Recommendations based on The Cookbook Collectorby Allegra Goodman

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

  1. Netherland

    by Joseph O'Neill
    A man's journey through grief, finding solace in the game of cricket.

    Netherland opens on protagonist Hans van den Broek, a Dutch financial analyst living in London with his English wife Rachel, but quickly flashes back to the years Hans spent in New York City before ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Amy and Isabelle

    by Elizabeth Strout
    A mother-daughter relationship is tested when a scandal rocks their small New England town.

    Pulitzer Prize winning author Elizabeth Strout’s bestselling and award winning debut, Amy and Isabelle—adapted for television by Oprah Winfrey— evokes a teenager's alienation from her distant ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Tenderness of Wolves

    by Stef Penney
    In 1867 Canada, a woman sets out to find her missing son and becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.

    Structurally, The Tenderness of Wolves is divided into four parts: “Disappearance”, “The Fields of Heaven”, “The Winter Partners”, and “The Sickness of Long Thinking”. The novel opens with the ... (Wikipedia)

  4. 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)

  5. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

    by Tom Franklin
    A haunting tale of two childhood friends, one accused of murder, and the secrets that bind them together.

    Tom Franklin's extraordinary talent has been hailed by the leading lights of contemporary literature—Philip Roth, Richard Ford, Lee Smith, and Dennis Lebanese. Reviewers have called his fiction ... (Goodreads)

  6. 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)

  7. Amsterdam

    by Ian McEwan
    Interconnected stories of love and morality among a small group of characters in Amsterdam.

    At the funeral of photographer and writer Molly Lane, three of Molly's former lovers converge. They include newspaper editor Vernon Halliday and composer Clive Linley who are old friends, and British ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

    by Muriel Spark
    A teacher's unconventional methods, inspiring young lives while challenging the status quo.

    In 1930s Edinburgh , six ten-year-old girls, Sandy, Rose, Mary, Jenny, Monica, and Eunice are assigned Miss Jean Brodie, who describes herself as being "in my prime," as their teacher. Miss Brodie, ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Beautiful Ruins

    by Jess Walter
    A romantic story of fate, secrets, and destiny, spanning from Italy in the 1960s to present day.

    "The best novel of the year." — Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air A #1 New York Times bestseller, this “absolute masterpiece” (Richard Russo) is the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the ... (Goodreads)

  10. True Grit

    by Charles Portis
    A young girl's quest for justice, accompanied by an aging U.S. Marshall.

    The landmark anniversary edition of the #1, New York Times, bestselling classic novel, “an epic and a legend” (,The Washington Post,) Charles Portis has long been acclaimed as one of America’s most ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. The Power of One

    by Bryce Courtenay
    A young man's journey of self-discovery, overcoming the odds and finding strength in adversity.

    The Power of One follows an English-speaking South African boy named Peekay from 1939 to 1951. The story begins when Peekay's mother has a nervous breakdown, and Peekay ends up being raised by a Zulu ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet

    by David Mitchell
    An epic tale of love and adventure set in an 18th century Japanese trading port.

    The novel begins in the summer of 1799 at the Dutch East India Company trading post Dejima in the harbor of Nagasaki . It tells the story of a Dutch trader's love for a Japanese midwife who is ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Let the Great World Spin

    by Colum McCann
    Interconnected stories of ordinary lives in 1970s New York, inspired by a high-wire artist's death-defying feat.

    The events of the story are told in a largely non-linear fashion, with several different narrators telling the story from different perspectives. The story is interspersed with fictionalized accounts ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Killing Floor

    by Lee Child
    An ex-military cop is thrust into a dangerous criminal underworld to solve the murder of a woman.

    Jack Reacher gets off a Greyhound bus in the town of Margrave, Georgia , because he remembers his brother mentioning that a blues musician named Blind Blake had died there. Much to his surprise, ... (Wikipedia)

  15. Unaccustomed Earth

    by Jhumpa Lahiri
    Collection of stories exploring the complexities of family, culture, and identity.

    From the internationally best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning author, a superbly crafted new work of fiction: eight stories—longer and more emotionally complex than any she has yet written—that take ... (Goodreads)

  16. The White Tiger

    by Aravind Adiga
    An exploration of the Indian class system, told from the perspective of a lower-caste man.

    The entire novel is narrated through letters by Balram Halwai to the Premier of China, who will soon be visiting India. Balram is an Indian man from an impoverished background, born in the village of ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Case Histories

    by Kate Atkinson
    A series of intertwining stories of people whose lives are changed by an unexpected event.

    'Case Histories' tells the story of Jackson Brodie, a private investigator who tries to find out the truth of some cases. Brodie meets some people who reclaims his help to solve their cases Kirkus ... (Wikipedia)

  18. 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)

  19. The Invention of Wings

    by Sue Monk Kidd
    A powerful story about a girl's journey to freedom, despite the limitations of slavery.

    Writing at the height of her narrative and imaginative gifts, Sue Monk Kidd presents a masterpiece of hope, daring, the quest for freedom, and the desire to have a voice in the world—and it is now ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Ten-Year Nap

    by Meg Wolitzer
    Four women who left their careers to raise children struggle with their identities and desires as they approach their ten-year high school reunion.

    From the bestselling author of, The Wife, and, The Position, a feverishly smart novel about female ambition, money, class, motherhood, and marriage-and what happens in one community when a group of ... (Goodreads)

  21. Promises to Keep

    by Jane Green
    A woman's life is turned upside down when her husband dies, leaving her to raise their children and confront secrets from his past.

    A, NY Times, bestseller and "a poignantly written novel that powerfully celebrates the power of love and friendship" (,Chicago Tribune,)., Over the course of twelve novels,, Jane Green, has ... (Goodreads)

  22. Rise and Shine

    by Anna Quindlen
    A popular morning TV show host is fired after an on-air outburst, and her sister takes her in. The two must confront their past and present struggles.

    A superb novel about two sisters, the true meaning of success, and the qualities in life that matter most. From Anna Quindlen, acclaimed author of Blessings, Black and Blue, and One True Thing, a ... (Goodreads)

  23. Before the Frost

    by Henning Mankell
    A young girl's disappearance leads to a complex investigation that uncovers dark secrets in a small Swedish town.

    In this latest atmospheric thriller, Kurt Wallander and his daughter Linda, just graduated from the police academy, join forces to search for a religious fanatic on a murder spree and soon find ... (Goodreads)

  24. Don't Blink

    by James Patterson
    A young girl is kidnapped and the clock is ticking for her rescue. Detective Michael Bennett races against time to save her.

    Join reporter Nick Daniels as he uncovers deadly secrets in a page-turning thriller from the "unstoppable" James Patterson (,USA Today,). Seated at New York's Lombardo's Steak House, reporter Nick ... (Barnes & Noble)

  25. Meet Me at the Museum

    by Anne Youngson
    A farmer's wife and a museum curator begin a correspondence that leads to a deep and unexpected connection.

    Shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, From 70-year-old debut author Anne Youngson, a novel about a farmer's wife and a museum curator seeking second chances, hailed by NPR as "the charmer of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  26. First Comes Love

    by Emily Giffin
    Two sisters navigate their lives and relationships after the death of their brother. A story of family, love, and forgiveness.

    #1, NEW YORK TIMES, BESTSELLER •, A pair of sisters find themselves at a crossroads in this dazzling new novel from the author of, Something Borrowed, Where We Belong,, and, The One & Only,., First ... (Barnes & Noble)

  27. Second Honeymoon

    by James Patterson
    FBI agent pursues a serial killer targeting newlywed couples on their honeymoon, while dealing with his own personal demons.

    In James Patterson's dazzling thriller, two secret agents hunt down a serial killer targeting honeymoon couples in Rome. A newlywed couple steps into the sauna in their deluxe honeymoon suite-and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  28. Noah's Compass

    by Anne Tyler
    A retired teacher, Liam, struggles to find meaning in his life after a mysterious incident leaves him with memory loss.

    On the surface, Liam Pennywell leads an ordered, decent life. Once widowed and once divorced, with three grown-up daughters, he has just been dismissed from his teaching job and, for lack of funds, ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Tandia

    by Bryce Courtenay
    A young black girl in apartheid South Africa fights against oppression and racism to achieve her dreams.

    Tandia, whose parents were a South African Indian man (Mr. Patel) and his house worker (a black woman), is raped by a police officer at her father's grave the day after his funeral. With Mr. Patel's ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

    by Muriel Barbery
    A story of two unlikely outcasts who find solace and comfort in each other's company.

    The story revolves mainly around the characters of Renée Michel and Paloma Josse, residents of an upper-middle class Left Bank apartment building at 7 Rue de Grenelle – one of the most elegant ... (Wikipedia)