TO THE BEST FRIEND WHO EVER WAS: THIS IS YOUR GUIDE TO LIVING WITHOUT MESTEP ONE: Always make time for yourself.Chrissie Thomas has always done what's expected of her. A struggling single mom with a mountain of guilt and very little time for herself, she's spent her life putting others first—until her lifelong best friend, Scarlett Sanderson, insists it's finally time for the cross-country road trip they've dreamed about since childhood.STEP TWO: Never turn down a chance for adventure.From the moment they set out, Chrissie and Scarlett are determined to chase joy: quirky roadside attractions, hot springs, and maybe even an unexpected flirtation or two. But as miles turn to memories, Chrissie begins to sense that this trip isn't just about escape—it's about a goodbye Scarlett hasn't yet found the courage to admit is coming.STEP THREE: Live like every day is your last.Scarlett has always been the fearless one—the spark in every moment, the laughter in every heartbreak. But hidden beneath her boundless joy is a truth she's kept from the person who knows her best. This trip isn't just a reunion—it's a farewell. And as they draw closer to their journey's end, Scarlett will have to do the hardest thing she's ever done: teach the best friend who's always been by her side how to live—to thrive—without her.FINAL STEP: When it's finally time to say goodbye…do it with your whole heart, and leave behind a love big enough to last a lifetime.

A young librarian and an old curmudgeon forge the unlikeliest of friendships in this charming uplit novel about one misfit book club and the lives it changed along the way.Because books have a way of bringing even the loneliest of souls together...Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely...but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane's day that when Arthur doesn't show up one morning, she's instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another.Anxious, Sloane tracks the old man down only to discover him all but bedridden...and desperately struggling to hide how happy he is to see her. Wanting to bring more cheer into Arthur's gloomy life, Sloane creates an impromptu book club. Slowly, the lonely misfits of their sleepy town begin to find each other, and in their book club, find the joy of unlikely friendship. Because as it turns out, everyone has a special book in their heart-and a reason to get lost (and eventually found) within the pages.

A.J. Fikry meets The Bookish Life of Nina Hill in this charming, hilarious, and moving novel about the way books bring lonely souls together.Two young lovers. Sixty long years. One bookish mystery worth solving.Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She’s just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s. Deciding it’s a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn’t the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there’s much more to her grouchy old neighbor than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers, she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.

Bücher haben die wunderbare Fähigkeit, Menschen zusammenzubringenSloane Parker führt ein unscheinbares Leben als Bibliothekarin in einer verschlafenen Kleinstadt. Einsam fühlt sie sich nicht – und doch wartet sie jeden Tag darauf, dass Arthur McLachlan erscheint: der grantige alte Mann, der ihre Regale durchstöbert und sie mit spitzen Bemerkungen neckt. Ihr Schlagabtausch ist längst zum Höhepunkt ihres Alltags geworden.Um Licht in sein tristes Leben zu bringen, gründet Sloane einen Buchclub. Nach und nach stoßen weitere Menschen dazu, die in den Büchern und in der Gemeinschaft Trost und Freude finden. Denn jeder trägt ein besonderes Buch im Herzen – und die Kraft der Geschichten kann selbst die einsamsten Seelen zusammenführen.Ein berührender Roman über den Zauber und die Kraft von Büchern.

TO THE BEST FRIEND WHO EVER WAS: THIS IS YOUR GUIDE TO LIVING WITHOUT MESTEP ONE: Always make time for yourself.Chrissie Thomas has always done what's expected of her. A struggling single mom with a mountain of guilt and very little time for herself, she's spent her life putting others first—until her lifelong best friend, Scarlett Sanderson, insists it's finally time for the cross-country road trip they've dreamed about since childhood.STEP TWO: Never turn down a chance for adventure.From the moment they set out, Chrissie and Scarlett are determined to chase joy: quirky roadside attractions, hot springs, and maybe even an unexpected flirtation or two. But as miles turn to memories, Chrissie begins to sense that this trip isn't just about escape—it's about a goodbye Scarlett hasn't yet found the courage to admit is coming.STEP THREE: Live like every day is your last.Scarlett has always been the fearless one—the spark in every moment, the laughter in every heartbreak. But hidden beneath her boundless joy is a truth she's kept from the person who knows her best. This trip isn't just a reunion—it's a farewell. And as they draw closer to their journey's end, Scarlett will have to do the hardest thing she's ever done: teach the best friend who's always been by her side how to live—to thrive—without her.FINAL STEP: When it's finally time to say goodbye…do it with your whole heart, and leave behind a love big enough to last a lifetime.

A young librarian and an old curmudgeon forge the unlikeliest of friendships in this charming uplit novel about one misfit book club and the lives it changed along the way.Because books have a way of bringing even the loneliest of souls together...Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely...but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane's day that when Arthur doesn't show up one morning, she's instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another.Anxious, Sloane tracks the old man down only to discover him all but bedridden...and desperately struggling to hide how happy he is to see her. Wanting to bring more cheer into Arthur's gloomy life, Sloane creates an impromptu book club. Slowly, the lonely misfits of their sleepy town begin to find each other, and in their book club, find the joy of unlikely friendship. Because as it turns out, everyone has a special book in their heart-and a reason to get lost (and eventually found) within the pages.

A.J. Fikry meets The Bookish Life of Nina Hill in this charming, hilarious, and moving novel about the way books bring lonely souls together.Two young lovers. Sixty long years. One bookish mystery worth solving.Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She’s just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s. Deciding it’s a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn’t the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there’s much more to her grouchy old neighbor than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers, she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.

Bücher haben die wunderbare Fähigkeit, Menschen zusammenzubringenSloane Parker führt ein unscheinbares Leben als Bibliothekarin in einer verschlafenen Kleinstadt. Einsam fühlt sie sich nicht – und doch wartet sie jeden Tag darauf, dass Arthur McLachlan erscheint: der grantige alte Mann, der ihre Regale durchstöbert und sie mit spitzen Bemerkungen neckt. Ihr Schlagabtausch ist längst zum Höhepunkt ihres Alltags geworden.Um Licht in sein tristes Leben zu bringen, gründet Sloane einen Buchclub. Nach und nach stoßen weitere Menschen dazu, die in den Büchern und in der Gemeinschaft Trost und Freude finden. Denn jeder trägt ein besonderes Buch im Herzen – und die Kraft der Geschichten kann selbst die einsamsten Seelen zusammenführen.Ein berührender Roman über den Zauber und die Kraft von Büchern.