My Friends by Fredrik Backman

My Friends is a heartfelt, funny, and quietly profound novel about a group of you people whose unlikely friendships shape them for life. Through Backman's signature mix of humor and emotional depth, the story follows the bonds formed between misfits, dreamers, and wounded souls who find belonging in one another. As time moves forward, the novel gently unspools the mystery of where life takes each of them. Painting a picture of how friendships evolve, fracture, endure and leave permanent marks, even when paths diverge.

An Unfinished Love Story                                    by Doris Kerns Goodwin

This book is part memoir, part political history, part love story. It's the story of Doris and her husband Richard Goodwin and their lives in the White House serving John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson. From the Kennedy inauguration and the civil-rights struggles, to the passage of landmark legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as well as the disillusionment that followed with the Vietnam War. Doris sifted through over 300 boxes of letters, diaries, photos and memorabilia collected over the years of their life together to bring a fascinating account of this turbulent time in American History.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

A 2020 novel about Nora Seed, a woman who find herself in a library between life and death after attempting suicide. In this library, she can explore infinite alternate lives she could have lived by choosing different paths. The book explores themes of regret, choice, and finding fulfillment in life. 

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store                  by James McBride

This story follows the intertwined lives of immigrant Jewish and African American communities in the 1920-30's neighborhood of Chicken Hill in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. When authorities attempt to institutionalize a deaf black boy named Dodo, the resident band together across race, religion and hardship to protect him. Through humor compassion, and vividly drawn characters, McBride reveals how ordinary people create extraordinary acts of love and solidarity. The novel explores community, belonging,  injustice and them joys that make survival feel sacred.