It’s Our Birthday!

March 22 2016
Share It’s Our Birthday!

This month, we’re celebrating the second birthday of Off the Shelf! We love sharing great books with great readers. To celebrate two years of amazing recommendations, we’ve excerpted some of our favorite reviews below. You can’t go wrong with any of these books.

A Man Called Ove
by Fredrik Backman

“If you like to laugh AND feel moved AND have your heart applaud wildly for fictional characters, you will certainly fall for the grumpy but lovable Ove (it’s pronounced “Oo-vuh,” if you were wondering).”

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A Man Called Ove
Fredrik Backman

“If you like to laugh AND feel moved AND have your heart applaud wildly for fictional characters, you will certainly fall for the grumpy but lovable Ove (it’s pronounced “Oo-vuh,” if you were wondering).”

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About Grace
by Anthony Doerr

“From midpoint on, this extraordinary novel is about Grace—about finding Grace. In every way.”

Read Betsy Burton’s review here.

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About Grace
Anthony Doerr

“From midpoint on, this extraordinary novel is about Grace—about finding Grace. In every way.”

Read Betsy Burton’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

Book Sommelier: 7 Full-Bodied Reads from the Literary Vineyard

By Sharon Van Meter | March 10, 2021

It’s Our Birthday!

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 22, 2016

An Extraordinary Odyssey of Dreams and Memory

By Betsy Burton | December 14, 2015

Enter to Win These 12 Fall Book Club Favorites

By Off the Shelf Staff | September 29, 2015

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The Opposite of Loneliness
by Marina Keegan

“A collection of short fiction and personal essays, THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS reads like your early twenties in real time, touching on friendship, love, jealousy, self-discovery, family, and the one thing you’ll always love, no matter what: your first car.”

Read Julianna Haubner’s review here.

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The Opposite of Loneliness
Marina Keegan

“A collection of short fiction and personal essays, THE OPPOSITE OF LONELINESS reads like your early twenties in real time, touching on friendship, love, jealousy, self-discovery, family, and the one thing you’ll always love, no matter what: your first car.”

Read Julianna Haubner’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

7 Books to Read After Graduation (No Quizzes, I Promise)

By Nikki Barnhart | May 10, 2018

It’s Our Birthday!

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 22, 2016

An Inspirational Voice that Illuminates a Generation

By Julianna Haubner | May 29, 2015

Harper Lee and the One-Book Wonder Phenomenon

By Off the Shelf Staff | April 9, 2015

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Hyperbole and a Half
by Allie Brosh

“I have read very few books in my life that compelled me to laugh so loudly in public that it made the people around me visibly uncomfortable. Allie Brosh’s HYPERBOLE AND A HALF is one of them.”

Read Sarah Jane Abbott’s review here.

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Hyperbole and a Half
Allie Brosh

“I have read very few books in my life that compelled me to laugh so loudly in public that it made the people around me visibly uncomfortable. Allie Brosh’s HYPERBOLE AND A HALF is one of them.”

Read Sarah Jane Abbott’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

6 Beautiful Books That Will Bring You Happy, Cathartic Tears

By Holly Claytor | May 25, 2020

The Best Memoirs We’ve Ever Read

By Off the Shelf Staff | July 29, 2019

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By Mary Laura Philpott | August 20, 2018

10 Books We’re Thankful For

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 23, 2017

12 Good Books That Get Us Through Hard Times

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 17, 2016

Enter for Your Chance to Win 15 Favorite Books from Off the Shelf & Delicious Zabar’s Treats

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 17, 2016

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Gone to Soldiers
by Marge Piercy

“More than 750 pages long, GONE TO SOLDIERS can definitely be intimidating, and I knew when I picked up this novel that it would need to be extraordinary in order to hold my attention for a few weeks. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.”

Read Erin Flaaen’s review here.

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Gone to Soldiers
Marge Piercy

“More than 750 pages long, GONE TO SOLDIERS can definitely be intimidating, and I knew when I picked up this novel that it would need to be extraordinary in order to hold my attention for a few weeks. Thankfully, I was not disappointed.”

Read Erin Flaaen’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

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By Off the Shelf Staff | December 30, 2021

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By Off the Shelf Staff | November 30, 2021

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By Off the Shelf Staff | November 4, 2021

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By Emily Lewis | July 22, 2021

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By Off the Shelf Staff | March 29, 2019

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By Off the Shelf Staff | December 25, 2017

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They Marched Into Sunlight
by David Maraniss

“The cast of characters is vast, and this warmly peopled book owes a portion of its grandeur to Maraniss’s empathic gift for giving them new life. As a result the book has a beating pulse and a heart that reveals itself as vulnerable yet stout.”

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They Marched Into Sunlight
David Maraniss

Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Maraniss tells the epic story of Vietnam and the 1960s through the events of a few gripping, passionate days in October 1967, including the student riot at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, when protesters tried to stop Dow Chemical, the maker of napalm, from recruiting on campus.

Read the full review of THEY MARCHED INTO SUNLIGHT here.

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MENTIONED IN:

13 Compelling Books that Illuminate the Vietnam War

By Amy Hendricks | September 19, 2017

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By Allison Tyler | June 15, 2017

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By Erica Nelson | May 26, 2016

It’s Our Birthday!

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 22, 2016

A History Written with Heart Illuminates the War in Vietnam

By Stuart Roberts | November 20, 2015

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The Rosie Project
by Graeme Simsion

“THE ROSIE PROJECT is a novel for people who love romantic comedy, but also for people (like me) who don’t think they like romance and are looking for something funny and relatable.”

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The Rosie Project
Graeme Simsion

The protagonist of Graeme Simsion’s romantic comedy THE ROSIE PROJECT is the most refreshingly unique, honest, and hilarious character I have read in a long time. I don’t generally read romantic comedies, but this one stole my heart right from the first paragraph.

Read Sarah Jane Abbott’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

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By Maddie Ehrenreich | November 21, 2023

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By Off the Shelf Staff | May 3, 2023

10 Life-Affirming Reads for Fredrik Backman Fans

By Karen Bellovich | September 27, 2022

Hugs in Book Form: 7 Feel-Good Reads that Will Love You Right Back

By Sabrina Sánchez | May 26, 2020

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By Off the Shelf Staff | May 14, 2020

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By Maddie Nelson | April 21, 2020

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The Light Between Oceans
by M. L. Stedman

“The world is full of decent people making disastrous decisions. I love a book that can find the beauty in that.”

Read Susan Crandall’s review here.

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The Light Between Oceans
M. L. Stedman

“The world is full of decent people making disastrous decisions. I love a book that can find the beauty in that.”

Read Susan Crandall’s review here.

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I Am Pilgrim
by Terry Hayes

“For me, I AM PILGRIM was a game changer. It raised the bar for international spy thrillers and became the benchmark for all future reads. It’s rich in detail and character, full of heart-racing action, and terrifying in its plausibility. It has heart and has you questioning your own beliefs.”

Read David Brown’s review here.

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I Am Pilgrim
Terry Hayes

“For me, I AM PILGRIM was a game changer. It raised the bar for international spy thrillers and became the benchmark for all future reads. It’s rich in detail and character, full of heart-racing action, and terrifying in its plausibility. It has heart and has you questioning your own beliefs.”

Read David Brown’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

10 Spy Novels That’ll Sneak Up on You

By Alice Martin | November 6, 2023

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By Off the Shelf Staff | August 29, 2022

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By Get Literary | February 27, 2020

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By Off the Shelf Staff | December 24, 2019

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On Writing
by Stephen King

“Nothing I have ever read about the writing life has moved or inspired me more. Whether or not you are a King fan, whether you are a professional writer or have never written a word, this is essential reading on the art of writing and the art of life.”

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On Writing
Stephen King

“Nothing I have ever read about the writing life has moved or inspired me more. Whether or not you are a King fan, whether you are a professional writer or have never written a word, this is essential reading on the art of writing and the art of life.”

Read the full review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

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By Off the Shelf Staff | January 15, 2020

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By Off the Shelf Staff | August 24, 2017

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Where Are the Children?
by Mary Higgins Clark

“My grandmother read every one of Clark’s novels, but I could see why she kept WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? It is classic spine-tingling suspense; even David Foster Wallace kept a copy in his personal library and taught it in fiction classes at Illinois State University.”

Read Elizabeth Breeden’s review here.

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Where Are the Children?
Mary Higgins Clark

“My grandmother read every one of Clark’s novels, but I could see why she kept WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN? It is classic spine-tingling suspense; even David Foster Wallace kept a copy in his personal library and taught it in fiction classes at Illinois State University.”

Read Elizabeth Breeden’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

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By Off the Shelf Staff | August 31, 2018

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By Elizabeth Breeden | December 22, 2017

It’s Our Birthday!

By Off the Shelf Staff | March 22, 2016

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By Elizabeth Breeden | November 16, 2015

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The House of the Spirits
by Isabel Allende

“It was an enormous pleasure for me to reread this book three decades after it first made its mark on me. I found myself still enraptured by the words of these women, still dazzled by the magic potion that is Isabel Allende’s gift for storytelling. And as I reached the final page, I smiled in wonderment at the forces that led me to where I am today, and was thankful for the reminder that our future is written in the stars.”

Read Johanna Castillo’s review here.

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The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende

“It was an enormous pleasure for me to reread this book three decades after it first made its mark on me. I found myself still enraptured by the words of these women, still dazzled by the magic potion that is Isabel Allende’s gift for storytelling. And as I reached the final page, I smiled in wonderment at the forces that led me to where I am today, and was thankful for the reminder that our future is written in the stars.”

Read Johanna Castillo’s review here.

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MENTIONED IN:

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By Off the Shelf Staff | January 18, 2024

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My 2022 Reading Challenge: 9 Goals to Expand My Literary Horizons

By Sharon Van Meter | January 5, 2022

10 Historical Novels Perfect for Crisp Autumn Nights

By Chris Gaudio | October 11, 2021

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