What an amazing book! The writing is excellent - if you skim any of it, you'll really be doing yourself a disservice. It begins when Violet, a prison inmate, is 22, and introduces you to the other people in her prison book club, which is led by Harriet, a retire teacher whom the inmates affectionately call Bookie. You get a real feeling for what it's like to be in prison - how you're treated, how it changes how you feel about yourself, and how it changes you. You'd think that when Violet is suddenly (to her) released her troubles would be over, but they're not. Dealing with being on the Outs (which is what the women in this story call being Outside the prison) is a huge adjustment, for a variety of reasons. Luckily, she and Harriet run into each other, and Harriet takes her under her wing, just in time to meet Frank, the third major player in this story, a retired machinist and widower who has become a part time handy man at the bookstore that Harriet uses to purchase the books for the book club. The book rotates between the viewpoints of these three characters in each chapter to advance the storyline, with the name of the person you're seeing events through the eyes of as the title of each chapter, which is the best vehicle for doing so EVER! How these three people interact and deal with both each other and with the other people in their lives is nothing short of beautiful. All the characters are all multi-dimensional, fallible, and believable, and I fully intend to read every other book this author has written or will write. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This book is about second chances and new found family. It is about the power of our stories and holding space for each others' stories. It alternates between different points of view. Violet is the young woman incarcerated and Harriet, also known as "Bookie," is a retired school teacher who leads a book club for women at the prison. There is also Frank, a retired machinist who is doing some handyman work at the local bookstore and encounters these two women one day. As the story evolves, we learn how the lives of these three individuals intersect. This was an excellent read.

This story begins with Harriet (aka Bookie), a 64 year old widow who runs a book club in a women’s prison up in Maine. This is merely the beginning of the many connections with other characters, as the plot line connects them all…

Frank, the bookstore handyman and Violet, the young woman imprisoned both literally and metaphorically, crash into Harriet’s life, changing it forever. Along the way, we meet talking parrots, an abusive professor, an angry sister, as well as poems and stories to teach life lessons.

I loved Wood’s previous book, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘯𝘦-𝘐𝘯-𝘈-𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘺, and this story touched my heart as well.

I loved this book- it was such a heartfelt inspiring story that will make you believe in people (and parrots!). I wish the ending was longer but it was a beautiful read.

To put it simply, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood is a great book. The compassion the characters share is so meaningful and the book is very insightful.

How to Read a Book is the newest work of fiction by Maine author Monica Wood. Monica is the author of When We Were the Kennedys and The One in a Million Boy amongst many others. Prior to this book, I had not read much from Monica Wood, which is surprising considering we both call the beautiful state of Maine home and both love a well-told tale. Also, I once spent a Saturday at Southern Maine Community College with our Cub Scout Troop learning about 3D printing, only to discover after the fact that I had spent the day with Monica’s husband. I have not read her more famous works, I have only read and enjoyed Any Bitter Thing. I am sensing now that Monica’s gift lies in the beautiful creation of complex characters who feel so real in their good qualities and bad. She is a weaver of characters in the most delightful sense.How to Read a Book is an unexpected tale of forgiveness, humanity, and how each of our lives can begin and end many times over in the course of our lifetimes.Even the least eventful life holds an avalanche of stories.The main narrative follows the story of three people whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Harriet Larson is a retired English teacher who runs the book club at the local women’s prison. She has lost her parents and started again, lost a husband and started again, and is now facing an empty nest for the second time. Violet Powell was less than 20 when she killed a local kindergarten teacher in a drunk-driving accident. She was one of 12 voices in Harriet’s book club, and after twenty-two months in prison, she is being released early for good behavior—set free to a world that she doesn’t know and abandoned by the only family she does. Frank Daigle is a retired machinist, now a handyman at the local bookstore. Frank has not yet fully processed his emotions and the complicated facts surrounding his marriage and its end, his marriage to the woman Violet killed. Thrown together one day at a bookstore, but drawn to each other before then, the changing relationships between these three characters are simply stunning.There are three things that make this book really stand out from the crowd for me, the first being the characters created. From our three main characters to the possessive niece, the prison warden, the Russian parrot man, and the sister who lets go, these characters are fleshed out so well that, even though many of them occupy the sidelines, their worlds feel complete. I was deeply touched by this book, and I feel these characters will linger with me for some time. Most ardently I was struck by the different shades of forgiveness the characters chose to show each other or withhold from each other, by the mercy they lent each other or zealously guarded. There’s irony in Frank’s daughter singing “Depth of mercy can there be, Mercy still reserved for me” whilst withholding mercy from everyone around her. This theme of when to forgive yourself and others, and when not to, runs deeply through every story touched upon in this book, even down to the last novel studied by the book club, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, which deals with how to let go of life’s emotional possessions after death.The precious moments of beautiful forgiveness shown by certain characters are tempered by their other very human experiences and responses: guilt, betrayal, drunk driving, lust. These are imperfect people doing the best they can, and in Wood’s words, their imperfections are recreated in a believable yet inspiring way. You can feel sorry or mad at the character, whilst they are also helping you process an emotion you have felt yourself. It made me cry in all the expected moments but then also in the strangest ways. Wood uses every part of each character’s emotional makeup, warts and all, capturing so many facets of the actual human experience.Aside from how wonderful the characters and storytelling are, the sense of place is the second thing that really stands out to me. The book is a beautiful homage to a city close to my own heart. It is set in Portland, Maine, the place where I first lived in the US. This is the city in which I met my husband, where I had all three of my babies, and hosts several of my favorite bookstores, one of which forms the inspiration for the bookstore in this book. Portland is a big city in Maine terms, but it is a blip compared to most US cities. We have a handful of Starbucks, one recently closed down, but we have dozens of independent coffee places. We have no skyscrapers, but we have a working waterfront adjacent to cobbled streets. The people of Portland are kind and quirky and unexpected, very much in the way Wood portrays them in this book.Finally, the third piece of the puzzle that cements this book on my shelves: it is a book about the love of books and the people who read them.Every week they begin with an invocation: I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.I love a book about books, about bookstores, about people who love books. While this novel certainly covers all of these things and has added several titles to my own TBR pile, it is something more. It touches on how a person “should” approach a book. How twelve different women can approach the same book from twelve different places, and how each finds common ground. How a reader can be found in a bookstore… or in a prison. One of the prisoners gives voice to a thought that sticks with Harriet, or “Bookie” as they call her, and it is one that has also been niggling at me for some time. I now have words to begin processing how I have been feeling:They were stil plodding through the final pages, Brittie and Jacynta pronouncing Franny and Zooey spoiled rotten, Dawna-Lynn deciding that Franny had a breakdown only because she could afford one. These left-field opinions pleased and surprised her: Harriet had never thought of existential crisis as a luxury, but now she did.Harriet only became an English teacher after going back to school in her forties. A good English teacher can pave the way but does not have to start early. A good friend can recommend a book by love or accident. A good bookseller who shares your passion is a valuable person to know. Many of the things that Monica Wood says about reading I found myself nodding along with. However, nothing can beat the way she describes the prison book club and how the prisoners delight in their books. It creates such a simple joy, one that I feel myself on a daily basis.Every Friday, two hours, books, books, books. We get to keep them after we’re done, and that’s no small thing, a stack of triumphs under the bed.My stacks are all over the house, not under the bed, and while half of them are triumphs, half of them are promises to myself, potential friends and loves, and stories to come. And that’s no small thing.Published on May 7, 2024, by Mariner Books, I devoured this book on a flight from Maine to Chicago. But even without that confinement, I would not have been able to put this book down.I received a digital ARC of this book to review for GeekMom, but this will need to make its way to my physical bookshelf for future re-reads.How to Read a Book is the newest work of fiction by Maine author Monica Wood. Monica is the author of When We Were the Kennedys and The One in a Million Boy amongst many others. Prior to this book, I had not read much from Monica Wood, which is surprising considering we both call the beautiful state of Maine home and both love a well-told tale. Also, I once spent a Saturday at Southern Maine Community College with our Cub Scout Troop learning about 3D printing, only to discover after the fact that I had spent the day with Monica’s husband. I have not read her more famous works, I have only read and enjoyed Any Bitter Thing. I am sensing now that Monica’s gift lies in the beautiful creation of complex characters who feel so real in their good qualities and bad. She is a weaver of characters in the most delightful sense.How to Read a Book is an unexpected tale of forgiveness, humanity, and how each of our lives can begin and end many times over in the course of our lifetimes.Even the least eventful life holds an avalanche of stories.The main narrative follows the story of three people whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. Harriet Larson is a retired English teacher who runs the book club at the local women’s prison. She has lost her parents and started again, lost a husband and started again, and is now facing an empty nest for the second time. Violet Powell was less than 20 when she killed a local kindergarten teacher in a drunk-driving accident. She was one of 12 voices in Harriet’s book club, and after twenty-two months in prison, she is being released early for good behavior—set free to a world that she doesn’t know and abandoned by the only family she does. Frank Daigle is a retired machinist, now a handyman at the local bookstore. Frank has not yet fully processed his emotions and the complicated facts surrounding his marriage and its end, his marriage to the woman Violet killed. Thrown together one day at a bookstore, but drawn to each other before then, the changing relationships between these three characters are simply stunning.There are three things that make this book really stand out from the crowd for me, the first being the characters created. Fom our three main characters to the possessive niece, the prison warden, the Russian parrot man, and the sister who lets go, these characters are fleshed out so well that, even though many of them occupy the sidelines, their worlds feel complete. I was deeply touched by this book, and I feel these characters will linger with me for some time. Most ardently I was struck by the different shades of forgiveness the characters chose to show each other or withhold from each other, by the mercy they lent each other or zealously guarded. There’s irony in Frank’s daughter singing “Depth of mercy can there be, Mercy still reserved for me” whilst withholding mercy from everyone around her. This theme of when to forgive yourself and others, and when not to, runs deeply through every story touched upon in this book, even down to the last novel studied by the book club, Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, which deals with how to let go of life’s emotional possessions after death.The precious moments of beautiful forgiveness shown by certain characters are tempered by their other very human experiences and responses: guilt, betrayal, drunk driving, lust. These are imperfect people doing the best they can, and in Wood’s words, their imperfections are recreated in a believable yet inspiring way. You can feel sorry or mad at the character, whilst they are also helping you process an emotion you have felt yourself. It made me cry in all the expected moments but then also in the strangest ways. Wood uses every part of each character’s emotional makeup, warts and all, capturing so many facets of the actual human experience.Aside from how wonderful the characters and storytelling are, the sense of place is the second thing that really stands out to me. The book is a beautiful homage to a city close to my own heart. It is set in Portland, Maine, the place where I first lived in the US. This is the city in which I met my husband, where I had all three of my babies, and hosts several of my favorite bookstores, one of which forms the inspiration for the bookstore in this book. Portland is a big city in Maine terms, but it is a blip compared to most US cities. We have a handful of Starbucks, one recently closed down, but we have dozens of independent coffee places. We have no skyscrapers, but we have a working waterfront adjacent to cobbled streets. The people of Portland are kind and quirky and unexpected, very much in the way Wood portrays them in this book.Finally, the third piece of the puzzle that cements this book on my shelves: it is a book about the love of books and the people who read them.Every week they begin with an invocation: I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.I love a book about books, about bookstores, about people who love books. While this novel certainly covers all of these things and has added several titles to my own TBR pile, it is something more. It touches on how a person “should” approach a book. How twelve different women can approach the same book from twelve different places, and how each finds common ground. How a reader can be found in a bookstore… or in a prison. One of the prisoners gives voice to a thought that sticks with Harriet, or “Bookie” as they call her, and it is one that has also been niggling at me for some time. I now have words to begin processing how I have been feeling:They were stil plodding through the final pages, Brittie and Jacynta pronouncing Franny and Zooey spoiled rotten, Dawna-Lynn deciding that Franny had a breakdown only because she could afford one. These left-field opinions pleased and surprised her: Harriet had never thought of existential crisis as a luxury, but now she did.Harriet only became an English teacher after going back to school in her forties. A good English teacher can pave the way but does not have to start early. A good friend can recommend a book by love or accident. A good bookseller who shares your passion is a valuable person to know. Many of the things that Monica Wood says about reading I found myself nodding along with. However, nothing can beat the way she describes the prison book club and how the prisoners delight in their books. It creates such a simple joy, one that I feel myself on a daily basis.Every Friday, two hours, books, books, books. We get to keep them after we’re done, and that’s no small thing, a stack of triumphs under the bed.My stacks are all over the house, not under the bed, and while half of them are triumphs, half of them are promises to myself, potential friends and loves, and stories to come. And that’s no small thing.Published on May 7, 2024, by Mariner Books, I devoured this book on a flight from Maine to Chicago. But even without that confinement, I would not have been able to put this book down.I received a digital ARC of this book to review for GeekMom, but this will need to make its way to my physical bookshelf for future re-reads.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. At first I thought it was a bit contrived and predictable and then I realized that it didn’t matter; it was just the setup of the story. The characters were wonderful; at times a bit too perfect and yet completely enjoyable to get to know. The story had way more components than I expected and each one held my interest. The parts of the story that included machinery, books and African Grey parrots were terrific. I’ve added one of the books referenced to my “to read” list.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.”

Monica Wood's "How to Read a Book" is a charming and heartfelt novel about second chances, unlikely friendships, and the transformative power of books. The story follows three central characters whose lives intersect in surprising ways, all centered around a bookstore in Portland, Maine.

Violet Powell is a 22-year-old woman freshly released from prison after serving time for a drunk-driving crash that killed a local kindergarten teacher. Struggling with guilt and isolation, Violet seeks solace in the familiar comfort of books, specifically trying to finish a novel she started in the prison book club.

Harriet Larson, a retired English teacher who runs that very book club, faces the emptiness of her own life with her niece moving out. Harriet's passion for books and helping others gives her life purpose, even as she grapples with her own regrets and the feeling of being undervalued.

Frank Daigle, a retired machinist and handyman at the bookstore, is still dealing with the loss of his wife—the very woman Violet killed. Meeting Violet and Harriet sets off a chain of events that force him to confront his grief and seek new meaning in his life.

The novel is beautifully written, with Wood's trademark insight into human emotions and relationships. The characters are well-developed and relatable, each grappling with their pasts and seeking redemption in their own ways. The narrative shifts between their perspectives, weaving a compelling story of forgiveness, self-acceptance, and the power of literature to heal and inspire.

However, for me, the book was almost too sweet at times. The story leans heavily into its heartwarming themes, which, while touching, occasionally felt a bit saccharine. Despite this, the book club scenes and the discussions about the books the characters read add depth and richness to the narrative, highlighting how literature can foster empathy and understanding.

Overall, "How to Read a Book" is a moving and hopeful story that will resonate with readers who appreciate tales of personal growth and the impact of books on our lives. It left me with a smile and a sense of optimism, even if it was a tad too sentimental for my taste. 3.75 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to Mariner Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

what a wonderful, heartwarming tale of redemption. The characters feel real and the story beleivable. I will recommend to patrons and family alike

Twenty-two-year-old Violet Powell is released from prison after serving twenty-two months for a car crash that resulted in the death of the other driver. Violet, who was driving under the influence at the time, is consumed by guilt and finds it difficult to adjust to her new life in Portland - having lost her mother while serving her sentence and abandoned by her boyfriend, her remaining relatives distance themselves from her including her sister who sets her up in an apartment in Portland (away from her hometown of Abbott Falls, Maine) and tells her to stay away. While in prison, Violet was part of a book club hosted by retired English teacher Harriet Larson.

While searching for a book that she hadn’t been able to finish in prison, Violet is surprised to come across Harriet in a Portland bookstore. Harriet is sixty-four and a widow, whose children have settled abroad and her niece, who lives with her. soon to move to Berkley. Harriet has her share of regrets and often feels that she is underestimated by those around her. Harriet is a kind, compassionate soul who enjoys her time volunteering at the prison, giving the inmates a voice and a safe space to share their thoughts while discussing books.

Coincidentally, on the same day Violet meets Harriet she also encounters Frank Daigle, a sixty-eight-year-old retired machinist working as a handyman in the same bookstore who was also the husband of the woman who lost her life in the car crash. With his daughter married and settled, Frank lives alone in the home he shared with his late wife. Though he was aware of Violet’s early release from prison, he wasn’t prepared to see her in person or for the onslaught of emotions that would follow.

What follows is a transformative journey of catharsis, redemption and new beginnings.

Whenever I see a book with the image of a stack of books/ a bookstore/ a library on the cover, I’m immediately drawn to it, but rarely have I picked up a book without perusing the blurb/ description or reading a review, more so if I’ve never read anything by the author in question. Strangely enough, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood was an exception and I went into this one blind.

Let me begin by saying that this book was not what I expected. But yes, it proved to be one of the best selections I’ve made recently because it was so much more than I had hoped it would be. This is the kind of story that stays with you long after you have turned the last page. The author writes beautifully, with insight and heart, and the way she addresses complex human emotions is both realistic and relatable. The narrative is presented from the perspectives of the three characters, the different threads of the story deftly woven into a compelling narrative that was hard to put down. Though I didn’t agree with all of her choices, I felt for Violet and was invested in her journey. Frank is an endearing character and I absolutely adored Harriet, but I must say that Ollie captured my heart! The segments about the parrots were informative and entertaining in equal measure and I appreciated the Author’s Note on the nature of the research referenced in this novel. The book club segments truly enriched the novel, emphasizing the importance of empathy, kindness and how sharing perspectives on the books we read contribute to our understanding of the human condition. I enjoyed the literary references and found the discussions deeply thought-provoking.

A heartwarming and evocative story about friendship and found family, kindness, self-acceptance, forgiveness and starting over and how stories can motivate and inspire positive change, this story left me with a smile on my face and a lump in my throat! I couldn’t recommend it enough!

This was my first time reading this author, but it surely won’t be my last.

Many thanks to Mariner Books for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley, BookClubGirl, and Mariner Books for this copy of "How to Read A Book."

This is the touching story of Violet, Harriet, and Frank and how their lives intersect and become richer through reading, loving, and sharing books.

Thankfully they can see through and push past society's perceptions and expectations and genuinely connect with each other.

I wish the book had a longer ending - it felt so abrupt after getting to know and care about these characters.

If you’re in the mood for a charming story and a book that you just want to hug at the end, look no further! How to Read a Book is the first of Monica Wood’s work that I read and it just hit all the right marks for me. I can’t wait to explore a bit of her backlist!

This story is told through alternating perspectives of a young woman newly released from prison, the widowed husband of the woman she killed in a car accident, and a retired schoolteacher who runs a book club at the prison. We hear from each one of these characters over time as they go from being complete strangers to becoming intertwined in each other’s lives in the best possible way, and each one of them completely stole my heart. They’re easy to root for as they all face their own hardships and come to terms with their pasts. There are some hard themes of grief and loss, but also uplifting ones of redemption and second-chances, found family, plenty of bookishness, and even some fantastic talking parrots for good measure!

How to Read a Book was a perfect example of the books I enjoy so much that “make me think and make me feel”. The prose itself was easy to read, yet profound and thought-provoking, in a style that I can see having wide appeal. The author writes in a way that shows incredible insight into the human condition, as I felt every emotion right alongside her characters as I flipped through the pages. I’m so glad to see this one pop up on some “summer reading guides” this season, but it would honestly be a fantastic read any time of the year.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Mariner Books and Netgalley for sharing this upcoming novel. I enjoyed this story about a young woman struggling with the repercussions of an accident and prison sentence, and her found family of characters, all centered on a bookstore. I really liked the characters as many gave me that warm fuzzy feeling about them and the world. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a feel good gentle story.

The story of Harriet, Violet and Frank and how their lives intersect while finding themselves and forgiveness was heartwarming. I felt like I wanted more, although it was a nice ending. After reading the author's note in the end about the parrots, I thought that was a unique element in the story and was pleasantly surprised it was inspired by real life. I think this book would be enjoyed by book lovers, it tells a story of people coming together around books through a book club but develops into a story that intersects real life and how at times what we least expect is what we needed all along. Thank you to the Book Club Girl Early Read program for an eARC of this book.

This book was amazing!!!! Maybe my favorite of the year so far! It was so heartfelt and moving.

I think about forgiveness very differently after reading this.

The relationship between Harriet Frank and Violet was so sweet. And how do you end a book this good? Just as sweet.

Everyone should read this book!

I just adored this sweet and heartwarming book by Monica Wood. I loved Violet, Harriet and Frank and the friendship they shared. It is a book that will make you smile and leave you feeling happy. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of How to Read a Book by Monica Wood. it was such a wonderful story of forgiveness, love, redemption, and creating a family when your own abandons you. The story begins during a book club meeting in a women’s prison. The club is lead by a retired teacher named Harriet Larson, who is affectionately known as Bookie by its members. The story is primarily about Violet Powell who is released from prison shortly after the story begins., The story really takes a turn when Violet visits a local bookstore to purchase a copy of the book that she did not have the opportunity to finish before she left. This simple act of entering the bookstore, seeing not only Harriet, but also Frank, the widowed husband of the woman she killed in a car accident sets off a chain of events that changes all of their lives. The story is told in alternating viewpoints by Violet, Harriet and Frank. The characters are so well written and the story is so compelling, I could not put it down. If you are looking for your next great read, this is it. Did I mention Ollie? You will love him.

My first book from this author and i liked it well enough. The story is simple to understand and based on forgiveness. I value books and reading so anything around that I am intrigued. Each character highlighted something new about being human through their acts and the books they read. The main character is a prison inmate and that aspect is handled very thoughtfully by the author. Read this book to be steeped in compassion, human spirit, and love.

I am a huge fan of Monica Wood's The One-in-a-Million Boy, so I was ecstatic when I saw that she had a new book coming out. This book definitely did not disappoint!

This book is about a young lady that was just released from prison for a car crash while driving drunk that kills a school teacher, a retired teacher who runs a book club in the prison, and the husband of the victim. They have a chance encounter in a bookstore that starts a redemptive process for all three characters.

This is such a wonderful book of second chances! I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the advanced digital copy of the book.

One word stuck out as appearing many times in Wood’s How to Write a Book. That word is wow. And, that is also my review - WOW with capital letters!

This book! It will enrich you with sensitivity, insight and hard truths. I know that I will be recommending this book far and wide for some time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️