How to Read a Book: A Novel [L0130]

2024 HCDJ in Gift-Worthy condition. "The perfect pick to really light a fire under my book club, and yours....A reminder that goodness, and books, can still win in this world." —New York Times Book Review. "A beautiful, big-hearted treasure of a novel." —Lily King. From the award-winning author of The One-in-a-Million Boy comes a heartfelt, character-driven, and uplifting novel about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

In this emotional book club fiction, Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest. Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed. When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways. How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about forgiveness, letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "It took me a while to get started on this one. I stopped and started a bit. But once I finally committed to diving in, I discovered a jewel of a book. I actually laughed out loud, and I cried. And I fell in love with Ollie, and Frank and Harriet. And I marveled at Violet - her spine of steel throughout her story. This is one of the best books I have read this year, and I highly recommend it. If you have been wronged, or if you have wronged another, this story of redemption, forgiveness, and second chances is for you. I loved it."; "This was an incredibly beautiful book. The writing was so beautiful, I am awestruck. A captivating story, about people (and parrots!) you will absolutely fall in love with. I read books by the hundreds every year, and this is one of the best books I have ever read. Five stars is not enough! Do yourself a favor and read this book!"; "How to Read a Book" had well-developed, imperfect characters. There is a theme of forgiveness and mercy. In a realistic way, some characters were not ready to forgive yet. The avian lab was the site of an interesting subplot. The African grey parrots put an element of fun in the book because each of the parrots had a distinct personality. One of the parrots is sure to steal your heart!"