Kindness and community books for adults

If you're working on our February SweetBean challenge and looking for related reading recommendations, look no further! Here are some books that center kindness and community for adults.

Looking for lists for other age groups? Check out the teen list here.

Check out the picture book list here.

Check out the chapter book list here.

Updated February 1, 2024
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The alchemist : a story about following your dream
Coelho, Paulo.
Paper Book
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky." Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams." Every few...
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Shaffer, Mary Ann.
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NOW A NETFLIX FILM * A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. "Treat yourself to this book, please--I can't recommend it highly enough."--Elizabeth Gilbert,...
The librarianist : a novel
deWitt, Patrick
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER From bestselling and award-winning author Patrick deWitt comes the story of Bob Comet, a man who has lived his life through and for literature, unaware that his own experience is a poignant and affecting narrative in itself.  Bob Comet is a retired librarian...
A man called Ove
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller Meet Ove. Heâe(tm)s a curmudgeon âe" the kind of man who points at people he dislikes. He has staunch principlesâes strict routinesâes and a short fuse. People call him âeoethe bitter neighbor from hell.âe? But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So...
Pianos and flowers : brief encounters of the romantic kind
McCall Smith, Alexander 1948-
Paper Book
A delightful collection of stories and photographs from the best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, imagining the lives and loves of everyday people in the twentieth century Pictures capture moments in time, presenting the viewer with a window into...
The printed letter bookshop
Reay, Katherine 1970-
Paper Book
Books. Love. Friendship. Second chances. All can be found at the Printed Letter Bookshop in the small, charming town of Winsome. One of Madeline Cullen's happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the...
The story of Arthur Truluv : a novel
Berg, Elizabeth
Paper Book
"I dare you to read this novel and not fall in love with Arthur Truluv. His story will make you laugh and cry, and will show you a love that never ends, and what it means to be truly human."--Fannie Flagg An emotionally powerful novel about three people who each lose the one they...

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