1. The Henna Artist
​*2. Spoiler Alert
3. The Last Green Valley
4. Somebody's Daughter
​5. Project Hail Mary
6. The House in the Cerulean Sea
​7. Cosmos
8. The Lincoln Highway 
​9. The Firekeeper's Daughter
10. Entry Island
​11. Heart Berries 
​12. We Ride Upon Sticks
13. Hunger
​14. Eleanor
​15. The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois
16. The Island of Sea Women
17. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
18. My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry
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Bonus
1.  Legacy
2.  Prodigy
3. Champion
4. Rebel
5. The Power of Attachment
6. The Reckoning
7. Seatmate
8. Kismet
9. Goodbye Paradise​
10. You Can Thank Me Later
​11. Sweet Talk.
12. The Heartbreak Bakery
13. The Love Con
14. How To Be The Best Third Wheel
15. Love, Hacked
16. Finding Love at Hedgehog Hallow
​17. Finding Me
18. The Break-Up Artist
​19. You Only Die Twice
20. The Summer of Jordi Perez
​21. I Love You, Luke Piewalker
22. The Comeback
23. Accidental Tryst
24. Conditional Citizens
*25. Dinner with Ruth
26. Tales of a Female Nomad
27. The Queen's Gambit
28. The Push

Recommended Old Favorites
1. The Goldfinch
​2. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
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*Favorite so far

The story is centered around the life of a hoarder with a surprising nuanced story about the complexity of unresolved grief as the backstory explaining what let to the hoarding in the first place begins to intersect with the modern day timeline.  It is sad an some of the characters pathetic, which at times makes it hard to connect with, but it was interesting enough to keep my attention.

Not not recommended.

This was just the right comfort book I needed this week.  It is a book for readers in that it is set in a book store and it is filled with characters who love to read referencing the books they have read. I loved recognizing the books I know as the characters talk about them and this time I recognized more than last time, having another 7 or 8 years of reading under my belt since the last time I read it.  
I love the main character and the sardonic tone of the book as it is told as if his curmudgeonly way was the end all be all of existence.  I love how he grows and changes as the story unfolds and how the people in his life adjust to his changing circumstances.  The plot hold together well, too, with the storyline unfolding and then folding itself back in in delightful ways.
It is also extremely sad, so if you are looking for a good cry, it is a great comfort book for that, too.
Highly recommend.

I first read this in 2016 when my friend Nancy was dying.  It was the last book we read together--and we had read many.  I enjoyed it then, but found the second time, knowing what was going to happen, to actually be better since I spent less time wondering about the outcome and more time enjoying the details of the plot and, in particular, the relationships that developed.  The story follows a young teen who survives a terrorist attack and all the trauma he experiences from that and the loss of his mother in the explosion, through foster care, abuse and neglect, drug abuse, and trying to find his way in the world with survivors guilt compounded by so many negative life experiences.  It is violent at times and the portrayal of addiction is explicit and painful, but the plot is intricate and compelling.  Worth reading the first time and worth the re-read, too.

​Recommended.