Books like 'Picnic, Lightning'
Readers who enjoyed Picnic, Lightning by Billy Collins also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary humor literary-fiction drama
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The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsRevised from the rather long original complete works of Shakespeare, this abridged version is written by three Americans, with no qualifications worth speaking of. The playtext is reproduced here with footnotes which will be of no help to anyone and a letter from the authors to the Queen... -
![Tudo é rio by Carla Madeira]()
Tudo é rio by Carla Madeira
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPor este livro passa um rio. Em sua correnteza, a obsessão de três personagens que não sabem desistir. Com uma narrativa profundamente sensível, Carla Madeira nos convida para uma aventura corajosa pela natureza humana, em toda a sua complexidade... -
![The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório]()
The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLife under Brazil’s brutal “cordial racism” comes painfully alive in this novel of fathers and sons. How do you become the protagonist of your own life? For Pedro, it means searching for his murdered father in the objects he left behind―an archeology of affections... -
![The Summer Escape by Hannah Ellis]()
The Summer Escape by Hannah Ellis
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCould it be more than just a holiday romance?Single-mother Beth desperately needs a break.Grieving the loss of her mother, she sets off to the Isles of Scilly with her five-year-old daughter, Ellie.Their holiday cottage is utterly charming, but it’s meeting Trystan – the owner of the cottage – that makes Beth’s stay so perfect... -
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![Finding Love by Judith Keim]()
Finding Love by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAs Regan Sullivan continues to work with her sisters, Sheena and Darcy, to meet their Uncle Gavin’s challenge to make the Salty Key Inn a success, she wonders why she can never find the man of her dreams. Her sisters are happily settled with men they love... -
![Finding Family by Judith Keim]()
Finding Family by Judith Keim
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSheena Sullivan Morelli and her sisters, Darcy and Regan, work to complete their Uncle Gavin’s challenge of turning his rundown hotel into a profitable operation within one year. Winning means earning a share in their uncle’s sizable estate. More than that, it determines how they’ll spend the rest of their lives. Sheena wants to stay on at the hotel, overseeing the hotel operation... -
![All for Victory by Beverley Watts]()
All for Victory by Beverley Watts
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIf you’re looking for the perfect holiday read, with lots of romance and laugh out loudcomedy, then curl up with the latest entry in the Dartmouth Diaries...It’s not often that a fledgling career in Event Management kicks off with the wedding of a Hollywood superstar... -
![Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan]()
Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsYou're six years old. Mum's in hospital. Dad says she's 'done something stupid'. She finds it hard to be happy.So you start to make a list of everything that's brilliant about the world. Everything that's worth living for.1. Ice Cream2. Kung Fu Movies3. Burning Things4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose5. Construction cranes6. MeYou leave it on her pillow... -
![Kurt by Sarah Kuttner]()
Kurt by Sarah Kuttner
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsVon der Suche nach Familie, der Sehnsucht nach dem richtigen Ort und darüber, dass nichts davon planbar ist"Ich bin mit zwei Kurts zusammengezogen. Einem ganzen Kurt und einem Halbtagskurt. Jana und Kurt haben sich entschieden, dass sie ihr Sorgerecht teilen, vor allem wenn Kurt schon extra aufs Land zieht... -
![The Lost House of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary]()
The Lost House of Ireland by Susanne O'Leary
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAn enchanting story about forgotten family secrets that will transport you to the charming village of Sandy Cove on the beautiful Irish coast.Allegra Casey is searching for a new beginning. So when she discovers an engagement ring buried in the sand near her home in Cape Cod, the last place she expects it to lead her is to the west coast of Ireland... -
![He Said Forever by Ruth Cardello]()
He Said Forever by Ruth Cardello
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom New York Times, bestselling author Ruth Cardello comes an emotional romance about love, loss, and second chances.Jared’s childhood was so ugly he changed his name to free himself from it. He fought his way out of poverty and earned his success, but all that isn’t enough when his past catches up to him.Michawn isn’t looking for love when she meets Jared... -
![The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel]()
The Collected Stories by Amy Hempel
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Collected Stories of Amy Hempel gathers together the complete work of a writer whose voice is as singular and astonishing as any in American fiction. Hempel, fiercely admired by writers and reviewers, has a sterling reputation that is based on four very short collections of stories, roughly fifteen thousand stunning sentences, written over a period of nearly three decades...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction adult anthologies contemporary female-author fiction university -
![Easter on Lovelace Lane by Alice Ross]()
Easter on Lovelace Lane by Alice Ross
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSeventeen-year-old Dillon Delaney’s life might be far from perfect, but it’s one he’s grown accustomed to. Which is why, when his mother announces her ‘most fabulous idea’ of dispatching him to Lovelace Lane to stay with a grandad he barely knows, he has more than a few reservations... -
![The Permanence of Pain by Desiree Lafawn]()
The Permanence of Pain by Desiree Lafawn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo broken people don’t make a whole. But together, they might have a chance at redemption. Regina O’Shea is used to being tested. As a talented salesperson and strong-willed woman in a male-dominated industry, she has to be prepared for whatever they throw at her. But losing her lover to her good friend and client is the one thing she never expected—and her walls start coming down... -
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![Stolen by You by Lindsey Hart]()
Stolen by You by Lindsey Hart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsInfiltrating Mr. Hotshot's house in the middle of the night?Yes, that was the plan.Getting my hands on his family jewels?Definitely what I was going for.And I mean actual jewelry, not the other round ball kind of things, alright.Now, catching the guy practically naked in his house?Oh God, definitely not what was supposed to happen... -
![Véspera by Carla Madeira]()
Véspera by Carla Madeira
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNovo romance da autora do fenômeno Tudo é rio, Véspera retoma a escrita brilhante e contagiante de Carla Madeira, que desperta todo tipo de emoção no leitor. Carla Madeira cria personagens que parecem estar vivos diante de nós. As emoções que sentem são palpáveis e suas reações, autênticas. Temos a sensação de conhecê-los de perto, inclusive as contradições e os pontos cegos... -
![Los nombres propios by Marta Jiménez Serrano]()
Los nombres propios by Marta Jiménez Serrano
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratings¿Quién es Belaundia Fu? Es la mejor amiga de Marta a los siete años: la amiga invisible que, en esos momentos en que las cosas no salen como había planeado y ni siquiera la abuela es capaz de consolarla, se sienta con ella y espera hasta que se le pase... -
![Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein]()
Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDrama, American Literature, Gay and Lesbian Studies, PlaysTorch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970 and 1980s... -
![Have a Nice Day by Billy Crystal]()
Have a Nice Day by Billy Crystal
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHave a Nice Day features a live multi-cast script reading captured over two evenings at Minetta Lane Theatre in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village... -
![The Brotherhood of the Grape by John Fante]()
The Brotherhood of the Grape by John Fante
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHenry Molise, a 50 year old, successful writer, returns to the family home to help with the latest drama; his aging parents want to divorce. Henry's tyrannical, brick laying father, Nick, though weak and alcoholic, can still strike fear into the hearts of his sons. His mother, though ill and devout to her Catholicism, still has the power to comfort and confuse her children... -
![A Natureza da Mordida by Carla Madeira]()
A Natureza da Mordida by Carla Madeira
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsA Natureza da Mordida, segundo livro de Carla Madeira, autora de “Tudo é rio”, é um livro sobre a amizade. É sobretudo um livro marcado pelo amor à literatura. Olívia e Biá, as duas protagonistas da história, se encontram pela primeira vez num pequeno sebo improvisado... -
![The Mustachioed Woman of Shanghai by Isham Cook]()
The Mustachioed Woman of Shanghai by Isham Cook
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWant to know what's really going on with relationships in China today? It is the Shanghai of courtesans and concubines, danger and decadence, updated to 2020. American expat author Isham Cook has disappeared... -
![Live for Me by Emma Thomas]()
Live for Me by Emma Thomas
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwenty-seven-year-old Ophelia Lux Taylor is feisty and driven; she also happens to have bipolar disorder. Although she's had her ups and downs, life is good now: she lives with her twin brother, Onyx, and another friend in an artsy community in Cincinnati and is pursuing a master's degree in psychology... -
![A Love Story by David Weaver]()
A Love Story by David Weaver
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"A ground-breaking literary masterpiece!" -{Sentinel Daily} Independent writing phenom David Weaver has a dazzling gift for creating emotional, tear-inducing scenes even for the most stone faced reader. Quick witted, poetic, and written with a razor sharp prose that will have you reciting entire paragraphs to your friends. A masterful blend of erotica and emotions... -
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![Suddenly More by JA Low]()
Suddenly More by JA Low
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Dirty Texas Novella He was everything she was looking for... Sienna Hayes wasn’t looking for love, especially not with ladies man, Evan Wyld, guitarist for Dirty Texas. Not until she found the tatted up rockstar naked in her bed. What started off as a bit of fun suddenly turned into a second chance at love. She was everything he was ready for.. -
![The Man You Meet in Heaven by Debbie Viggiano]()
The Man You Meet in Heaven by Debbie Viggiano
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA fabulous feel-good read from the bestselling author of What Holly’s Husband Did. When Hattie Green pops to the shop one afternoon, she never expects her life to flash before her eyes between the tins of baked beans and a special offer on sliced white... -
![Australian Obsession by Flora Ferrari]()
Australian Obsession by Flora Ferrari
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMy brother’s best friend is an inked bad boy from Australia…and I’m completely obsessed.I decide to escape the cold of the Northern Hemisphere’s brutal winter to get closer to the older man of my dreams... -
![The Collected Plays, Vol. 1 by Neil Simon]()
The Collected Plays, Vol. 1 by Neil Simon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis first volume of The Collected Plays of Neil Simon contains the triumphs that put his unique brand of comic genius on the American stage, and made him the most successful playwright of his generation... -
![Rhoda: A Life in Stories by Ellen Gilchrist]()
Rhoda: A Life in Stories by Ellen Gilchrist
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOver the past ten years, Gilchrist fans have enjoyed glimpses of headstrong, redheaded Rhoda in five previous collections. Here, for the first time, are the collected Rhoda stories - including two new ones - offering a full-blown portrait of a woman worth waiting for: one of contemporary literature's most enchanting characters, in all her wicked glory... -
![Einstein's Beach House by Jacob M. Appel]()
Einstein's Beach House by Jacob M. Appel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA couple adopts a depressed hedgehog; a stranger shows up, claiming to be the father of a girl's imaginary friend; a woman kidnaps her ex-husband's turtle; a family is evicted from their home, but was it ever really theirs? Heartbreaking and hilarious, the eight stories of Einstein's Beach House examine how we deceive ourselves and others, all to arrive at something far more real... -
![Les v domě by Alena Mornštajnová]()
Les v domě by Alena Mornštajnová
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsŘíkají jí Cácora a vypadá to, že je na světě nedopatřením a jakoby navíc. Otec kamsi zmizel při povodních, matka utíká před odpovědností k milencům a alkoholu — a Cácora zůstala viset na krku nevraživé babičce, která obhospodařuje zahradnictví a je přesvědčená o tom, že všechno špatné lze v životě jednoduše vyhubit jako žravé plzáky. Nebo o tom prostě nemluvit... -
![Padma River Boatman by Manik Bandopadhyay]()
Padma River Boatman by Manik Bandopadhyay
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFishing life along the coastline of the Padma and its bitsy melancholic account of intense physical, helpless yet illusory tale. Kuber's struggles, Kapila's voluptuous youth like the rainfilled Padma and the presence of a mysterious man, Hasan Mia, make and break the narrative with tweaks that are deep, covert and sudden like hidden currents... -
![Life, Death and Vanilla Slices by Jenny Eclair]()
Life, Death and Vanilla Slices by Jenny Eclair
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJean Collins is in a coma. She stepped out into the middle of the road without looking and was run over by a motorbike. But what had distracted her? And why was she carrying a box of vanilla slices? For Jean's daughter Anne, these questions are the least of her concern... -
![Saint Richard Parker by Merlin Franco]()
Saint Richard Parker by Merlin Franco
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHis search for love and enlightenment across India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia...Ace businessman, writer, and investigative journalist Richard Parker loses his job when he exposes the vegetarian CEO of his newspaper as a beef exporter. Accused of misconduct and forced to dissolve his company, he retreats to his wretched little village... -
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![Milea: Suara Dari Dilan by Pidi Baiq]()
Milea: Suara Dari Dilan by Pidi Baiq
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratings“Dilan memberi penggambaran lain dari sebuah penaklukan cinta & bagaimana indahnya cinta sederhana anak zaman dahulu.” @refaniris“Cuma satu yang kuinginkan, aku ingin cowok seperti Dilan.” @_SLovaFC“Dilan brengsek! Dia selalu tahu caranya menjadi pusat perhatian, bahkan ketika jadi buku, setiap serinya selalu ditunggu.” @Tedy_Pensil“Membaca Dilan itu seperti jatuh cinta lagi, lagi, dan lagi... -
![Mr. Charming (Not) by Lindsey Hart]()
Mr. Charming (Not) by Lindsey Hart
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsYou know that dream you have about a Charming Prince sweeping you right off your feet with a kiss?Well, that happened.Except I'm the one who smacked that kiss right on Mr. Charming,Without his permission.Oh, and I also found out right after that he is actually my new boss.And the world's most notorious playboy.Way to go, Emily.Time to get fired... -
![The Sense of Touch by Ron Parsons]()
The Sense of Touch by Ron Parsons
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNamed to Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2014Sprung from the variously lush, rugged, and frozen emotional landscapes of the north country, this luminous collection of stories captures the progress of a diverse ensemble of souls as they struggle to uncover themselves and negotiate a meaningful communion, of any kind, with the world around them... -
![All Hat by Brad Smith]()
All Hat by Brad Smith
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratings“All Hat is a winner all the way.” — The Globe and Mail Ray Dokes is fresh out of prison and fresh out of options… He’s determined to turn his life around and stay out of trouble, but that means avoiding Sonny Stanton – the rich and violent heir of a thoroughbred dynasty Two horses – one an arrogant creature that’ll bite you as soon as you look away, the other gentle and friendly... -
![Abbott Awaits: A Novel by Chris Bachelder]()
Abbott Awaits: A Novel by Chris Bachelder
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA quiet tour de force, Abbott Awaits transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, startlingly depicting the intense and poignant challenges of a vulnerable, imaginative father as he lives his everyday American existence... -
![SOMEWHERE INSIDE OF HAPPY by McPartlin Anna]()
SOMEWHERE INSIDE OF HAPPY by McPartlin Anna
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMaisie Bean is a fighter. A survivor. Seventeen years ago, she went on a first date that went so badly it was enough to put the girl off chips. The marriage that followed was hell but it gave her two children: funny, caring Jeremy and bullish but brilliant Valerie.Just as it seems everything might finally start going right, sixteen-year-old Jeremy goes missing... -
![The Portable Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde]()
The Portable Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIncludes the following works: Novels—The Portrait of Dorian Gray; Plays—Salome and The Importance of Being Earnest; Writings—De Profundis, Critic as Artist, and Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Very Young; and selections from Lady Windermere's Fan, An Ideal Husband, and A Woman of No Importance... -
![On the Slopes of Tahoe by J.A. Forde]()
On the Slopes of Tahoe by J.A. Forde
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWanting each other is easy…It’s everything else that’s hard.Breck Kylie’s perfect life unravels in a squall of betrayal, leaving him and his seven-year-old daughter reeling. Choosing to retreat from the sunny shores of Sydney, Australia, they embark on an extended vacation to Lake Tahoe in hopes they’ll find a new ‘normal’ on the snowy slopes... -
![Full of Life by John Fante]()
Full of Life by John Fante
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe narrator is an Italian-American writer living in Los Angeles with his pregnant wife, Joyce. As the novel follows the course of Joyce's pregnancy, John deals with Joyce's shifting emotional moods, her growing interest in Roman Catholicism (from which John himself has fallen away), and termite infestation in the house... -
![Handling Sin by Michael Malone]()
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOn the Ides of March, our hero, Raleigh Whittier Hayes (forgetful husband, baffled father, prosperous insurance agent and leading citizen of Thermopylae, North Carolina), learns that his father has discharged himself from the hospital, taken all his money out of the bank and, with a young black female mental patient, vanished in a yellow Cadillac convertible... -
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![The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo]()
The Dork of Cork by Chet Raymo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Frank, an Irish dwarf, writes a personal memoir, he moves from dark isolation into the public eye. This luminous journey is marked by memories of his lonely childhood, secrets of his doomed young mother, and his passion for a woman who is as unreachable as the stars... -
![The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories by Mark Richard]()
The Ice at the Bottom of the World: Stories by Mark Richard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn these ten stories, Mark Richard, winner of the 1990 PEN/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award, emerges as the heir apparent to Mark Twain, Flannery O'Connor, and William Faulkner... -
![Moonstruck at Midnight by Alejandra Andrade]()
Moonstruck at Midnight by Alejandra Andrade
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBillie Murphy’s life is about to change.It’s her 20th birthday and her final days in Paris after years of living abroad with her father, a top US diplomat, and Billie is feeling all the feelings—saddened to leave her friends and abuzz with anticipation about what comes next. A night of dancing, wine, and a chance encounter with a handsome Princeton athlete, is a near-perfect send-off...Categorized as:
drama humor literary-fiction romance contemporary young-adult audiobook womens-fiction -
![The Disengagement Ring by Clodagh Murphy]()
The Disengagement Ring by Clodagh Murphy
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratings'We're her family. It's our duty to interfere.' Kate O'Neill is ready to settle down, so when her commitment-phobic boyfriend Brian asks her to marry him, she accepts. Though she knows her close-knit family aren't fond of Brian, she feels sure they'll come round once they get to know him better... -
![No Ordinary Guy (No Ordinary Bloke) by Mary Whitney]()
No Ordinary Guy (No Ordinary Bloke) by Mary Whitney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI’m not a philosophical kind of bloke, but I know something about luck. A childhood on the wrong side of advantage will teach you that. It’s all a matter of chance. It’s both your circumstances and the chances you take. So I've always been a gambler and a ladies man — they love me and I love them. Now I've found one like no other — an American, Allison Wright... -
![Summer Madness by Susan Lewis]()
Summer Madness by Susan Lewis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCorrie Browne is an ordinary girl with extraordinary ambitions. Determined to find the father she has never known, her search takes her from her quiet Suffolk village to a new life in London, a fast paced television career, and to three colleagues who come to dominate her new life. All of them play a role in Corrie’s search for love and success. One of them intends Corrie’s ultimate destruction...
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