{"product_id":"meeting-new-people","title":"Meeting New People","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Wry and empathetic ... Barbara is an endlessly companionable narrator, especially in her moments of self-awareness. ... Thanks to Lavery's sharp-tongued heroine, this one leaves a mark.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Often hilarious ... Barbara's prickly personality illuminates Lavery's exploration of who is worthy of our love and attention and why friendship is so often a zero-sum game. Utterly human: funny, sad, happy, questioning.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A sensitive and funny look at a demographic that is often ignored. ... Readers will cheer for Barbara as she tries to be a better, more open person while still remaining true to herself.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A character driven novel full of witty observations about friendship, relationships, growing older and living in a complicated and contradictory world ... Lavery has crafted a character one can't help rooting for, despite her flaws. ... \u003ci\u003eMeeting New People\u003c\/i\u003e is not so much about Barbara meeting new people as it is about us meeting Barbara, and feeling like we understand our own lives just a little better for having known her. Isn't that what real friendship is truly about?\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMidbrow\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Daniel Lavery's \u003ci\u003eMeeting New People\u003c\/i\u003e is absolutely brilliant, full of the honesty and humor that made me fall in love with Laurie Colwin's work. It weaves so many complex elements of the human condition (friendship! family! mortality! food!) but in the most unexpected and refreshing ways, until I found myself nearly crying with the desire to hold onto this book as long as I could.\" - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKevin Wilson, New York Times-bestselling author of Run for the Hills\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMeeting New People\u003c\/i\u003e is absolutely brilliant ... I found myself nearly crying with the desire to hold onto this book as long as I could.\"--Kevin Wilson, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eRun for the Hills\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of the national bestseller \u003ci\u003eWomen's Hotel\u003c\/i\u003e, the irresistible and wildly entertaining story of one woman contending with age and friendship--a narrative that reads like an homage to Nora Ephron's \u003ci\u003eHeartburn.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFiftysomething, twice-divorced Barbara is at a crossroads. In the midst of her emotional uncertainty, she looks back on the dissolution of the nine best friendships of her life, in hopes of figuring out how to optimize finding her tenth, and hopefully last, best friend. Barbara is acerbic, opinionated, and wrong about many things, but she also doesn't shy away when she's at fault. The turning point of her predicament comes from Barbara's choice, in friends, between (too-young) Caitlyn and the (unsuitable) Other Barbara. Will she repeat the exciting mistakes of the past, or will she try a new kind of mistake for a change? She feels like an out-of-season Scrooge who is unexpectedly, and all at once, surprised and entirely transformed by the possibility of joy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor readers who loved Bobby Finger's \u003ci\u003eThe Old Place\u003c\/i\u003e and Elif Batuman's \u003ci\u003eEither\/Or\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMeeting New People\u003c\/i\u003e will feel like a long-lost companion--Lavery at the height of his storytelling powers. It is an unforgettable novel from one of our most inventive and brilliant writers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/20\/2026 (EAN 9780063425880, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780063425880, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/15\/2026 (EAN 9780063425880, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eLavery, Daniel M\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDaniel M. Lavery\u003c\/strong\u003e is a former Dear Prudence advice columnist at \u003cem\u003eSlate, \u003c\/em\u003e the cofounder of \u003cem\u003eThe Toast\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eTexts from Jane Eyre\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Merry Spinster\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eSomething That May Shock and Discredit You\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eWomen's Hotel\u003c\/em\u003e. He also writes the popular newsletter \u003cem\u003eThe Chatner\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Harpervia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496237728022,"sku":"9780063425880","price":31.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780063425880.jpg?v=1783057863","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/meeting-new-people","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}