Open Books Challenge 2026: With a Character who Works at Your Job or at Your Dream Job

The Open Books Reading Challenge is a year-long reading challenge for people interested in pushing the boundaries of their reading. For full details of the program, please check-out our page at: https://www.rplmn.org/books-more/discover-more/open-books-reading-challenge

These are some ideas that fit the category "With a character who works at your job or your dream job."

Happy Reading!

Updated December 31, 2025
RPL Staff
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A dress of violet taffeta
Arlen, Tessa
Paper Book
A sumptuous novel based on the fascinating true story of La Belle poque icon Lucy, Lady Duff Gordon, who shattered the boundaries of fashion with her magnificently sensual and enchantingly unique design from the USA Today bestselling author of In Royal Service to the Queen.
The collected regrets of Clover
Brammer, Mikki
Paper Book
USA Today Bestseller * Best Book of 2023 by NPR "This weird, lovely and sweetly satisfying novel [is] engaging and accessible...Clover's emergence from a shuttered life is moving enough to elicit tears, and Brammer's take on death and grieving is profound...
Vinny gets a job
Brodner, Terry
Paper Book
The Secret Life of Pets meets Amelia Bedelia in this witty and sweet debut picture book about an overly-literal pup trying his paw at several different jobs and the hilarious mishaps that ensue. When Vinny the dog decides he should get a job to contribute to his family, he...
A deadly inside scoop
Collette, Abby
Ebook
Tooth and nail : the making of a female fight doctor
Dahl, Linda
Ebook
A Boston Globe Best Sports Book of 2018 A fearless and exhilarating memoir of a surgeon who became one of the first female ringside boxing doctors in New York City, for fans of Judy Melinek, Pauline Chen and Atul Gawande Fresh out of medical school, Linda Dahl began her...
Well traveled
DeLuca, Jen
Paper Book
Lulu Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right until the day she realises it's all wrong. Lulu's cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, she leaps into the welcoming environment. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova...
Smoke gets in your eyes : and other lessons from the crematory
Doughty, Caitlin
Paper Book
In this "morbid and illuminating" (Entertainment Weekly) New York Times bestseller that launched the death positive movement, a young mortician goes behind the scenes of her curious profession. Armed with a degree in medieval history and a flair for the macabre, Caitlin...
One for the money
Evanovich, Janet.
Paper Book
Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie's opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey. She's a product of the "burg," a blue-collar pocket of...
Be ready when the luck happens : a memoir
Garten, Ina
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * In her long-awaited memoir, Ina Garten--aka the Barefoot Contessa, author of thirteen bestselling cookbooks, beloved Food Network personality, Instagram sensation, and cultural icon--shares her personal story with readers hungry for a seat at her table....
Olga dies dreaming
Gonzalez, Xochitl
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · WINNER OF THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY PRIZE * INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD FINALIST A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social...
Great big beautiful life
Henry, Emily
Paper Book
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry. As...
All creatures great and small
Herriot, James.
Paper Book
Twenty years ago, St. Martin's Press published a volume of memoirs by an unknown Scottish veterinarian named James Herriot. Its title wasAll Creatures Great and Small. Within a year, the book had become recognized as a masterpiece. In the two decades that have followed, James...
Wine girl : the obstacles, humiliations, and triumphs of America's youngest sommelier
James, Victoria (Sommelier)
Paper Book
An affecting memoir from the country's youngest sommelier, tracing her path through the glamorous but famously toxic restaurant world  At just twenty-one, the age when most people are starting to drink (well, legally at least), Victoria James became the...
For the record
Jennings, Regina
Paper Book
Jennings Offers Another Delightful Blend of History and Romance Betsy Huckabee might be a small-town girl, but she has big-city dreams. Writing for her uncle's newspaper will never lead to independence, and the bigger newspapers don't seem interested in the Hart County news. Trying a...
Shark lady : the true story of how Eugenie Clark became the ocean's most fearless scientist
Keating, Jess
Paper Book
One of New York Times' Twelve Books for Feminist Boys and Girls! This is the story of a woman who dared to dive, defy, discover, and inspire. This is the story of Shark Lady. One of the best science picture books for children, Shark Lady is a must for both teachers and parents alike!
Euphoria : a novel
King, Lily.
Paper Book
From New England Book Award winner Lily King comes a breathtaking novel about three young anthropologists of the '30's caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives. English anthropologist Andrew Bankson has been alone in the...
Incredible jobs you've (probably) never heard of
Labarre, Natalie
Paper Book
Do you know what you want to do when you grow up? Why not work as a babysitter . . . for sloths? Or become a farmer . . . of corpses? You might even grow up to be someone who gets paid to actually sleep on the job! From taste testers to dinosaur dusters, there are all kinds of incredible jobs that...
Goldie Vance. Volume one
Larson, Hope
Ebook
CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME! Thanks to a serendipitous conflagration of events, Goldie, Diane, and Cheryl find themselves jetsetting to sunny Los Angeles! While Cheryl pursues space dreams at JPL and Diane continues her work as a remote scout for a music label, Goldie spends her days getting lost in the...
For the record : a novel
Lord, Emma
An electrifying rom com of rivalry and redemption, perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Daisy Jones and the Six, from New York Times bestselling author Emma Lord. Once the most notorious rivals in the music scene, pop princess Mackenzie Waters and punk rockstar...
Arsenic and adobo
Manansala, Mia P.
Paper Book
In the small town of Shady Palms, Illinois, Lila Macapagal and her relatives run Tita Rosie's Kitchen, serve delicious Flipino dishes, and solve crimes on the side.
Madame Tussaud : a novel of the French revolution
Moran, Michelle.
Paper Book
The world knows Madame Tussaud as a wax artist extraordinaire . . . but who was this woman who became one of the most famous sculptresses of all time? In these pages, her tumultuous and amazing story comes to life as only Michelle Moran can tell it. The year is 1788, and a revolution is about to...
On rotation : a novel
Obuobi, Shirlene
Paper Book
AS SEEN ON GOOD MORNING AMERICA! ONE OF TEEN VOGUE'S 25 BOOKS BY BLACK AUTHORS THEY CAN'T WAIT TO READ THIS YEAR ONE OF BETCHES' "22 BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ THIS YEAR" "As a fan of Grey's Anatomy (and Chicago Med!), I couldn't put down On Rotation, and you won't be able to,...
Keeping you safe : a book about police officers
Owen, Ann
Audiobook
Under lock & skeleton key
Pandian, Gigi
Paper Book
"Wildly entertaining." --The New York Times Book Review A Lefty Nominee for Best Mystery Novel Known for her wonderfully addictive characters, multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian introduces her newest heroine in this heartfelt series debut. Under Lock...
Below stairs : the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired Upstairs, downstairs and Downton Abbey
Powell, Margaret
Paper Book
Brilliantly evoking the long-vanished world of masters and servants portrayed in Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs, Margaret Powell's classic memoir of her time in service, Below Stairs, is the remarkable true story of an indomitable woman who, though she served in the...
Killers of a certain age
Raybourn, Deanna
Paper Book
They've spent their lives as assassins in a clandestine international organization, but at 60 years old, four women find they can't just retire - it's kill or be killed in this book by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn. Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie...
Garlic and sapphires : the secret life of a critic in disguise
Reichl, Ruth.
Paper Book
GARLIC AND SAPPHIRES is Ruth Reichl's riotous account of the many disguises she employs to dine anonymously. There is her stint as Molly Hollis, a frumpy blond with manicured nails and an off-beige Armani suit that Ruth takes on when reviewing Le Cirque. The result: her famous double review...
Carrie Soto is back : a novel
Reid, Taylor Jenkins
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "An epic adventure about a female athlete perhaps past her prime, brought back to the tennis court for one last grand slam" (Elle), from the author of Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Jackaby
Ritter, William
Paper Book
"Sherlock Holmes crossed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer." --Chicago Tribune Newly arrived in New Fiddleham, New England, 1892, and in need of a job, Abigail Rook meets R. F. Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained with a keen eye for the extraordinary--including the...
Luck and last resorts
Ruiz, Sarah Grunder
Paper Book
One of PopSugar's Best New Books of 2022! They have a second chance at love, but there are some rough seas ahead in the new contemporary romance from the acclaimed author of Love, Lists, and Fancy Ships. Commitment-phobe Nina Lejeune lives by two rules- ...
The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures
Selznick, Brian.
Paper Book
Don't miss Selznick's other novels in words and pictures, Wonderstruck and The Marvels, which together with The Invention of Hugo Cabret, form an extraordinary thematic trilogy!2008 Caldecott Medal winnerThe groundbreaking debut novel from bookmaking pioneer, Brian Selznick!<...
Unusual and awesome jobs in math : stunt coordinator, cryptologist, and more
Simons, Lisa M. Bolt
Paper Book
Fascinating facts, figures, and pictures highlight informative text about some of the most interesting and extreme jobs that use math. Young readers will learn what kind of training it takes to be a stunt coordinator, how much money a cryptologist makes, and what exactly a fluid mechanics engineer...
Romantic comedy : a novel
Sittenfeld, Curtis
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK * A comedy writer thinks she's sworn off love, until a dreamy pop star flips the script on all her assumptions--a "smart, sophisticated, and fun" (Oprah Daily) novel from the author of Eligible, Rodham, and Prep....
The bartender's cure
Straton, Wesley
Paper Book
"Compelling... [A] sure-bet read-alike for Stephanie Danler's Sweetbitter." --Booklist A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by BuzzFeed, Goodreads, Electric Lit, New York Post, LitHub, BookRiot, and Library Journal A fiercely relatable coming...
The Baby-sitters club. 01, Kristy's great idea
Telgemeier, Raina
Paper Book
A graphic novel adapted and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling, multiple Eisner Award-winning author of Smile! Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey are best friends and founding members of The Baby-sitters Club. Whatever comes up -- cranky toddlers,...
Paper girls
Vaughan, Brian K.
Paper Book
Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang's Eisner Award winning series PaperGirls is coming Amazon Prime Video in July 2022! From Brian K. Vaughan,#1 New York Times bestselling writer of SAGA, and Cliff Chiang, legendary artistof WONDER WOMAN, comes the first volume of an all-new...
Every time you hear that song
Voris, Jenna
Paper Book
"Beautifully explores the high and low notes of fame. . . . A must-read for anyone who loves layered characters, true-to-life personalities, and country music!"--Jason June, New York Times best-selling author Perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and...
The breakaway : a novel
Weiner, Jennifer
Paper Book
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner comes a warmhearted and empowering new novel about love, family, friendship, secrets, and a life-changing journey. Thirty-three-year-old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead...
The Devil wears Prada
Weisberger, Lauren
Ebook
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * THE INSPIRATION FOR THE HIT MOVIE STARRING MERYL STREEP AND ANNE HATHAWAY * DON'T MISS THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2, COMING SOON TO THEATERS! "The degree to which The Devil Wears Prada has penetrated pop culture needs no...
The bookbinder : a novel
Williams, Pip
Paper Book
A young British woman working in a book bindery gets a chance to pursue knowledge and love when World War I upends her life in this new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick The Dictionary of Lost Words. "Williams spins an...
Call the midwife : a memoir of birth, joy, and hard times
Worth, Jennifer
Paper Book
The highest-rated drama in BBC history, Call the Midwife will delight fans of Downton Abbey Viewers everywhere have fallen in love with this candid look at post-war London. In the 1950s, twenty-two-year-old Jenny Lee leaves her comfortable home to move into a...
Interior Chinatown
Yu, Charles
Paper Book
NOW A HULU ORIGINAL SERIES * NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER * "A shattering and darkly comic send-up of racial stereotyping in Hollywood" (Vanity Fair) and a deeply personal novel about race, pop culture, immigration, assimilation, and escaping the roles we...

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