A new novel by Ann Patchett is always something to celebrate, and her most recent, Tom Lake, may be our favorite one yet. We’ll be meeting at the shop at 6:30 on the last Thursday of the month (September 28) and we’d love to see you there! There’s no charge - we just ask that you buy your book from us.

This is a beautiful, funny, moving story about family, love lost and won, and memories - with, perhaps, just a wistful twist of what-might-have-been. Ann Patchett is at the top of her powers here. Both hopeful and elegiac, Tom Lake explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety. All of which is to say: we’re going to have a lot to talk about.

Ann Patchett is the author of novels, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize in the U.K., and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. TIMEmagazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.