Support Indies: 8 Books I Recommended Most Often as a Bookseller

Taking place in London in 1940, we meet Emmeline Lake as she begins working for Woman’s Friend magazine as a typist for the well-known advice columnist Henrietta Bird. Emmy soon learns that Mrs. Bird will not answer any letters that are unpleasant in her eyes. To Emmy, though, these are the letters that are the important ones, the ones calling out to be answered. Pretending to be Mrs. Bird, Emmy begins to answer the letters one by one. This endearing story is one of my favorites

In the store I worked at, THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS was always a favorite book club pick. Victoria, a young girl searching for a home to call her own and a place to belong, begins to work at a flower shop and brings joy to people through the flowers she chooses for them. A beautiful story about connection and second chances.

This story alternates timelines between two women fifty years apart who work in Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Clara works in the Terminal’s art school in the 1920s and Virginia in an information booth in the 1970s. When Virginia discovers a stunning piece of art in what was once the Terminals esteemed art school, she goes on a quest to find out what happened to the artist. If you love historical fiction, this is for you!

Lighthouse keeper Tom Sherbourne and his wife, Isabel, live on an isolated island off the coast of Australia. Tom and Isabel long for the one thing they can’t have—a child. When a boat with a child and a dead man washes up on their shore, Tom and Isabel make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. A heartbreaking and moving tale that’ll spark deep conversation.

Katie Brenner can’t help but compare herself to everyone around her, especially her boss Demeter. In Katie’s eyes, Demeter has everything—the perfect life, perfect job, perfect family. But when Katie accidentally gets a glimpse into Demeter’s life, she finds out that perhaps the perfect life does not exist. Lighthearted with laugh-out-loud moments, this book is full of surprises and never fails to cheer readers up.

Living on the island of St. Thomas, Rachel’s only dream is to live in Paris, but her dreams are shattered when she is told she must marry an older man to save her father’s business. When Rachel’s husband dies suddenly, his nephew Frédéric comes to settle his uncle’s affairs and a forbidden love affair between Rachel and Frédéric begins.

Dannie Kohan knows exactly what her life will be like and exactly where she will be in five years. But on the night that Dannie gets engaged, she falls asleep and wakes up five years in the future. After spending an hour in the future, Dannie wakes up back in the present. What Dannie saw in the future will turn her world upside down and make her question everything. IN FIVE YEARS is one complex and heartbreaking read.

Beautifully written with a hint of mystery, Kate Morton has a gift for writing novels that are perfect to escape into. A little girl lost, a family’s secret past, a book of fairy tales, a manor on the Cornish coast, and a forgotten garden. All of this and more make THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN one unforgettable story.