Uplit: Uplifting Reads

Cover image for Miss Eliza's English kitchen :

Miss Eliza’s English Kitchen 

by Annabel Abbs

England, 1835. When Eliza Acton is told by her publisher to write a cookery book instead of the poetry she loves, she refuses--until her bankrupt father is forced to flee the country.
Cover image for The long way to a small, angry planet

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Joining the crew of the aging Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that has seen better days, loner Rosemary Harper must unexpectedly risk her life when they are offered the job of a lifetime, which teaches her valuable lessons about love and trust, and that having a family isn't the worst thing in the universe.
Cover image for Running with Sherman :

Running with Sherman 

by Christopher McDougall

In order to help Sherman, a donkey, heal after being owned by an animal hoarder, McDougall decided to train him for burro racing.
Cover image for The friend

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez

Becoming the guardian of her late best friend's enormous Great Dane, a grieving woman is evicted from her no-pets apartment and forges a deep bond with the equally distraught animal in ways that initially disturb her friends.
Cover image for The reading list :

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

Working at the local library, Aleisha reads every book on a secret list she found, which transports her from the painful realities she's facing at home, and decides to pass the list on to a lonely widower desperate to connect with his bookworm granddaughter.

Cover image for The brilliant life of Eudora Honeysett :

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons

Wanting to organize an assisted death on her own terms, a world-weary octogenarian forges an unexpected bond with an exuberant 10-year-old who drags her to tea parties, shopping sprees and other social excursions.

Cover image for The house in the cerulean sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea 

by T.J. Klune

40 year old Case Worker Linus Baker is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management and given a highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they're likely to bring about the end of days.
Cover image for Sourdough

Sourdough by Robin Sloan

Enduring a virtually solitary existence working for an ambitious software company, an exhausted coder is bequeathed a sourdough recipe from sibling bakers who are forced to close their shop, a gift that leads to a new vocation, a legal dispute and a venture into a secret market that fuses food with technology.

Cover image for How to fail at flirting

How to Fail at Flirting 

by Denise Williams

Challenged by her friends to start enjoying her life when her university department is cut, a Type-A overachiever embarks on a daring to-do list that involves leaving an abusive ex and pursuing a career-risking fling with a charming stranger.
Cover image for The love story of Missy Carmichael

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael 

by Beth Morrey

Reevaluating her past upon finding herself alone at age 79, Missy forges unexpected ties with two strangers and their spirited dog, discovering the power of friendship, family and self-forgiveness along the way.

Cover image for Unmarriageable :

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

A retelling of Pride and Prejudice, set in modern-day Pakistan, finds a practical-minded teacher from a family of sisters evaluating her resolve never to marry after encountering a brusque but compelling man during a series of lavish wedding parties.

Cover image for Separation anxiety :

Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman

A once-promising children’s book writer navigates the humbling realities of middle age and dysfunctional family life while pursuing well-intentioned but increasingly disastrous changes.

Cover image for Book lovers

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Literary agent and bookworm Nora agrees to a month-long sisters’ vacation away from the city and runs into Charlie, an editor she knows from back home.

Cover image for This time tomorrow

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Alice is 40 with an ill father and feels like something may be missing. One morning, she wakes up and she’s suddenly 16 again, in 1996.

Cover image for The maid

The Maid by Nita Prose

When she discovers the dead body of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black in his suite, hotel maid Molly Gray finds her orderly life upended as she becomes the prime suspect in the case and is caught in a web of deception that she has no idea how to unravel.

Cover image for The missing treasures of Amy Ashton

The Missing Treasures of Amy Ashton by Eleanor Ray

A collector of beautiful objects, Amy closes herself off from others until the new neighbors next door move in.

Cover image for Summer love :

Summer Love by Nancy Thayer

Old secrets come to light when four friends gather on Nantucket for a life-changing reunion.
Cover image for The way we weren't

The Way We Weren’t by Phoebe Fox

An unlikely friendship between a septuagenarian and a younger woman becomes a story of broken trust, lost love, and the unexpected blooming of hope against the longest odds.

Cover image for Remarkably bright creatures :

Remarkably Bright Creatures 

by Shelby Van Pelt

After the death of her husband, Tova Sullivan forms an unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium where she works and begins to finally uncover the truths about her son's disappearance 30 years ago.
Cover image for Miss Benson's beetle :

Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce

Leaving London behind, Margery Benson, a schoolmarm and spinster in 1950, embarks on a quest to the other side of the world in search of her childhood obsession – the golden beetle of New Caledonia – with the help of a fun-loving assistant who changes her life forever.
Cover image for People we meet on vacation

People We Meet on Vacation 

by Emily Henry

With one week to win back the best friend she might just be in love with, a travel writer plans the trip of a lifetime.

Cover image for Evvie Drake starts over :

Evvie Drake Starts Over 

by Linda Holmes

Young widow Evvie Drake and major league pitcher Dean Tenney, who has lost his game and needs a chance to reset his life, form an unlikely relationship when Dean moves into an apartment at the back of Evvie's house.
Cover image for It's not all downhill from here :

It’s Not All Downhill From Here 

by Terry McMillan

Confident that her best days are still ahead, a successful businesswoman relies on close friends and her resourcefulness when an unexpected loss turns her world upside down.

Cover image for The kitchen front :

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan

An indebted young widow, a freedom-seeking kitchen maid, the wife of a wealthy but unkind man and a trained chef navigating sexism compete for a once-in-a-lifetime spot hosting a BBC cooking program during World War II.

Cover image for Fair play

Fair Play by Tove Jansson

Portrays a love between two older women, a writer and artist, as they work side-by-side in their Helsinki studios, travel together and share summers on a remote island.

Cover image for Lessons in chemistry :

Lessons in Chemistry 

by Bonnie Garmus

In the early 1960s, chemist and single mother Elizabeth Zott, the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show due to her revolutionary skills in the kitchen, uses this opportunity to dare women to change the status quo.

Cover image for The sun is a compass :

The Sun is a Compass 

by Caroline Van Hemert

Documents the biologist adventurer's treks in the vast wilderness region spanning the Pacific rainforest through the Alaskan Arctic.

Cover image for Demon Copperhead :

Demon Copperhead 

by Barbara Kingsolver

The son of an Appalachian teenager uses his good looks, wit and instincts to survive foster care, child labor, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
Cover image for Legends & lattes :

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

A cozy fantasy book starring Viv, an orc who retires from mercenary sword fighting adventures to start her city’s first coffee shop.