Recommendations based on "Good Joy, Bad Joy"

Funny, heartbreaking and uplifting, New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins delivers an unforgettable romance about how love can transcend even the greatest obstacles.They used to joke about her “honey do” lists. He just never realized how much he would need one when she was gone.Being a widower is not something Joshua Park ever expected. Given his solitary job as a scientist, his small circle of friends and family, and the social awkwardness he’s always suffered from, Josh has no idea how to negotiate this new, unwanted phase of life. But his beloved wife Lauren had a plan to keep him moving forward, to lead him on a journey through grief, anger, and denial—twelve letters.Twelve letters to see him through the first year without her, and to lead him on a heartrending, beautiful, often humorous journey to find joy again. From his first outing as a widower to buy groceries to finding a new best friend while sobbing in a clothing store, Joshua’s grief makes room for him to learn Lauren’s most valuable lesson: The path to happiness doesn’t follow a straight line.Emotional, heartwarming, and perfect for book clubs, TikTok sensation Pack Up the Moon illuminates how love always finds a way to carry bring us joy, even when we least expect it.

Mia "Rabbit" Hayes is one of the lucky ones. She loves her life, ordinary as it is, and she loves the extraordinary people in it: her spirited daughter, Juliet; her colorful, unruly family; and the only man in her big heart, Johnny Faye. Rabbit has big ideas, full of music, love, and so much life. She has plans for the world - but the world has other plans for Rabbit: a devastating diagnosis.Rabbit is feisty. With every ounce of love and strength in her, she promises that she will overcome. She will fight, fight, fight. She will be with those who love her for as long as she can. As her friends and family rally to celebrate Rabbit's last days, they look to her for strength, support, and her unyielding zest for life - because she is Rabbit Hayes, and she will live until she dies.An exuberant novel full of happiness and heartbreak, Anna McPartlin's The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes is a story of laughing through life's surprises and finding the joy in every moment.

‘A gorgeous story full of emotion and a very special library.’ – Evie Woods, bestselling author of The Lost BookshopSome stories stay with us forever…For forty-two years, Sally Harrison has been building a library.Each year, on her daughter’s birthday, she adds a new book to her shelves – with a note in the front dedicated to her own greatest work.But Ella – Sally’s only child – fled to Australia twenty-one years ago after a heated exchange, and never looked back. And though Sally still dutifully adds a new paperback to the shelves every time the clock strikes midnight on July 11th, her hopes of her daughter ever thumbing through the pages are starting to dwindle.Then disaster strikes and Ella is forced to return to the home she once knew.She is soon to discover that when one chapter ends, another will soon follow.All you have to do is turn the page…Journey through the pages of this heartwarming novel, where hope, friendship and second chances are written in the margins. Perfect for book lovers everywhere and fans of Sally Page’s The Keeper of Stories.Praise for The Memory Library:'An absolute joy to read. Uplifting, beautiful, and perfect for any book lovers!' Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'The Memory Library delivers on its promise of hope, friendship and second chances. It's a love letter to the written word.' Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A powerful and poignant story. There were tears shed.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘I laughed out loud and had more than one glassy eye!’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A real treasure for booklovers everywhere who completely appreciate the joy, knowledge and healing that books can bring.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘There’s page after page of wonderful wisdom in this novel.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Filled with tender moments of sharing, tears, forgiveness, revelation and healing.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘What a beautiful, moving story this was! It really had me sobbing my eyes out.’ Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

From the wildly popular bestselling author of The Keeper of Lost Things—an uplifting, slightly magical story about how it’s never too late to find out who you really are."Ruth Hogan is the queen of uplifting fiction and Madame Burova reminds us why. The writing crackles with humor and warmth. I can't imagine a better book in which to lose yourself at the moment. Stunning, immersive and absolutely wonderful." --Annie Lyons, author of The Brilliant Life of Eudora HoneysettMadame Burova—beloved Tarot reader, palmist, and clairvoyant—is retiring and leaving her booth on the Brighton seafront.After inheriting her mother’s fortune-telling business as a young woman, Imelda Burova has spent her life on the Brighton pier practicing her trade. She and her trusty pack of Tarot cards have seen the lovers and the liars, the angels and the devils, the dreamers and the fools. Now, after a lifetime of keeping other people’s secrets, Madam Burova is ready to have a little piece of life for herself. But she still has one last thing to do—to fulfill a promise made in the 1970s, when she and her girlfriends were carefree, with their whole lives still before them.In London, it is time for another woman to make a fresh start. Billie has lost her university job, her marriage, and her place in the world when a sudden and unlikely discovery leaves her very identity in question. Determined to find answers, she must follow a trail…which leads to Brighton, the pier, and directly to Madame Burova’s door.In a story spanning over fifty years, Ruth Hogan has conjured a magical world of 1970s holiday camps and seaside entertainers, eccentrics, heroes and villains, the lost and the found. Young people will make careless choices which echo down the years….but it’s never too late to put things right.

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick * A Marie Claire Book Club Pick for April * A Reader's Digest Book Club Pick for April * A LibraryReads Pick * One of Southern Living's Most Anticipated 2023 Releases * One of Today's Most Anticipated 2023 ReleasesAn unforgettable pairing of a college dropout and an eighty-four-year-old woman on the run from the law in this story full of tremendous heart, humor, and wit from the USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island.Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Quimby needs a place to live. Preferably one where she can continue sitting around in sweatpants and playing video games nineteen hours a day. Since she has no credit or money to speak of, her options are limited, so when an opportunity to work as a live-in caregiver for an elderly woman falls into her lap, she takes it.One slip on the rug. That’s all it took for Louise Wilt’s daughter to demand that Louise have a full-time nanny living with her. Never mind that she can still walk fine, finish her daily crossword puzzle, and pour the two fingers of vodka she drinks every afternoon.Bottom line: Louise wants a caretaker even less than Tanner wants to be one.The two start off their living arrangement happily ignoring each other until Tanner starts to notice things—weird things. Like, why does Louise keep her garden shed locked up tighter than a prison? And why is the local news fixated on the suspect of one of the biggest jewelry heists in American history who looks eerily like Louise? And why does Louise suddenly appear in her room, with a packed bag at 1 a.m. insisting that they leave town immediately?Thus begins the story of a not-to-be-underestimated elderly woman and an aimless young woman who—if they can outrun the mistakes of their past—might just have the greatest adventure of their lives.

‘A superb writer…the Irish Jojo Moyes’ Irish ExaminerThe simple fact of the matter is that Iris loves life. Maybe she’s forgotten that. Sometimes that happens, doesn’t it? To the best of us?All I have to do is remind her of that one simple fact.When Iris Armstrong goes missing, her best friend Terry, wife, mother and all-round worrier, is convinced something bad has happened.And when she finds her glamorous, feisty friend, she’s right: Iris is setting out on a journey that she plans to make her last.The only way for Terry to stop Iris is to join her, on a road trip that will take her, Iris and Terry’s confused father Eugene onto a ferry, across the Irish sea and into an adventure that will change all of their lives.Somehow what should be the worst six days of Terry’s life turn into the best.

Fans of Marian Keyes will love The Space Between Us, a heart-breaking story of friendship from award-nominated author, Anna McPartlin. From babyhood Eve and Lily were best friends. But one huge fight and 17 years later Eve wakes up from a horrific accident to find her old friend nursing her. At first, their reunion is tentative but during Eve's many months in hospital they confront both the lies of the past and their present failures. And each clearly sees how the other needs to change her life: Lily must get out of an impossible marriage and Eve has to face up to the pain she has caused others. The crisis that brought Eve and Lily together again seems like a blessing that has given them a second chance to be there for each other when they most need someone to lean on. Little do they suspect that their friendship is under a threat that will change the future forever ... 'Anna McPartlin can make you feel despair and sadness but she can also make you see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's quite an impressive feat. If you haven't already tried Anna McPartlin then you are definitely missing out. She is one of the finest writers around and The Space Between Us is one of the best tales of friendship' Chicklitreviewsandnews.com 'Anna's warmth and humour shine through as she takes the reader on a journey through laughter and tears' U Magazine Anna McPartlin believes that even the darkest times have their lighter moments and she tells tales that are authentic, deeply emotional and yet often deeply funny. The Space Between Us is Anna McPartlin at the height of her storytelling powers. Before her writing career took off Anna was, among other things, a stand-up comedian and a claims adjuster. Her first novel Pack Up The Moon was shortlisted as Newcomer of the Year in the Irish Book Awards and her writing has gone from strength to strength ever since. Her other titles include No Way to Say Goodbye, The One I Love and The Truth Will Out.

One of Purewow’s “Best Beach Reads of Summer 2018”Winner for Best Book of 2018 of the Fresh Fiction Awards!New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins is beloved for her heartfelt novels filled with humor and wisdom. Now, she tackles an issue every woman deals with: body image and self-acceptance.Emerson, Georgia, and Marley have been best friends ever since they met at a weight-loss camp as teens. When Emerson tragically passes away, she leaves one final wish for her best friends: to conquer the fears they still carry as adults. For each of them, that means something different. For Marley, it's coming to terms with the survivor's guilt she's carried around since her twin sister's death, which has left her blind to the real chance for romance in her life. For Georgia, it's about learning to stop trying to live up to her mother's and brother's ridiculous standards, and learning to accept the love her ex-husband has tried to give her. But as Marley and Georgia grow stronger, the real meaning of Emerson's dying wish becomes truly clear: more than anything, she wanted her friends to love themselves. A novel of compassion and insight, Good Luck With That tells the story of two women who learn to embrace themselves just the way they are.

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARDLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION DEBUT CROWN AWARD‘Striking, darkly funny and heartfelt ... Grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go’ Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits‘Crisp, transportive, uplifting ... I loved it!’ Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry‘A bold, funny and imaginative journey through Tudor England ... A real treat’ Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone TheatreBorn a vagabond, Tibb Ingleby has never had a roof of her own. Her mother has taught her that if you’re not too bound by the Big Man’s rules, there are many ways a woman can find shelter in this world. But now her ma is gone.As she journeys through the fields and forests of medieval England, Tibb discovers that there are people who will care for her, as well as those who mean her harm. And there are a great many others who are prepared to believe just about anything...So, when the opportunity presents itself to escape the shackles society has placed on them, Tibb and her new friends conjure an audacious plan: her greatest trickerie yet. But before they know it, their hoax takes on a life of its own, drawing crowds - and vengeful enemies - to their door.A tale of belief and superstition, kinship and courage, A Little Trickerie introduces a ragtag cast of characters and an unforgettable, endearing and distinctly unangelic heroine.‘Joyful and highly original ... Rosanna Pike absolutely nails Tibb’s voice’ The Times‘Absolutely raucous and vividly alive’ India Knight‘[Written] with great panache ... A book [that] is unapologetically itself ... Lovable, fun and emotionally juicy’ Guardian

Discover the emotional, funny, unforgettable BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick, Amazon Best Book of 2025 so far and New York Times bestselling word-of-mouth sensation that thousands of readers are calling their favourite book of the year...⭐ Over 20,000 five-star reviews on Goodreads ⭐ 'THIS NOVEL IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION' Ann Patchett'I CAN'T PRAISE IT ENOUGH. AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH' Clare Chambers‘I DON'T HAVE ANY WORDS. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL STORY’ Reader review'I THINK I'VE JUST FINISHED MY FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE YEAR' Reader reviewA heartwarming, witty story about the life of an extraordinary woman, told through her letters, for fans of Olive Kitteridge, A Man Called Ove and 84 Charing Cross Road–Every morning, Sybil Van Antwerp sits down to write letters – to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to attend a class she desperately wants to take, to her favourite authors to tell them what she thinks of their latest books.Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her correspondence – witty and wise – to make sense of the world. But beyond the page, she has spent the last thirty years keeping the people who love her at arms’ length... Until letters from someone she had put out of her mind land on her doorstep, forcing her to reckon with her past mistakes.For as Sybil is about to learn: it’s never too late to write a few post-scripts.–⭐ THE BOOK THAT HAS CAPTURED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HEARTS ⭐‘I cried more than once as I witnessed this brilliant woman come to understand herself more deeply’ Florence Knapp, bestselling author of The Names 'Makes me hopeful that there's still plenty of good left in the world and my life ' Reader Review‘You will fall in love with Sybil. You will not want to let her go’ Irish Times‘Left a profound impact on me. Impossible not to be moved’ Reader review‘I can’t imagine anyone with a soul not loving it’ Lauren Bravo‘Full of joy. Full of heartbreak. Perfect’ Reader review