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
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...
All this could be different
Mathews, Sarah Thankam
Paper Book
2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture,...
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...
Love & saffron : a novel of friendship, food, and love
Fay, Kim
Paper Book
The Instant National Bestseller and #1 Indie Next Pick In the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best...
A man called Ove
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks! #1 New York Times bestseller--more than 3 million copies sold! Meet Ove. He's a curmudgeon--the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside...
A nearby country called love
Abdoh, Salar
Paper Book
Amid the alleyways of the Zamzam neighborhood of Tehran, a woman lights herself on fire in a desperate act of defiance, setting off a chain reaction of violence and protest. Haunted by the woman's death, Issa is forced to confront the contradictions within his own family as his brother Hashem, a...
Pianos and Flowers
McCall Smith, Alexander
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
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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