Recently an exuberant and satisfied library patron came up to the front desk and declared, "I found my new favorite book!" She checked it out on a Sunday and was back  to the library on Monday morning having devoured the book the previous evening. (see below for the book) It's so satisfying as a library employee to hear stories like this. Finding the right book at the right time is serendipity at its best. 

Cover ArtHappiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
Helen Carpenter can't quite seem to bounce back. Newly divorced at thirty-two, her life has fallen apart beyond her ability to put it together again. So when her annoying younger brother, Duncan, convinces her to sign up for a hardcore wilderness survival course in the backwoods of Wyoming--she hopes it'll be exactly what she needs. Instead, it's a disaster. It's nothing like she wants, or expects, or anticipates. She doesn't anticipate the surprise summer blizzard, for example--or the blisters, or the rutting elk, or the mean pack of sorority girls. And she especially doesn't anticipate that her annoying brother's even-more-annoying best friend, Jake, will show up for the exact same course--and distract her, derail her, and . . . kiss her. But it turns out sometimes disaster can teach you exactly the things you need to learn. Like how to keep going, even when you think you can't. How being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes getting really, really lost is your only hope of getting found. Happiness for Beginners is Katherine Center at her most heart-warming, captivating best--a nourishing, page-turning, up-all-night read about how to get back up. It's a story that looks at how our struggles lead us to our strengths. How love is always worth it. And how the more good things we look for, the more we find.
Find Happiness for Beginners in the library catalog Here
Also available for digital checkout: 
Montana Library2Go /Libby app audiobook
More Katherine Center books are available on Hoopla audiobooks
Read more about the author Here
 
And speaking of Happiness for Beginners, if you're a Netflix subscriber, the title may sound familiar.  Just last month Netflix released a movie adaptation based on the book. Starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes, it's described as "charming, heartfelt and feel-good," but read the book first!
 
If you're already a fan of Katherine Center's books and are looking for similar authors, check out the literature map below.  The closer two writers' names are, the more likely someone will like both of them. So if you are a fan of Katherine Center, you might do well to try books by Sally Hepworth, Elin Hilderbrand, and Laura Dave.
 
Hope to see you soon at the library! Don't hesitate to stop by the front desk and tell us about your favorite new book!