Adventurous

"When her notorious, hilarious, volatile, talented, troubled, and agoraphobic mother goes missing, teenage Bee begins a trip that takes her to the ends of the earth to find her."

"A powerful, blazingly honest memoir: the story of an eleven-hundred-mile solo hike that broke down a young woman reeling from catastrophe—and built her back up again."

Cheerful

"a luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium..."

"From teaching you how to escape the happiness trap to finding just the right kind of fun for you, to spreading the fun to your friends and family, Rucker will inspire you to incorporate a bias toward fun into every aspect of your life."

Calm

"Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven."

"Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence."

Silly

"A moving and uproarious novel about a woman who finds meaning in her life when she begins caring for two children with remarkable and disturbing abilities."

"Presents a history of humor that tells the story of how comedy came to rule the modern world."

Mysterious

"Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. To keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper. One evening, while out swimming in the Thames..."

"One museum, two thieves, and the Boston underworld--the story behind the lost Gardner masterpieces worth $500 million and the art detective who swore to get them back."

Curious

"Encompassing fiction, poetry, science and science fiction, memoir, travel writing, biography, children's books, history, and more, 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die moves across cultures and through time to present an eclectic collection of titles, each described with the special enthusiasm readers summon when recommending a book to a friend."

"The creator of Yale University's popular 'Genius Course' examines how fourteen key habits of genius, from curiosity and creative maladjustment to rebelliousness and obsession, have been effectively demonstrated by history's most influential and change-promoting intellectuals."

Nostalgic

"Recalling the past at her daughters' request, Lara tells the story of a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance, which causes her daughters to examine their own lives and reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew."

"The CEO of the Happiness Institute explores how we can learn to create happy memories and do better at holding onto them."

Dark

"When a patron's death in the library bathroom gives her a hint of Margo's mysterious past, Patricia can't resist digging deeper--even as this new fixation becomes all-consuming."

"Erika Engelhaupt, founding editor of National Geographic's Gory Details blog, explores oft-ignored but alluring facets of biology, anatomy, space exploration, nature, and more. Featuring reporting and interviews with leading researchers in the field, Gory Details illuminates the world's most intriguing real-world applications of science."

Romantic

"Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope."

"The Love Prescription distills the data they have gathered over the past fifty years on more than three thousand couples (everything from their body language to the way they converse to their heart rates and stress hormone levels) into a seven-day action plan to transform your relationship."