How to Read a Book

A Novel

By: Monica Wood

Narrated by: Eileen Stevens

"The perfect pick to really light a fire under my book club, and yours....A reminder that goodness, and books, can still win in this world." —New York Times Book Review

"A beautiful, big-hearted treasure of a novel." —Lily King

National Bestseller * From the award-winning author of The One-in-a-Million Boy comes a heartfelt, uplifting novel about a chance encounter at a bookstore, exploring redemption, unlikely friendships, and the life-changing power of sharing stories.

Our Reasons meet us in the morning and whisper to us at night. Mine is an innocent, unsuspecting, eternally sixty-one-year-old woman named Lorraine Daigle…

Violet Powell, a twenty-two-year-old from Abbott Falls, Maine, is being released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher.

Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs the prison book club, is facing the unsettling prospect of an empty nest.

Frank Daigle, a retired machinist, hasn’t yet come to grips with the complications of his marriage to the woman Violet killed.

When the three encounter each other one morning in a bookstore in Portland—Violet to buy the novel she was reading in the prison book club before her release, Harriet to choose the next title for the women who remain, and Frank to dispatch his duties as the store handyman—their lives begin to intersect in transformative ways.

How to Read a Book is an unsparingly honest and profoundly hopeful story about letting go of guilt, seizing second chances, and the power of books to change our lives. With the heart, wit, grace, and depth of understanding that has characterized her work, Monica Wood illuminates the decisions that define a life and the kindnesses that make life worth living.

"A deeply humane and touching novel; highly recommended for book clubs and fans of Shelby Van Pelt's Remarkably Bright Creatures." — Booklist

Story of redemption and love

Loved the way Monica Wood brought the characters to life! Life can be unfair, and we may make tragic mistakes, but compassionate, caring people can make it so much better.

The characters, I just finished snd I miss them already.

I enjoyed this gentle tale of love and forgiveness. As an older lady I appreciated the romance between Harriet and Frank.

So good!!!

This was my most recent book for book club and it did not disappoint! One of the best fiction books I’ve read in a long time. A great book for contemplating the complexities of life and the beauty woven with the many stories we each experience in life. I highly recommend this book - twists and turns and doesn’t disappoint!

The story…so redeeming. I loved it.

This was a story with heavy content, but somehow made you feel light and hopeful. I loved it.

Unique, lovely, heartwarming story

I liked the characters; the interwoven narrative; the unique story. This was a thoughtful, moving, well-paced read.