{"title":"Books by Meg Mason","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781474625029","title":"You Be Mother","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEVENING STANDARD\u003c\/i\u003e'S 'BEST FICTION BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2022'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat do you do, when you find the perfect family...\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e...and it's not yours?\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Rare and delightful . . . A beautifully crafted novel about female relationships. I couldn't put this book down'\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eMarie Claire\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe only thing Abi ever wanted was a proper family. So when she falls pregnant by an Australian exchange student in London, she cannot pack up her old life in Croydon fast enough, to start all over in Sydney and make her own family.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt is not until she arrives, with three-week-old Jude in tow, that Abi realises Stu is not quite ready to be a father after all. And he is the only person she knows in this hot, dazzling, confusing city, where the job of making friends is turning out to be harder than she thought.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThat is, until she meets Phyllida, her wealthy, charming, imperious older neighbour, and they become almost like mother and daughter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf only Abi had not told Phil that teeny tiny small lie, the very first day they met...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204509008050,"sku":"9781474625029","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474625029_42664edf-12f7-4dc8-80e7-22001cba9902.jpg?v=1786021110"},{"product_id":"9781474622998","title":"Sorrow and Bliss","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BOOK EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Just read it. It's unforgettable'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIndia Knight, \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'It is impossible to read this novel and not be moved. It is also impossible not to laugh out loud... Extraordinary'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Full of snappy one-liners but, at the same time, remarkably poignant'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCraig Brown\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Probably the best book you'll read this year'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Completely brilliant. I think every girl and woman should read it'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eGillian Anderson\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Exactly the book to read right now, when you need a laugh, but want to cry'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The most wonderful, heartbreakingly gorgeous novel of the year'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Day, author of \u003ci\u003eMagpie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A raucously funny, beautifully written, emotion-bashing book'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I was making a list of all the people I wanted to send it to, until I realised that I wanted to send it to everyone I know'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnn Patchett, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Dutch House\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 'One of those \"read it in one sitting and tell all your friends\" kind of books\u003ci\u003e'\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Patrick Melrose meets \u003ci\u003eFleabag\u003c\/i\u003e. Brilliant'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eClare Chambers, author of \u003ci\u003eSmall Pleasures\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful, a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man, her husband Patrick. A gift, her mother once said, not everybody gets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo why is everything broken? Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless, practically jobless and so often sad? And why did Patrick decide to leave?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaybe she is just too sensitive, someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people. Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her. Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain, at 17, and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eForced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional, bohemian parents (but without the help of her devoted, foul-mouthed sister Ingrid), Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether, maybe, by starting over, she will get to write a better ending for herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e An instant \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller and a book of the year for the \u003ci\u003eTimes \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIndependent\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Mail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eEvening Standard\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSpectator, Daily Express\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Irish Examiner, Irish Daily Mail, Metro, Critic, Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eStylist, Red\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGood Housekeeping\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43204545446066,"sku":"9781474622998","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781474622998.jpg?v=1786021063"},{"product_id":"sophie-standing-there","title":"Sophie, Standing There","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e';\u003ci\u003eSophie, Standing There\u003c\/i\u003e by Meg Mason is our October Reese's Book Club pick! A funny and tender story about loneliness, connection, and finding your way back to yourself.' \u003cb\u003eReese Witherspoon (Reese's Book Club October '26 Pick)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e';The great pleasure of this novel, aside from its depiction of Sophie coming into her own, is its celebration of reading and writers.' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA TOP TEN LIBRARY READS PICK \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e*; \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAN INDIE NEXT PICK \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e*; \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA MARIE CLAIRE, FORBES, WOMAN'S WORLD, SHE READS, AND GOODREADS MOST ANTICIPATED READ\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe ';brilliant' (Ann Patchett) and much beloved author of the critically acclaimed \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e returns with a tender and hilarious novel about heartbreak and the journey from isolation and loneliness toward love.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSophie Pattison loves books. And as well as a dream job at a local book festival, she has a husband she adores; a lifelong best friend, Emma; and a brother she's always been close to. Which makes you wonder why since Christmas Sophie has been living alone, estranged from Emma, avoiding her brother, and about to be fired.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow it feels like the only thing she has left is reading. When Sophie rediscovers an author she first read in her twenties, the words on the page reach her in a new waybecoming both solace and company. Sophie devours every one of the author's novels and begins to dream of meeting her, but knows they never will. But what if they did? What if, by then, the author feels like a friend? What if, for Sophie, it feels almost like love?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this much anticipated novel, Meg Mason captures the heartache and dark humor of our relationships in all their complexity, with a story about the power of connection and an ode to the inexplicable nature of the human heart.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e';So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it.' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eBonnie Garmus, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLessons in Chemistry\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57495462609269,"sku":"9780063493131","price":30.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780063493131.jpg?v=1793031800"},{"product_id":"sophie-standing-there-1","title":"Sophie, Standing There","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA sharp, funny and achingly tender story of obsession and loneliness from the award-winning, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eSorrow and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'So smart, so funny, so moving. I absolutely loved it' \u003c\/b\u003eBONNIE GARMUS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Heartbreaking, hilarious, and deeply hopeful. Mason is a dazzling talent' \u003c\/b\u003eANN PATCHETT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Mason is brilliant ... A witty story of infatuation set in the literary world' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSophie Pattison is a lovely person – warm, kind, relentlessly positive. She's cherished by her brother Laurie, adored by her best friend Emma and valued by her colleagues. Sometimes, it’s true, one day in her life can feel like the entire month of January. It’s also true she can go an entire day without speaking. But she's fine really. She spends her time alone reading, finding comfort in the pages of the books she devours. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUntil one day she stumbles upon an author she hasn’t read in years. Her books, interviews and podcasts soon become a lifeline; every word is a solace, company she hasn't felt in so long. It's almost like love.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA lot like love. And Sophie would love to meet the author, although she never will obviously. In a way, thank goodness, because that would change everything. Sophie's entire life. Wouldn’t it? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHilariously candid and raw, \u003ci\u003eSophie, Standing There\u003c\/i\u003e is a bittersweet story of love, loneliness and finding connection in the most unlikely of places.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Heartwarming, tender and so funny ... 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