Stephanie Butland The Lost for Words Bookshop Loveday is more than just an introvert who loves books and works in a used books store. She’s hiding from a childhood tragedy that no one needs to know, and she doesn’t want to discuss, though her kind, portly boss knows enough about it to shelter her and…
“Where’d You Go Bernadette?” Book Discussion and Blackberry French Toast Cupcake Recipe
Bernadette Fox is the most talented architect no one has ever heard of. After a tragic incident involving the most resourceful house ever built in its time, Bernadette has suffered from massive anxiety and even agoraphobia. Then, her daughter Bee was born with a rare heart condition and almost didn’t survive to her first birthday….
“The Bookshop of Yesterdays” Book Discussion and Orange F.R.O.G. Jam Muffins Recipe
Miranda grew up loving books, especially those she was allowed to take home from her uncle’s bookstore, Prospero Books. On the night of her twelfth birthday, her beloved uncle Billy, maker of riddles and scavenger hunts, finally appeared very late at her house and got into a drunken argument with her mother. That was the…
“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” Discussion Questions and Apple Crumble Muffins Recipe
A.J. Fikry is a calloused, tragic middle-aged widower who owns a bookstore in New England, but hates change, and most of the newer genres of books. He prefers to be left alone to his frozen curry meals and short stories, and gives a cold, angry reception to the new sales rep for the local book…
“Emma” Book Discussion and Easy Strawberry Vanilla “Cake Mix Cookies” Recipe
Emma Woodhouse has just lost her former governess and favorite friend to marriage, and she is now a bored, lonely matchmaker looking for her next project. Harriet Smith is an agreeable, obedient acquaintance attending the local boarding school, with no known family or influences—the perfect pliable pupil. Emma tries to set her up with a…
“Dumplin'” Book Discussion and Cherry Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
Willowdean is a plus-sized Texan teen who loves Dolly Parton and deeply misses her aunt who recently passed away. Her mother, a former local beauty pageant queen, is also the director for the vent, and consumed by it. Will couldn’t possibly care less, her hands being full with her best friend Ellen’s love life, and…
“The Notebook” Book Discussion and Cherry Coke Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
Noah is an elderly man in a nursing home, his hands crippled by arthritis, who still, every morning, picks up a notebook, and carries it with him to his wife’s room, where he will tell her their story, hoping her Alzheimer’s won’t stop her from remembering them, even just for a little while. He makes…
“The Princess Bride” Book Discussion and Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting Recipe
Buttercup is an “impossibly lovely” milkmaid living on a farm in the fictional city of Florin. There is a farm boy named Westley who loves her, and says so with every utterance of his famous quote “As you wish.” He travels to America to obtain a fortune so he can marry her, but his ship…
“Far From the Madding Crowd” Book Discussion and Bacon, Ham, and Cheddar Biscuit Recipe
Bathsheba Everdeen is a stubborn but hardworking young woman who inherits her grandfather’s farm just as her once-dear friend falls into personal tragedy. Independently making a living in a man’s world leads her to arrogance and in doubt of ever finding marriage. She thinks love to be a joke and plays a foolish trick on…
“A Court of Frost and Starlight” Book Discussion and Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes Recipe
The war with Hybern has ended and now the city of starlight must be rebuilt. Feyre is looking for her new purpose in this time of peace, as well as a way to create and find peace. Nesta, however, is more bitter and self-inflicted with loneliness than ever, and not even Cassian, whom she risked…