It’s that time of year again—Off the Shelf is celebrating another birthday, and of course you, our readers, get the presents. We can’t think of a better way to spend our third birthday than with some cake and 13 of our favorite books. You’re invited to celebrate with us, and you could win all of the books below.
This sweepstakes has ended.
After a terrible accident leaves her best friend in a coma, Shelby drops out of her life in suburban Long Island and moves to New York City. What follows is a tale—sprinkled with Alice Hoffman’s signature magical realism—of a girl struggling to find her way in the world. With the help of her new family, a series of anonymous postcards, and a mysterious guardian angel, Shelby learns not only that she can survive, but thrive—if she is willing to stay out of her own way.
After a terrible accident leaves her best friend in a coma, Shelby drops out of her life in suburban Long Island and moves to New York City. What follows is a tale, sprinkled with Hoffman’s signature magical realism, of a girl struggling to find her way in the world. With the help of her new chosen family, a series of anonymous postcards, and a mysterious guardian angel, Shelby finds herself moving forward, toward love and joy in her life.
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After spending years as a recluse, Jubilee Jenkins is forced to face the world when her mother dies. When she meets Eric, a divorcee and single father, he can’t understand why Jubilee keeps him at arm’s length. But anything closer might literally kill her since she has a rare allergy to human contact. CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH is the most unlikely love story you’ll read this year.
After spending years as a recluse, Jubilee Jenkins is forced to face the world when her mother dies. When she meets Eric, a divorcee and single father, he can’t understand why Jubilee keeps him at arm’s length. But anything closer might literally kill her since she has a rare allergy to human contact. CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH is the most unlikely love story you’ll read this year.
Fans of A MAN CALLED OVE will delight in the story of Britt-Marie, who, after decades in an unhappy marriage, finally gets up the courage to leave her cheating husband. Now, she is forced to make a life for herself, which somehow includes the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. Funny and moving, BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE is an irresistible novel Fredrik Backman fans will love.
Backman’s latest, BRITT-MARIE WAS HERE, is an irresistible novel about finding love and second chances in the most unlikely of places. We are packing our bags to move to Sweden.
“The Princess Bride” debuted in theaters almost 30 years ago, and today it endures as a cult classic. In AS YOU WISH, Cary Elwes, who played Westley, the Dread Pirate Roberts, in the movie, gives fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film, reuniting the star-studded cast for never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews.
“The Princess Bride” debuted in theaters almost 30 years ago, and today it endures as a cult classic. In AS YOU WISH, Cary Elwes, who played Westley, the Dread Pirate Roberts, in the movie, gives fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film, reuniting the star-studded cast for never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews.
In this taut psychological thriller, Clare is on the run from her past, from her husband, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in a remote mining town asking about the local girl who disappeared, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she’s hiding. As it turns out, she’s hiding a lot. But who isn’t in this town?
In this taut psychological thriller, Clare is on the run from her past, from her husband, and from her own secrets. When she turns up alone in a remote mining town asking about the local girl who disappeared, everyone wants to know who Clare really is and what she’s hiding. As it turns out, she’s hiding a lot. But who isn’t in this town?
Richard Fifield’s hilarious debut is a sassy redemption story set in small-town Montana. Rachel Flood has snuck back into town after leaving behind a trail of chaos nine years prior. She’s here to make amends, but nobody wants to hear it. With the help of a local boy named Jake and a little soul-searching, she just might manage to make things right.
When recovering alcoholic Rachel Flood comes back to her small Montana hometown, it isn’t a grand reception. This sassy novel will have you laughing through tears.
From the beloved author of LITTLE BEE comes this masterful historical novel set in London during the blitz. Inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN is a moving wartime love story. Against the great theater of world events, it is the small battles and the daily human triumphs that change us the most.
From the beloved author of LITTLE BEE comes this masterful historical novel set in London during the blitz. Inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN is a moving wartime love story. Against the great theater of world events, it is the small battles and the daily human triumphs that change us the most.
Read a review of EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN here.
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In Catherine Lowell’s smart and original debut novel, the only remaining descendant of the Brontë family embarks on a modern-day literary treasure hunt to find the family’s long-rumored secret estate, using only the clues her father left behind and the Brontës’ own novels.
In Catherine Lowell’s smart and original debut novel, the only remaining descendant of the Brontë family embarks on a modern-day literary treasure hunt to find the family’s long-rumored secret estate, using only the clues her father left behind and the Brontës’ own novels.
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With its white-knuckle plot and unforeseeable twists, this Lisa Lutz thriller is a page-turner. Meet Tanya Dubois, who leaves her husband’s body at the bottom of the stairs and gets the hell out of Dodge. She crisscrosses the country to escape her past, creating and shedding identities along the way. Can she possibly outrun her past?
With its white-knuckled plot and unforeseeable twists, it’s no wonder Off the Shelf readers consider this Lisa Lutz thriller a must-read. After leaving her husband’s body at the base of the stairs, Tanya flees town and meets an ally, Blue, along the way. From heart-stopping escapes and devious deceptions, readers are left to wonder: can she possibly outrun her past?
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Hattie Hoffman has spent her whole life playing many parts: the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. When she’s found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips right through the fabric of her small-town community. Full of twists and turns, EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront.
Full of twists and turns, EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE reconstructs a year in the life of a dangerously mesmerizing young woman, during which a small town’s darkest secrets come to the forefront . . . and she inches closer and closer to her death.
Read our review of EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE here.
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BARKSKINS is an epic, dazzling novel that portrays deforestation over the course of 300 years. We follow two woodcutters and their descendants around the globe and witness the incredible challenges they face, including the revenge of rivals, accidents, pestilence, Indian attacks, and cultural annihilation. This acclaimed novel is Annie Proulx’s masterpiece.
BARKSKINS sweeps readers around the globe from America to Europe to New Zealand in an epic story about the decimation of the world’s forests. Told from the perspective of two wood-cutters and their descendants over the course of 300 years, the characters face incredible challenges, including the revenge of rivals, accidents, pestilence, Indian attacks, and cultural annihilation.
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose stubborn nonconformity was both their curse and their salvation. In this astonishing memoir—the basis of the 2017 film starring Brie Larson—Walls recounts how her family’s dysfunction left her and her siblings to fend for themselves, weather their parents’ betrayals, and finally find the resources and will to leave home.
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose stubborn nonconformity was both their curse and their salvation. In this astonishing memoir—the basis of the forthcoming film starring Brie Larson—Walls recounts how her family’s dysfunction left her and her siblings to fend for themselves, weather their parents’ betrayals, and finally find the resources and will to leave home.
Read a review of THE GLASS CASTLE here.
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An intimate, funny, and inspiring memoir read by the author himself: the award-winning actor Bryan Cranston. Both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, A LIFE IN PARTS maps Cranston’s zigzag journey from abandoned son to beloved star by recalling the many odd parts he’s played in real life and diving deep into the grittiest details of his greatest role: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.
Read by Bryan Cranston
An intimate, funny, and inspiring memoir read by the author himself: the award-winning actor Bryan Cranston. Both a coming-of-age story and a meditation on creativity, A LIFE IN PARTS maps Cranston’s zigzag journey from abandoned son to beloved star by recalling the many odd parts he’s played in real life and diving deep into the grittiest details of his greatest role: Walter White, chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin.
Read by Bryan Cranston