Here are 82 books that All Things Bright and Beautiful fans have personally recommended if you like
All Things Bright and Beautiful.
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Humans are absurd. We are. Short stories that present this in a true and honest fashion, without being cruel or vulgar are a rare and delicious gem. In all of these books there is not a single ounce of malice or bitterness. Humans are born, we live, we suffer, and then we die. These books don’t deny this, or ignore it, instead they choose to focus on the funny, the fun, the absurd lives that we live.
The pure and real absurdity of the stories in this book kept me coming back again and again. The cranky old backwoods-man, the paranoid mother, and the hard-as-nails grandmother all felt like real people to me, and you never knew when Strange the dog would show up. Experience the world through the eyes of a child growing up in early 20th-century backwoods America.
America’s “most gifted outdoor humorist” (Detroit Free Press) regales readers with this collection of gut-busting, man vs. nature tales originally published in such magazines as Field & Stream and Outdoor Living.
Patrick F. McManus’s hilarious and comic stories of camping and other nature-oriented activities reach ridiculous proportions in The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw. From teaching his stepfather the methods of madness behind farm work through his best friend’s grandmother’s fear of bears, McManus reveals that human behavior is even wilder than the wilderness.
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Humans are absurd. We are. Short stories that present this in a true and honest fashion, without being cruel or vulgar are a rare and delicious gem. In all of these books there is not a single ounce of malice or bitterness. Humans are born, we live, we suffer, and then we die. These books don’t deny this, or ignore it, instead they choose to focus on the funny, the fun, the absurd lives that we live.
Life happens. The septic tank overflows. Girls get in fights. Boys track dirt over your best carpet. You are absolutely going to ruin their lives with your attempt to explain the facts of life. Erma Bombeck takes these realities and laughs at them. You can’t help but laugh along with her from her tiny suburban home to her efforts to “forgive her enemies.”
The “marvelously funny” and much-loved humorist explores the perils of suburban living in this New York Times bestseller (Vogue). For years, the Bombecks have heard rumors of a magical land called Suburbia where the air is clean, the grass is trimmed, and children don’t risk getting mugged on their walk to school. After watching their friends flee the city for subdivided utopias like Bonaparte’s Retreat and Mortgage Mañana, Erma and her family load up their belongings and cry, “Station wagons . . . ho!” But life on the suburban frontier is not as perfect as they had hoped. The trees…
Humans are absurd. We are. Short stories that present this in a true and honest fashion, without being cruel or vulgar are a rare and delicious gem. In all of these books there is not a single ounce of malice or bitterness. Humans are born, we live, we suffer, and then we die. These books don’t deny this, or ignore it, instead they choose to focus on the funny, the fun, the absurd lives that we live.
Murder, espionage, and weight loss clinics make up the challenges faced by Tommy and Tuppence in what I consider to be Christie’s most engaging book. The concept of a loving pair getting bored and deciding to use their energy to solve crimes was delightful. Christie takes a long honest look at human nature, and despite the murder and betrayal, laughs, for we are absurd.
Six short stories from the Queen of Crime, featuring our favourite young detectives, Tommy and Tuppence.
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance.
After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…
I’d thought I was writing a novel about someone putting a life back together after everything fell apart but, when I’d finished, readers told me I’d written a book about vivid, authentic friendships. It was a welcome surprise. From Charles Dickens to Sylvia Plath, nuanced characters have always interested me and so, when writing, I set myself the task of believable dialogue and interactions which readers can relate to like it’s their own friends sitting around a table; laughing, crying, or bickering. When a life falls apart it’s often friendships that are tested to breaking but then become stronger as a result.
It’s never the plot that draws me to a novel; it’s always other ingredients like people and place and, in these regards, Cranford is a stellar delight. The protagonist is a frequent house guest in the small town of Cranford, giving readers intimate access to the quirky social codes of its mostly female population. From the ones who care about social mores to the ones who care less, these wonderful vignettes document their attempts to outwit a visiting magician, or foil rumored night-burglars, or adapt to the losses of loved ones. Each woman has had a journey in some way stifled by the patriarchy of the 1800s but these ladies’ timeless and absorbing intelligence, compassion, loyalty, ingenuity, forbearance, and above all, wit, shine through.
Elizabeth Gaskell was a British author during the Victorian era. Gaskell's novels are notable for detailed descriptions of the different classes of society in 19th century Britain. Cranford is a novel about a fictional town modeled closely after one Gaskell was familiar with. The story features a series of episodes in the life of Mary Smith.
I’m a lifelong animal lover who grew up on a country estate in North Wales and now lives in southwest France, where my husband and I care for a woodland domaine.
Life at Le Palizac is anything but quiet: our forest is home to rambunctious wild boar, graceful deer, and a lively cast of smaller creatures. Our days are filled with forestry work and tending to an ever‑growing menagerie. As an author, I share stories from our wonderfully chaotic life whenever I can. We often end the day covered in dogs and cats, wondering where the hours went—and actually, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s not to love about a collection of true animal stories? From the moment I first read this memoir, I was captivated by James Herriot’s fresh, engaging writing and the warmth with which he describes his early days as a country vet in Yorkshire.
His encounters with tough, no‑nonsense farmers and the animals he treats—from pampered pets to semi‑feral cattle—are funny, touching, and endlessly absorbing. This classic is filled with charm, drama, and genuine heart.
I return to it often, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves animals.
A tie-in to the PBS Masterpiece series and Christmas special, available on streaming and home video.
All Creatures Great and Small is first volume in the multimillion copy bestselling series. Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.
For fifty years, generations of readers have flocked to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike…
I am a librarian and author living in San Francisco. Like many children, I grew up on dog books. I read and re-read Lassie Come Home and The Incredible Journey. James Herriot’s memoirs—many of which feature dogs—were my bedtime stories. Today, I often write about animals as a way to build empathy in child readers and teach the values of loyalty, kindness, and friendship. (My picture books include stories about dogs, alligators, wolves, and ducks!) Although I love a good cry over a book, I have chosen mostly happy books for this list of picture and middle-grade books about dogs. I hope the animal-loving child readers in your life enjoy them!
When I was young, James Herriot’s hilarious, insightful, and touching memoirs about his experiences as a vet in rural 1930s and 1940s Yorkshire made me both a reader and a writer. Happily, he adapted some of his dog stories for children, gathered here in an appealing illustrated anthology. I’ve read them all to my own kids, many times. I love that they’re long enough to allow kids to settle in and focus (short and snappy picture books have their place. So do long and dense ones!). The writing is eloquent and entertaining, and the stories are absorbing. Good luck not tearing up at several of these—when you’re not laughing or wishing that you, too, lived in the scenic English countryside!
James Herriot's Dog Stories is a perfect gift that celebrates the unconditional, loving friendships between people and dogs.
In this very special, heart-warming collection of favorite stories about dogs great and small, James Herriot tells us about his own dogs and all the wonderful people and animals we have come to love so much.
Fifty memorable tales move us to both laughter and tears, and Herriot's personal introduction and notes make this tribute by a master storyteller to man's best friend a book to read, reread, and be treasured for years to come.
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…
My first books were little Golden Books. I loved reading those stories of the sleepy little puppy and the engine that could. I moved on from there to all kinds of books and I remain a very happy reader. I have channeled my love for reading to a love of writing. My writing career started with a focus on journalism and writing for magazines, newspapers, and radio. About 18 years ago I began writing romance novels. I read all kinds of different genre but I thoroughly enjoy following the expanding relationships that make up the core element of all romances. That’s the thing about romance novels. There’s something for everyone.
Sophie Bellamy has lived an exciting life as an international lawyer working to protect human rights. But it came at the cost of having little time to be with her children as they grew up.
Her childhood memories of times spent at Willow Lake in Avalon bring her back to the small town where she hopes to make up for the time she spent abroad. Sophie was determined to repair her relationships with her children, but a twist in the story brings a happy surprise when she meets veterinarian Noah Shephard.
Their immediate attraction is at first unwanted, but prompts her life to take another turn. I like to piece together stories so I loved the unexpected twists.
The romance in this is story is lovely, and is mixed with intrigue and hope in the darkest hours. I like stories I can snuggle up with, and this story gave that…
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs
Revisit the tranquil shores of Willow Lake and the Bellamy family in this heartwarming tale of a woman who discovers that small moments can end up being life’s most cherished memories.
International lawyer Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But when she survives a hostage situation, she remembers what matters most—the children she loves back home. Haunted by regrets, she returns to the idyllic Catskills village of Avalon on the shores of Willow Lake, determined to repair the bonds with her family.
I worked for the last 25 years teaching literature classes and creative writing workshops—most of that time at the University of California at Davis. The students in my classes were mainly English majors and/or young writers. They tended to be serious about the potential of a text. To be serious, today, in America, about the potential of a text is to dwell in an inherently counter-cultural position. It is to conceive of the value of a text as something surpassing entertainment, i.e., use. Such a surpassing is a blasphemous notion… still tolerated in the context of the University. Its proliferation beyond those boundaries seems unworkable.
What one expects to happen, in the context of a story, is a wholly unacceptable outcome… save one does not feel the story is obligated to resound with consciousness of mortality. Consciousness of mortality is not cruel in and of itself; the one who causes it to resound in the form of a story, however, might be. Cruel, that is.
This, I think, is a very cruel book. But its cruelty is the cruelty of an honest physician met with a diseased patient. His unflinching diagnosis of the disease and the difficult (painful) operations it necessitates… are simply what remaining alive calls for. The alternative, that is, is always the same thing: brief (however apparently eternal) dementia.
From the Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, The Schooldays of Jesus, is now available from Viking. Late Essays: 2006-2016 will be available January 2018.
"Compulsively readable... A novel that not only works its spell but makes it impossible for us to lay it aside once we've finished reading it." -The New Yorker
At fifty-two, Professor David Lurie is divorced, filled with desire, but lacking in passion. When an affair with a student leaves him jobless, shunned by friends, and ridiculed by his ex-wife, he retreats to his daughter Lucy's smallholding. David's visit becomes an…
When I met my husband, he had two dogs—Gus the collie and Charlie the Yorkie. When the collie crossed the rainbow bridge, we brought another big dog into the household—a golden retriever. Charlie let Sam know that my husband was HIS human, and Sam could have me if he wanted. That began a beautiful twelve-year love affair. I knew I had to write about the relationship between man and dog, and chose the mystery novel as my framework. I spend hours every day researching my books – walking my current goldens, Brody and Griffin; feeding them; grooming them; playing with them; and observing how they interact with the world.
Mizushima’s husband is a veterinarian, and her home is always filled with animals. She brings that attention to animal behavior to her mysteries, in which a police deputy and a veterinarian solve crimes in the fictional mountain town of Timber Creek, Colorado.
The dog in question is Robo, a German shepherd trained in patrol and narcotics detection, and he’s Deputy Mattie Cobb’s K9 partner. Because he’s a police dog, he has a large role in the book, and the series, tracking fugitives, searching for evidence, sniffing out drugs, and rescuing people.
Two brutal murders, a menacing band of poachers, and a fearsome creature on the loose in the mountains plunge Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner Robo into a sinister vortex.
An explosion outside a community dance sends Mattie Cobb and Cole Walker reeling into the night, where they discover a burning van and beside it the body of outfitter Nate Fletcher. But the explosion didn't kill Nate--it was two gunshots to the heart.
The investigation leads them to the home of rancher Doyle Redman, whose daughter is Nate's widow, and the object of one…
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…
I am a secret hearth witch, a simple gardener working hard to keep fairies, dragonflies, fireflies, and pixies alive. I love to cook, mixing in a dash of magic with flavors from all over the world. Dragons or cats are always welcome in my world, and I’ve been known to shelter a hellhound in need.
I love how T.M. Baumgartner creates unique, lovable characters.
If her story doesn’t start out with family nuances, it definitely gets there as her characters find themselves swimming in problems that are not easy to solve. Her main character is a rare veterinarian, one willing to help pets, people, and other-world visitors regardless of race or origin. No lizard, pig, dog, or flying gremlin is too small.
Four years ago, Nessa’s careful life imploded when her husband disappeared during the first portal storm. Shimmering gateways to thousands of worlds appeared and vanished, sweeping away the unlucky. Later, the portals settled, but only a suicidal risk-taker would willingly touch one. Nessa rebuilt her life and her veterinary practice, now specializing in xenotics — the creatures that resulted from evolutionary paths on other worlds. But she still leaves supplies along the route Mark was traveling, in case he makes his way back. Hiking with a stranger to restock aid stations, Nessa realizes the portals have changed again. And this…
