved Books

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Hiro Arikawa

Philip Gabriel

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

South Carolina

A life-affirming anthem to kindness and self-sacrifice, The Travelling Cat Chronicles shows how the smallest things can provide the greatest joy. We take journeys to explore exotic new places and to return to the comforts of home, to visit old acquaintances and to make new friends. But the most important journey is the one that shows us how to follow our hearts . . . An instant international bestseller, The Travelling Cat Chronicles has charmed readers around the world. With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe . . . With his crooked tail--a sign of good fortune--and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

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Books in Translation

Hafsah Faizal

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

A Tempest of Tea (Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition)

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Barnes & Barnes & Noble

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic Fairy Tales (Barnes and Noble Collectible Classics: Omnibus Edition)

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Arthur Conan Doyle

Pennsylvania

A collection of the most famous cases faced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's peerless creation, now in a beautiful hardcover edition designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith

This collection of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes includes many of the famous cases - and great strokes of brilliance - that made the legendary detective one of fiction's most popular creations. With his devoted amanuensis Dr Watson, Holmes emerges from his smoke-filled room in Baker Street to grapple with the forces of treachery, intrigue and evil in such cases as 'The Speckled Band', in which a terrified woman begs their help in solving the mystery surrounding her sister's death, or 'A Scandal in Bohemia', which portrays a European king blackmailed by his mistress. In 'Silver Blaze' the pair investigate the disappearance of a racehorse and the violent murder of its trainer, while in 'The Final Problem' Holmes at last comes face to face with his nemesis, the diabolical Professor Moriarty - 'the Napoleon of crime'.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Barnes and Noble Collectible Classics: Children's Edition)

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Collectible Editions

Elle Cosimano

Brand new but notice black dot on Knock Em Dead in second picture. Includes Knock Em Dead, Jumps the gun, Killing It, Rolls the dice. 

Oversized Paperback (4 to 6 lbs)

Missouri

A Mystery

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER!

From Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead--the hilarious and heart-pounding follow-up to Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

"Cosimano skillfully combines suspense and laughs in the manner of Janet Evanovich's early (and best) novels, finished off with a metafictional twist."--New York Times Book Review

"A funny and smart, twisty and surprising series."--Megan Miranda

Finlay Donovan is--once again--struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish.

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like.

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it...

Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead SERIES NEW 

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Cozy Mysteries

Danielle L. Jensen

Louisiana

Book One of the Saga of the Unfated

A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king—while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son—in the first book of a Norse-inspired fantasy romance series from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series. Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband’s back. Freya’s dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region’s jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son, Bjorn. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: She possesses a drop of a goddess’s blood, which makes her a shield maiden with magic capable of repelling any attack. It was foretold such a magic would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath the one who controls the shield maiden’s fate. Believing he’s destined to rule Skaland as king, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders Bjorn to protect her from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. The greatest test of all, however, may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.

A Fate Inked in Blood

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Sophie Jordan

Maryland

A hidden truth. Mortal enemies. Doomed love. With her rare ability to breathe fire, Jacinda is special even among the draki—the descendants of dragons who can shift between human and dragon forms. But when Jacinda’s rebelliousness forces her family to flee into the human world, she struggles to adapt, even as her draki spirit fades. The one thing that revives it is the gorgeous, elusive Will, whose family hunts her kind. Jacinda can’t resist getting closer to him, even though she knows she’s risking not only her life but the draki’s most closely guarded secret. Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

Firelight

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West Virginia

Shortlisted for the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Text, Seraphina is now available in paperback!
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.
nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs, the captain of the Queen's Guard. While they begin to uncover a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect the secret behind her musical gift--a secret so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Seraphina

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Fantasy

Vanessa Chan

Maine

A spellbinding, sweeping novel about a Malayan mother who becomes an unlikely spy for the invading Japanese forces during WWII—and the shocking consequences that rain upon her community and family. Malaya, 1945. Cecily Alcantara’s family is in terrible danger: her fifteen-year-old son, Abel, has disappeared, and her youngest daughter, Jasmin, is confined in a basement to prevent being pressed into service at the comfort stations. Her eldest daughter Jujube, who works at a tea house frequented by drunk Japanese soldiers, becomes angrier by the day. Cecily knows two things: that this is all her fault; and that her family must never learn the truth. A decade prior, Cecily had been desperate to be more than a housewife to a low-level bureaucrat in British-colonized Malaya. A chance meeting with the charismatic General Fuijwara lured her into a life of espionage, pursuing dreams of an “Asia for Asians.” Instead, Cecily helped usher in an even more brutal occupation by the Japanese. Ten years later as the war reaches its apex, her actions have caught up with her. Now her family is on the brink of destruction—and she will do anything to save them. Spanning years of pain and triumph, told from the perspectives of four unforgettable characters, The Storm We Made is a dazzling saga about the horrors of war; the fraught relationships between the colonized and their oppressors, and the ambiguity of right and wrong when survival is at stake.

The Storm We Made

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Literary Fiction

Middle Grade

Michael J. Sandel

Bit of water damage on bottom corner. See photos

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

What's the Right Thing to Do?

A Harvard professor assesses the role of justice in today's society as well as the moral responsibilities faced by everyday citizens, weighing a range of issues from euthanasia and abortion to affirmative action and tax structuring. Reprint. A best-selling book.

Justice

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American Library Association

A One Year Journal and Recommended Reading List from the American Library Association

52 Award Winning Titles Every Book Lover Should Read 

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Jean Hanff Korelitz

**NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!** "Insanely readable." —Stephen King Hailed as "breathtakingly suspenseful," Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot is a propulsive read about a story too good not to steal, and the writer who steals it. Jacob Finch Bonner was once a promising young novelist with a respectably published first book. Today, he’s teaching in a third-rate MFA program and struggling to maintain what’s left of his self-respect; he hasn’t written—let alone published—anything decent in years. When Evan Parker, his most arrogant student, announces he doesn’t need Jake’s help because the plot of his book in progress is a sure thing, Jake is prepared to dismiss the boast as typical amateur narcissism. But then . . . he hears the plot. Jake returns to the downward trajectory of his own career and braces himself for the supernova publication of Evan Parker’s first novel: but it never comes. When he discovers that his former student has died, presumably without ever completing his book, Jake does what any self-respecting writer would do with a story like that—a story that absolutely needs to be told. In a few short years, all of Evan Parker’s predictions have come true, but Jake is the author enjoying the wave. He is wealthy, famous, praised and read all over the world. But at the height of his glorious new life, an e-mail arrives, the first salvo in a terrifying, anonymous campaign: You are a thief, it says. As Jake struggles to understand his antagonist and hide the truth from his readers and his publishers, he begins to learn more about his late student, and what he discovers both amazes and terrifies him. Who was Evan Parker, and how did he get the idea for his “sure thing” of a novel? What is the real story behind the plot, and who stole it from whom?

The Plot

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Non-Fiction

Julie Soto

"Two string players fight their attraction for each other as they compete for center stage in this spicy and emotional romance. Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies, but each has had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen had a natural ear for music that was nurtured by a kind shop owner. After Gwen performs at his friend's wedding, she's mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is - despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. But she's more furious that he arrogantly critiques her performance. When Gwen is offered the role of First Chair of the orchestra, something Xander had secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. But their respect for each other's music is undeniable, and their onstage chemistry off the scale. As they begin to explore their feelings for one another, suddenly they're box office dynamite and the fragile romance that's growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt..."--

Not Another Love Song

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Romance

Emily Layden

Illinois

A propulsive, layered novel about the meteoric rise of a legendary pop star and the secret she's kept hidden for fifteen years, for fans of Megan Abbott and Daisy Jones & the Six. Everyone in America knows Dylan Read, or at least has heard her music. Since releasing her debut album her senior year of high school, Dylan's spent fifteen years growing up in the public eye. She's not only perfected her skills when it comes to lyrics and melody; she's also learned how to craft a public narrative that satisfies her fans, her label, and the media. In the circles of fame and celebrity in which she now travels, the careful maintenance of Dylan Read pop star is often more important than the songs themselves. And so lots of people think they understand everything about Dylan Read. But what no one knows is the part of her origin story she has successfully kept hidden: her childhood best friend Kelsey vanished the year before Dylan became famous. Now, as Dylan's at the height of her career, Kelsey's body is found at the bottom of their hometown lake--forcing Dylan to reckon with their shared past, her friend's influence on her music, and whether there's more to their story than meets the eye. Immersive, page-turning, and psychologically astute, Once More from the Top is a riveting and keenly observant novel about friendship, ambition, and the cost of fame.

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Literary Fiction

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Shelves by Intentional Reading Life

Intentional Reading Life

Blind Date with A Book

Books in Translation

Collectible Editions

Cozy Mysteries

Fantasy

Literary Fiction

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Romance

Suspense/Thrillers