Recommendations based on Seating Arrangementsby Maggie Shipstead

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Engagements

    by J. Courtney Sullivan
    A novel that explores the concept of marriage through the stories of four couples and the creation of the iconic De Beers diamond campaign.

    A, People Magazine, Top 10 Best Book of the Year, The bestselling author of Maine returns with an exhilarating novel about Frances Gerety, the real pioneering ad woman who coined the famous slogan “A ... (Goodreads)

  2. Astonish Me

    by Maggie Shipstead
    A ballerina helps a Soviet dancer defect, but years later, she wonders if she made the right choice.

    From the author of the widely acclaimed debut novel "Seating Arrangements," winner of the Dylan Thomas Prize: a gorgeously written, fiercely compelling glimpse into the passionate, political world of ... (Goodreads)

  3. Fates and Furies

    by Lauren Groff
    A tale of the secrets and passions of a marriage, exploring the depths of private lives.

    Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, ... (Goodreads)

  4. The King's Curse

    by Philippa Gregory
    The story of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, and her struggle to protect her family from the malicious schemes of King Henry VIII.

    Since Henry Tudor's accession to the English throne as Henry VII , Margaret Plantagenet has had to distance herself from her connection to the former royal family to survive. Married to a minor Tudor ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The White Princess

    by Philippa Gregory
    The story of Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, who marries Henry VII and becomes the mother of Henry VIII.

    Richard III has been killed in the Battle of Bosworth , and his devastated niece and lover Elizabeth of York must marry Richard's conqueror Henry Tudor , the new king of England, to finally end the ... (Wikipedia)

  6. Some Luck

    by Jane Smiley
    A saga tracing five generations of a farming family in midwestern America.

    On their farm in Denby, Iowa, Rosanna and Walter Langdon abide by time-honored values that they pass on to their five wildly different yet equally remarkable children: Frank, the brilliant, stubborn ... (Goodreads)

  7. We Are Not Ourselves

    by Matthew Thomas
    A journey of life-changing events, testing the resilience of an American family.

    Epic in scope, heroic in character, and masterful in prose, We Are Not Ourselves is a multigenerational portrait of the Irish American Leary family. Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty is raised by her ... (Goodreads)

  8. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

    by Alan Bradley
    A young girl's detective work uncovers a sinister mystery in a small English village.

    It's Christmastime, and the precocious Flavia de Luce - an eleven-year-old sleuth with a passion for chemistry and a penchant for crime-solving - is tucked away in her laboratory, whipping up a ... (Goodreads)

  9. A Visit from the Goon Squad

    by Jennifer Egan
    A mosaic of characters, lives, and relationships as they intertwine and evolve over time.

    Jennifer Egan’s spellbinding interlocking narratives circle the lives of Bennie Salazar, an aging former punk rocker and record executive, and Sasha, the passionate, troubled young woman he employs. ... (Goodreads)

  10. The Sense of an Ending

    by Julian Barnes
    An exploration of memory and its impact on the present, looking at the choices we make in life.

    By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be ... (Goodreads)

  11. Fugitive Pieces

    by Anne Michaels
    A poetic exploration of the trauma of displacement and the power of memory.

    The novel is split into two sections: Book I and Book II. Jakob Beer is a 7-year-old child of a Jewish family living in Poland . His house is stormed by Nazis; he escapes the fate of his parents and ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride & Prejudice

    by Curtis Sittenfeld
    A contemporary retelling of Jane Austen's classic novel, exploring love, family, and societal expectations in modern-day Cincinnati.

    Liz is a magazine writer in her thirties; her older sister Jane is a yoga instructor. They both live in New York City. Their father has a health scare and they return to their childhood home in ... (Wikipedia)

  13. What I Loved

    by Siri Hustvedt
    A story of two friends, their families, and the art world in New York City. A tale of love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships.

    What I Loved opens with a painting of a woman 'wearing only a man's T-shirt', with the artist's shadow across the canvas. The protagonist , art historian Leon Hertzberg (Leo), purchases the painting ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Freedom

    by Jonathan Franzen
    A family saga revealing the struggles of a divided nation, and the power of love to heal.

    The novel opens with a brief look at the Berglund family during their time living in St. Paul, Minnesota , from the perspective of their nosy neighbors. The Berglunds are portrayed as an ideal ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Japanese Lover

    by Isabel Allende
    Unexpected love story between two unlikely people, spanning generations and continents.

    From New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende, “a magical and sweeping” ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) love story and multigenerational epic that stretches from San Francisco in the ... (Barnes & Noble)

  16. American Wife

    by Curtis Sittenfeld
    A woman's story of her life as a wife, mother and political spouse.

    On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband’s presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House–and the repercussions of ... (Goodreads)

  17. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

    by Ben Fountain
    Billy Lynn and his fellow soldiers are hailed as heroes during a football halftime show, but the reality of war and their uncertain future loom over them.

    19-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn is part of an eight-man unit, Bravo Squad, fighting in Iraq. After key moments of a brief but intense fight anointed as "the Battle of Al-Ansakar Canal" are filmed ... (Wikipedia)

  18. The Paying Guests

    by Sarah Waters
    A forbidden affair between two women in 1920s London, amidst an era of social change.

    It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa—a large, silent house now ... (Goodreads)

  19. The Namesake

    by Jhumpa Lahiri
    A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.

    The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Woman in Cabin 10

    by Ruth Ware
    An intrepid reporter embarks on a luxury cruise, uncovering a dark and dangerous mystery.

    INSTANT, NEW YORK TIMES, AND, USA TODAY, BESTSELLER, , FROM THE AUTHOR OF, IN A DARK, DARK WOOD, , Featured in TheSkimm, , An, Entertainment Weekly, “Summer Must List” Pick, , A, New York Post, ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. Dept. of Speculation

    by Jenny Offill
    A woman's exploration of relationships, marriage, and motherhood amidst personal and familial struggles.

    Dept. of Speculation is a portrait of a marriage. It is also a beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all. ... (Goodreads)

  22. 11/22/63

    by Stephen King
    A time-traveler attempts to prevent the assassination of JFK.

    Jake Epping is a recently divorced high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine , earning extra money teaching a GED class. Epping gives an assignment to his adult students, asking them to ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Singles Game

    by Lauren Weisberger
    A young tennis player navigates the cutthroat world of professional tennis, facing tough choices and personal sacrifices along the way.

    The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada and Revenge Wears Prada—a dishy tell-all about a beautiful tennis prodigy who, after changing coaches, suddenly makes ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Circle

    by Dave Eggers
    A cautionary tale of a powerful tech company that blurs the boundaries between privacy and surveillance.

    Mae Holland, a recent college graduate, lands a job at The Circle, a powerful technology company run by the "Three Wise Men"—Tom Stenton, a ruthless businessman; Eamon Bailey, a likeable public ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Prince of Tides

    by Pat Conroy
    A man's search for solace and understanding in his troubled family's past.

    Tom Wingo is a middle-aged man with a wife and three young daughters who has recently lost his job as a high school English teacher and football coach. He learns that his twin sister, Savannah, has ... (Wikipedia)

  26. State of Wonder

    by Ann Patchett
    A journey in the Amazon rainforest to find a missing colleague and unlock the secrets of a mysterious drug.

    In a narrative replete with poison arrows, devouring snakes, scientific miracles, and spiritual transformations, "State of Wonder" presents a world of stunning surprise and danger, rich in emotional ... (Goodreads)

  27. Tangerine

    by Christine Mangan
    Two former college roommates reunite in Tangier, but their friendship takes a dark turn as secrets from the past are revealed.

    Two former college roommates, Alice and Lucy, are reunited in Tangier in 1956 where Alice lives with her husband, John. Lucy, still dangerously obsessed with Alice, arrives in Tangier unannounced, ... (Wikipedia)

  28. A Fatal Grace

    by Louise Penny
    An intricate murder mystery set in a small Canadian town, as the investigating detective unravels truth and justice.

    Inspector Gamache investigates after CC de Poitiers, a sadistic socialite, is fatally electrocuted at a Christmas curling competition in the small Québécois town of Three Pines. CC, who had a ... (Wikipedia)

  29. The Art of Fielding

    by Chad Harbach
    A college baseball team's success and failures are intertwined with the lives of five individuals.

    Henry Skrimshander begins the novel as a 17-year-old playing on a Legion baseball team in Lankton, South Dakota. Although physically short and not muscular, Henry has an unusual gift for fielding, ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The English Patient

    by Michael Ondaatje
    A World War II love story, exploring the depths of human emotion in the midst of tragedy.

    With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, ... (Goodreads)