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…
Category: contemporary fiction
“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…
“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 Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris” Book Discussion and Molten Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe
The Loveliest Chocolate Shop in Paris by Jenny Colgan Anna worked at a boring mass-produced chocolate factory in a small English town, until a freak accident left her missing two of her toes, and her self-esteem. Feeling sorry for herself and bored, she rekindled a friendship with her old French teacher, who is also at…
“Christmas in Vermont” Book Discussion and Maple Cinnamon Shortbread Cookie Recipe
Emma has a problematic habit: after one year of dating, she realizes each guy she’s with just isn’t marriage material, and she breaks up with him. So now, she’s suffering through winter in New York with a broken radiator (when she should have been on a tropical vacation with her now ex-boyfriend), working on a…
“The Sugar Queen” Discussion and Peppermint Devil’s Food Cupcakes with Peppermint Whipped Cream Frosting
Josey Cirrini’s mother is a bitter, wealthy woman who judges her daughter incessantly, demanding to be chauffeured to social events, and in waiting on her, Josey missed having a life of her own. At thirty, Josey spends all of her free time alone, hiding in her secret closet filled with the forbidden sweets and travel…
“One Day in December” Book Discussion and Chocolate Cupcake Recipe With Chocolate Mousse Topping
A single, sarcastic girl makes eye contact across a crowded bus station with a handsome boy, and wishes she got off the bus and got his number. Then the girl—Laurie—spends the next year searching for him in every pub in London. A year later at a Christmas party, Laurie’s best friend, Sarah, brings home Jack,…