Book cover of The Wedding People

Book description

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing…

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Why read it?

16 authors picked The Wedding People as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

If a book kicks off with someone planning to end it all… at a fancy hotel, in the middle of an influencer wedding… I'm in.

The premise suggests anything but romance and comedy. The Wedding People soon becomes warm, strange, and generous. I've been to a fair few pressure cooker nuptials in my time. Guests ratchet up smiles no matter what.

I loved how, in this book, grief collides with celebration. More than that, I love how the story ends on a hopeful note, rather than trying to leave everything neat and tidy. There's a glorious sense of people behaving…

I loved the crisp, witty dialogue and laugh-at-loud moments. Espach elevates the “outsider at the wedding” set up and continues to surprise the reader as we get drawn deeper into these characters lives.

This book was so hilarious that my husband ended up demanding to read it too because he wanted to know what had me laughing so hard. I love that the characters are (mostly) deep and human, though, not just caricatures.

If you love The Wedding People...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

It's witty and clever and full of superbly drawn characters.

I do not easily fall in love, but I fell hard for Phoebe, an imperfect protagonist who navigates life’s difficulties and hard disappointments with dark humor and depth.

I thought I knew where this story was headed and was delighted to be proven dead wrong. This unlikely love story reminded me to trust in the unexpected—not only from life and from the people who drift in and out of it, but also by how we can most often surprise ourselves.

I devoured it to the last word.

Here’s the fascinating thing about a protagonist who plans to kill herself: she speaks her mind, no matter how offensive, confrontational, or absurd her thoughts are. I think what delighted me most about the accidental wedding crasher at the center of this addictive novel was her unabashed honesty.

She doesn’t care what the bride, groom, or any of the wedding guests think of her, given that she plans to be dead by tomorrow. I envied her for her refusal to equivocate or sugarcoat. It is that filterless fearlessness that ingratiates her to the bride. And to that one person at…

If you love Alison Espach...

Book cover of Sexy Selfie Nation: Standing Up for Yourself in Today's Toxic, Sexist Culture

Sexy Selfie Nation by Leora Tanenbaum,

The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.

Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…

It was entirely original, funny and fun. I need fun right now and this book had loads of it.

I enjoyed the quirkiness of this book. It hit all the right notes of a feel good women's fiction/romance, but it felt fresh and new. An excellent read!

Often these days I get annoyed with books that are just a little too "pat" but this was so refreshing and lovely to read that I totally give it a pass.

The movie will be great.

If you love The Wedding People...

Book cover of Crossing: A Chinese Family Railroad Novel

Crossing by Lisa Redfern,

Crossing is a vividly human re-imagining of the love, sacrifices, and accomplishments that two Chinese brothers - American Immigrants - experience as they travel to California to build the Transcontinental Railroad. 

While the premise tackles a sensitive and difficult subject, the book delivers one of the most uplifting, inspirational messages I've ever read. It's a story of one woman at the end who immerses herself in another couple's beginning. Their lives become intertwined, and we witness the firsthand beauty that comes from virtual strangers. Espach delivers a beautifully rendered tale of the power of human connection. Such an important message for all of us.

If you love The Wedding People...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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